GREELEY, Colorado — Eastern Washington soccer (9-5-4, 4-1-3) finished the season off with a three match winning streak in their season finale 2-1 victory over Northern Colorado (3-14-1, 1-5-1). A go-ahead goal from Kendall Moore would be the deciding factor in the windy road contest. 
It was the 33rd overall meeting between the Eagles and the Bears. Eastern is now 6-12-5 all-time against Northern Colorado. Last season, Eastern fell to Northern Colorado 4-0 at home, and with the win, snapped a seven match winless streak against the Bears. Eastern is now 3-6-2 all-time on the road against Northern Colorado.

The Eagles were picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky conference preseason poll. After the weekend matches, Eastern could finish as high as second this season in the Big Sky conference. EWU soccer finishes the season with 15 points, and finishes with one loss in conference to tie the fewest losses in conference play since the 2017 season. Eastern finishes the regular season with nine wins, and it is the sixth time ever an Eagle team has earned nine wins in a season. 

Match Summary:

In the first half, it would be the Bears with the early work on offense as an attacking plate would send a shot just outside the box and hit the crossbar, but would funnel outside of the box. The wind would affect things early, as both teams would attempt to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible. 

In the eighth minute of the match, UNC would record the first corner kick of the match, but were unable to get a clean look. The first ten minutes would see the Bears in the attacking third and controlling possession. The Eagles would not record their first shot until the 12th minute. Delani Walker would get a good look from the top of the box, but it would be wide right in their first open look of the half. 

The 18th minute would see another Walker shot, this time inside the box. It would be blocked by a Bear defender, as the Eagles would record their first corner of the match. Isabelle Herting would check into the match after missing the last five matches. It is Herting's first time coming off the bench. 

The Bears would strike first in the 27th minute off a deflected pass to give UNC a great look for a shot inside the box, and record a goal for the early 1-0 lead. 

The Eagles would respond however nine minutes later. In the 37th minute, Herting would make a move at midfield to get past her defender, and serve a pass down field to Chloe Pattison. Pattison would then find a cutting Gillian Martin. From inside the box, Martin would serve up a shot, but would be saved by the Bears goalkeeper. Martin however would get another look at it, as the save would pop up into the air. Martin would record the goal to tie the match one a piece, and record her 11th career goal.

"Gillian is such a great senior and leader for us. She has played so many different roles for this team, as both a starter and impactful sub, and her pace and attacking mindset make her dangerous wherever and whenever she's on the pitch. Her goal today is a product of that relentless, getting into position on the weakside to receive that switching ball, and then to finish her own rebound…just awesome," Strasburg said.
Eastern would head into halftime tied for the ninth time this season. The Bears would outshoot the Eagles 8-6, but Eastern recorded one more shot on goal (3-2) in the first half. 

"To not be disrupted, and even respond with more intensity after giving up a goal, I think really comes down to confidence. This confidence for us is deeply rooted in preparation and previous successes. We showed early in the season that we could respond after giving up a goal, and have built upon that all year," Strasburg said.

The start of the second half would be a quick look from outside the box from UNC, but goalkeeper Kamryn Willoughby would record the save to eliminate the early threat. The Bears would be on the attack again in the 51st minute with a shot inside the left side of the box, but it would again hit the top of the crossbar.

After a pair of good looks from the Bears, the Eagles would get their own. In the 54th minute, Kendall Moore would boom a left-footer just outside the box to the top corner, and record her fifth goal of the season to take the 2-1 lead. Riley Arribas would record the assist for her fifth of the season. 

UNC would get another good look in the 68th minute, but would just go over the crossbar for their fourth shot of the half. On the opposite end of the field, Eastern would continue their offensive surge. A corner kick from Moore in the 70th minute would find an unmarked Dakota Harris for a header, but would fall just wide. 

The 77th minute would see a crashing Riley Arribas launch a shot from outside the box, but would be just high. Later in that minute, the Bears looked to find the equalizer, but Lyric Baker would make a great tackle in the box, and force an Eastern goal kick to eliminate the threat yet again.

In the final 10 minutes, the Bears would have a couple near corner kicks, but the Eagles were able to retain possession as they were ruled goal kicks. It would be a very physical last five minutes, but the Eagles would be able to put the ball in the corner a couple of times to try and chew out the clock. In the closing minute, the Bears would get one look in the box, but it would be headed out by the Eagles and complete the 2-1 comeback victory.  

Eastern was actually paced by the Bears, as both teams recorded 14 shots in the match. The Eagles would record more shots on goal (7-4), and corner kicks (5-1) in the match.The Eagles are 8-2-3 this season when recording more shots on goal, and now have 11 matches with at least 14 shots, and 13 matches with at least six shots on goal this season. 

Eagle Record Watch:

• Gillian Martin now has 11 career goals, and is tied for 11th all-time in Eagle career goals 
• Riley Arribas now has eight career assists, and is now tied for 8th all-time on the Eagle career list. This season, Arribas has recorded five assists, and is tied for the 6th most all-time for assists in a season. 
• Eastern has scored 131 shots on goal this season, and has moved to fifth most in a single season.

Inside the box score:

• Kendall Moore recorded her fifth goal of the season. Moore has recorded at least one point in the last three matches and played a full 90 for the fourth time this season.
• Gillian Martin recorded her 11th career goal, and has recorded at least two shots in four matches this season
• Riley Arribas recorded her fifth assist of the season, and the seventh of her career. Arribas recorded one shot, and has at least one shot in eight straight matches.
• Delani Walker recorded a match and season high five shots, and two shots on goal. Walker has recorded at least two shots in 15 matches this season.
• Isabelle Herting returned to the pitch for the first time in five matches, and recorded one shot and one shot on goal off the bench.
• Becca Gaido leads the team in minutes played (1599) , playing a full 90 minutes in the last 15 matches (only has missed 13 minutes this season).
• Iris Mattern played a full 90 minutes for the 11th time this season. Mattern has played 65+ minutes in all 17 matches this season, and is second on the team with 1536 minutes played.
• Chloe Pattison appeared in her 50th career match and recorded her 30th career start.
• Kamryn Willoughby appeared in her 45th career match, and Elisabeth Cole recorded her 35th career start.

With the win, EWU has now recorded their best  all-time win improvement from a previous season (+7). Eastern clinched the Big Sky conference tournament for the first time since 2019 under head coach Missy Strasburg last Sunday, and will wait to see who they play after the weekend matches.

"As a staff, we have been super focused on just taking this season one game at a time. But one of the major things I have learned in my years coaching D1 soccer is that winning is really hard, it takes a village, and it takes time to turn a program around doing things the right way," Strasburg said. "So to be where we are and to do what we've done so far this year, I am so proud of our players and so deeply grateful for the amazing work and contribution provided by assistant coaches Nate Ulness, Hayden Hollinger and Dan Ollero. They have added so much to this program and we wouldn't be where we are as team without them. I feel extremely blessed and am stoked to continue the journey with this family of players and coaches."

EWU Soccer will head to Missoula, Montana for the Big Sky Championships and play Wednesday, November 6th. The time of the match is TBD, as seedings will be finalized for the championships after this weekend matches around the conference. All matches during the Big Sky Championships 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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