CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington soccer (8-5-4, 3-1-3) gave their seniors something to smile about in their 2-1 victory over Weber State (2-11-5, 1-4-1). After an early Wildcats goal, the Eagles came back thanks to goals from senior
Charity Freeman, and conference goal leader
Chloe Pattison.Â
"It is not just about getting those guys on the field. Certainly, when you have a senior who scores a goal that pulls the team back it is so special. The energy and connectivity that this team has, it would not have mattered who it was today. It is special for one of our seniors in Charity to find that goal today. Our first objective was to win. Our second was to feel like our seniors felt honored and contributed, and they certainly did," head coach Missy Strasburg said.
It was the 28th overall meeting between the Eagles and the Wildcats. Eastern is now 13-15 all-time against Weber State, and is 7-6 all-time at home against the Wildcats. Last season, EWU defeated WSU 2-1 in Ogden, and Eastern is 8-2 in their last 10 match ups against Weber State.Â
Eastern honored seven seniors on senior day. Lyric Baker, Grace Terrill, Katrina Kupp, Gillian Martin, Isabelle Herting, Charity Freeman, and Elisabeth Cole. The group has combined to play in 324 games with 189 starts during the past seasons.
"It is awesome, we got everyone on the field that was healthy, so that was a big part of it. Making sure we get everyone on the pitch that has given so much to this program. It was a team effort. Outside of the first 10 minutes, that emotion is really difficult to harness and to manage," Strasburg said.
Match Summary:
In the first half, a couple of early fouls on the Wildcats would keep the possession with the Eagles. Weber State would record a shot on their first run of the game, but would be wide right. In the 10th minute, the Wildcats would take the early 1-0 lead. The Eagles would respond well with two shots in the 13th minute, but failed to record a goal and tie the match.Â
A free kick for the Eagles just outside the box in the 18th minute would give Eastern another opportunity to record two more shots. With the offense keeping the momentum, in the 19th minute Ryanne Ampi would create a great give and go opportunity with Delani Walker. Walker would let one fly just outside the box, but would hit the left post. It would then be the senior Charity Freeman who would be in the right place at the right time and record the equalizer to tie the match 1-1. Walker and Ampi would record the assists, with Walker recording her ninth career assist, and Ampi recording the first assist of her career.Â
After the early goal from the Wildcats, Weber State would struggle to get many looks against the strong Eastern back line. The Eagles would out shoot the Wildcats 12-4 in the first half, and hold Weber State to no corners. Eastern would be tied at the half for the eighth time this season, and for the third time in Big Sky play.Â
The start of the second half, the Eagles would record three corners in a row, but would fail to record a shot on goal. In the 54th minute, Kendall Moore would rocket a shot outside the box, but would be saved by the Wildcat goalkeeper. Eastern would finally break through in the 58th minute, with a beautiful cross from Moore to Chloe Pattison who would record the go-ahead goal and her 11th goal of the season. Freeman and Moore would record the assists, with Freeman recording her second of the season, and fifth career assist. Moore would record her fifth of the season, and her sixth career assist.Â
The Wildcats would be unable to break through on the offensive end, as Weber State would only record two shots in the first 30 minutes of the second half. In the 82nd minute, WSU would record their first corner of the match. Goalkeeper Kamryn Wiloughby would push the ball out of the box to eliminate the threat. The Eagle defense would hold strong, and earn their eighth win of the season.
"To give up the goal in that early moment, but once we settled in and took a breath, I thought we did a beautiful job of doing our own job today, and not overworking. We talked a lot about that as a group, and still played with a proper intensity. Not trying to do too much, and that was a big part of this dominating the vast majority of that match," Strasburg said.
Eagle Record Watch:
- Chloe Pattison moved to eighth all-time in career goals scored (14), and sixth all-time in a single season for shots on goal (19).
- Delani Walker recorded her ninth career assist, and is now ranked eighth all-time in career assists.Â
- Eastern has scored 30 goals this season, and has moved to fifth most in a single season.
Inside the box score:
- Chloe Pattison recorded a goal in her second straight match for her 11th goal of the season. Pattison recorded four shots, and has recorded 3+ shots in nine matches this season Pattison recorded at least one shot in all 17 matches this season.Â
- Charity Freeman recorded her first match with a goal and an assist. Freeman recorded her fifth career assist and her fourth career goal.
- Kendall Moore tied a career high five shots with an assist. Moore has recorded 2+ shots in seven matches this season, and recorded her fifth assist of the season, and the sixth of her career.
- Riley Arribas appeared in her 50th career match, recording one shot. Arribas has recorded at least one shot in seven straight matches.
- Becca Gaido leads the team in minutes played (1509) , playing a full 90 minutes in the last 14 matches (only has missed 13 minutes this season). Gaido recorded her fifth shot of the season.Â
- Iris Mattern played a full 90 minutes for the 10th time this season. Mattern has played 65+ minutes in all 16 matches this season.
- Delani Walker recorded two shots, and an assist in her second straight match. Walker has recorded at least two shots in 14 matches this season, and now has nine career assists.
- Kamryn Willoughby started in her 40th career match.
- Lyric Baker appeared in her 45th match.
- Ryanne Ampi recorded her 15th career start.
- Elisabeth Cole appeared in her 50th career game.
- This season, EWU has matched their all-time win improvement from a previous season (+6).Â
- The Eagles are now 7-0-2 when leading at the half.Â
- Eastern now has 10 matches with at least 14 shots, and 12 matches with at least 6 shots on goal this season.
With the win, the Eagles now have 12 points in conference play, and have clinched the Big Sky conference tournament for the first time since 2019 under head coach Missy Strasburg. Eastern currently sits third in the Big Sky conference standings.
"Certainly putting a third streak of wins is a big opportunity for us when we play Northern Colorado on the road this Thursday. I think we believe we are very good, and I think the teams we have played think that as well, and we are not a team they would want to see again. If we are in a position now to step into the postseason in Missoula in a high seed position," Strasburg said. "That is our next objective, to earn the highest seed possible. I really like our chances, and I like the confidence the team would have coming off of three wins. I am looking forward to that, and we have tons to play for. There is no satisfaction that lives in this team, and that is a mindset change we are super proud of."
Eastern will head to Greeley, Colorado for their season finale against Northern Colorado (3-13-1, 1-4-1) Thursday, October 24th at 3:30 pm. The match will be streaming on ESPN+.
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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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