CHENEY, Wash. — When Eastern Washington soccer and Montana meet, the games are always competitive. The Eagles and Grizzlies ended in a 1-1 result Thursday afternoon, with Eastern scoring in the first half and Montana getting the equalizer in the second. EWU is now 1-1-1 in the Big Sky and 2-9-1 overall.
"We were really happy going to half after scoring an early goal. Credit to Montana for forcing a shape change on us. It's not surprising after they had a bye and were able to prepare for us. They were very good about taking things away from us that typically gives opponents problems that we create," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "We had a great early goal and it was clear we had to make some adjustments defensively to be closer to the players and get ball pressure. This conference play comes down to inches and minutes. We had 89 and half minutes together that were really tough, besides one ball on one play."
Corina Froehle scored the game's first goal in the 16th minute. Riley Arribas passed to Maddie Morgan inside the box. Morgan then with a quick tap of the ball, fed Froehle who put it past the Grizzlies' Ashlyn Dvorak.
"[Corina] is a fifth year senior with a ton of experience and motivated to get results here," Strasburg added. "She's accountable on both sides of the ball. She has proven to be dangerous and she is one of the cleanist ball strikers we've had on this team. We're really happy and proud of how she's played."
Montana pressed to tie the game, racking up 15 shots in the first half. The Eagles defense held the Grizzlies off the scoreboard and went into halftime leading 1-0.
The second half began with Montana continuing to be aggressive. The Grizzlies broke through in the 56th minute, scoring off a long pass into the box.
Two minutes later, Morgan had a chance to put the Eagles back in front, delivering a powerful shot at Dvorak, but it was saved.
Kendall Moore put a shot on goal in the 64th minute, only to be turned away by Dvorak.
The game ended 1-1 after a competitive 90 minutes.
Eagle Notes
- Maddie Morgan recorded her fourth assist of the season and 11th for her career. Morgan now has 30 points on the season and she added three total shots, with two on goal in the game.
- Corina Froehle now has three career-goals, with two this season. The senior is now tied for fourth on the team in goals.
- Kiara Matson now has 21 saves on the season after her three today against Montana.
- Riley Arribas notched her third assist of the season and she is tied for second for the team lead.
- The result is Eastern's first draw since Oct. 16 of 2022 against Portland State (1-1).
Up Next
Eastern Washington will travel to play Sacramento State (Oct. 6) and Portland State (Oct. 8) next week for the team's final road games of the regular season.
New for the 2023-24 season, the EWU Women's Sports Pass gives fans access to over 30 Eagle Athletics events, including volleyball, soccer and women's basketball for only $5 per game! Learn more and get yours today at goeags.com/tickets or call 509-359-6056.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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