CHENEY, Wash. — In a new month, Eastern Athletics has the majority of its teams in action this week. Women's soccer will make the drive to Missoula, Mont. for their Big Sky Tournament first round match. Football looks to bounce back on the road against Northern Colorado. Volleyball is back at Reese Court for two matches and an eye on the postseason. Men's and women's basketball open their regular seasons with one road and home game. Men's tennis wraps up its fall schedule close to home and women's tennis finishes on the road.
Soccer - vs. Portland State (Wednesday, November 6th at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time) | ESPN+
After finishing third in the Big Sky conference and having one of the biggest win improvements in the country, Eastern Washington soccer (9-5-4, 4-1-3) will travel to Missoula, Montana for their first conference tournament since 2019. The Eagles will face the #6 seed Portland State (4-8-4) in the conference quarterfinals November 6th at 10:00 pm. All matches of the tournament will be streaming on ESPN +
This will be the 12th conference tournament appearance for the Eagles, as they are 6-9-1 all-time, and 2-3-0 all-time in the quarterfinals of the tournament. As a #3 seed, the Eagles are 2-2 all-time in the tournament, and are 1-1 all-time against #6 seeds. The last time EWU soccer made the conference tournament, Eastern reached the conference finals as a #3 seed, but would lose to the #4 seed Northern Colorado 1-0.
The Eagles look to win their third Big Sky postseason championship and clinch their third NCAA tournament berth. The last time EWU soccer won the conference tournament was in 2017 when they defeated Northern Colorado 2-1.
The Eagles and the Vikings will meet in the conference tournament for the third time. Eastern is 2-0 all-time against Portland State in the tournament, and defeated the Vikings in the 2019 quarter finals 3-0.
In their lone matchup this season, EWU soccer tied PSU in their conference season opener 1-1. Both teams scored in the last 15 minutes, with a Kenall Moore penalty kick in the 76th minute giving the Eagles the 1-0 lead. The Vikings would respond however three minutes later in the 79th minute and tie the match with a goal of their own to start the conference season with a draw.
For the regular season, the Eagles finished first in the Big Sky conference in corners (98), Penalty kicks (5-6), shots on goal (131), tied first in assists (28), second in points (92) goals (32), scoring average (1.778), shots (259),
Chloe Pattison led the conference in goals scored (11), shots on goal (29), and points (25), and finished second in total shots (50).
Walker, Kendall Moore, and Riley Arribas finished tied for second in the conference with five assists.
Delani Walker finished fifth in shots on goal (21), tied for sixth in total shots (40). Moore finished fourth in the conference in goals (5), and points (15), and was the only player in the conference to record five assists and five goals.
Football - at Northern Colorado (Saturday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time)
Eastern Washington is on the road this week and traveling to Greeley, Colo. to play Northern Colorado this Saturday. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. Pacific Time and will be streamed on ESPN+
EWU is 1-4 in the Big Sky and 2-7 overall, dropping its last three games. UNC is also 1-4 in conference and 1-8 overall this season, currently on a two-game skid.
Eastern is coming off a stretch of five straight games against ranked opponents, hosting No. 2 Montana State this past Saturday at Roos Field. The Bobcats outran the Eagles, 42-28, to remain undefeated on the season. EWU trailed by 14 at half, but tied the game in the third quarter, getting a rushing and receiving touchdown from
Tuna Altahir. MSU quickly answered on a 76-yard run from Tommy Mellott. They added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to separate from Eastern and secure the road win.
Altahir finished with 72 rushing yards, while Michael Wortham ripped off a 75-yard run to score in the second quarter. Jared Taylor started at quarterback, passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 20-of-27 passes. Taylor also rushed 25 times for 80 yards. Ahmani Williams picked off his first career pass in the fourth quarter. Derek Ganter Jr. led the team with 11 tackles and Matthew Brown added 10.
This season, Altahir ranks 8th in the Big Sky with 573 rushing yards and has three rushing touchdowns. Efton Chism III caught nine passes for 78 yards against MSU, scoring one touchdown. It was Chism's 33rd career touchdown, passing Shaq Hill for fifth on the all-time list. He's now in a three-way tie for third place all-time receiving touchdown list with Nicholas Edwards and Brandon Kaufman. Chism leads the conference in receiving yards (942), receptions (85), touchdowns (9), receptions per game (9.4) and yards per game (104.7).
Ganter Jr. has posted 10-plus tackles in three-straight games. He now is tied for the Big Sky lead with 78 total tackles, ranking second with 49 solo. He averages 8.7 tackles per game.
Volleyball - vs Montana (Thursday, November 7 at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time), vs Montana State (Saturday, November 9 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time)
Eastern Volleyball is gearing up for an exciting rivalry week as they face off against Montana on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. and Montana State on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. The Eagles are coming off a rough weekend, falling to both Portland State and Sacramento State 3-1. Fans can catch both matches live on ESPN+.
Bri Gunderson continues to shine, showcasing her skills with a total of 17 blocks over the weekend. In the match against Sacramento State she recorded ten blocks and seven against Portland State.
Kalista Lukovich had a great weekend producing 25 kills over the weekend, including 13 against PSU and 12 against Sac State.
The Eagles have a competitive history against Montana State, sitting at 15-14 overall, with their last win coming last month in a thrilling five-set win on the road. Their match against Montana will be equally challenging, as Eastern holds a 14-16 overall record against the Griz, but swept them on the road in the last encounter on October 12.
Men's Basketball – at Colorado (Monday, November 4 at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time), vs Seattle University (Wednesday, November 6 at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time)
Eastern men's basketball is ready to tip off the 2024-25 season under new head coach
Dan Monson, starting with their game against Colorado on Monday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN+. The Eagles will also host their home opener against Seattle University on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m.
With six returning players, including standout guards Mason Williams and Nic McClain, the team looks poised for a strong season. The addition of talented transfers—Andrew Cook, Angelo Winkel, Elijah Thomas, and Tyler Powell—will bolster the roster's depth, and newcomers Sam Stockton and Pavlo Dziuba are expected to make an impact as well.
Historically, Eastern has struggled against Colorado, holding a 0-2 record, with their last matchup in 2021 ending in a narrow 60-57 loss. However, they have had more success against Seattle, leading the overall series 8-7. Their last meeting resulted in a 74-66 victory for the Eagles, and they haven't faced Seattle at home since a thrilling 80-76 win in 2016.
Women's Basketball - at Washington State (Monday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time), vs. Walla Walla (Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.) - Get Tickets
Eastern begins his 2024-25 season today as they make the quick drive down to Pullman to play Washington State at 4 p.m.. The Eagles have their home opener on Saturday (Nov. 9) against Walla Walla, with tipoff at 7 p.m. Both games are streamed live on ESPN+
The Eagles hosted Eastern Oregon last weekend for an exhibition, in preparation for the regular season. EWU won the game, 81-61, after trailing by seven in the opening quarter. In the second quarter, Eastern outscored the Mountaineers, 26 to 11 to assert control. A back-and-forth third quarter added one point to the Eagle lead. Eastern closed out Eastern Oregon in the fourth, limiting them to 20-percent shooting and held a 20-to-9 scoring advantage. The scoring was led by Peytong Howard, who finished with 14 points on 6-of-13(46.2%) shooting. Jaecy Eggers was the leading rebounder, pulling down 12 and adding 13 points. She had seven offensive rebounds in the game. EWU controlled the boards, 54 to 33, overall for the game.
The new season brings a new lineup for Eastern, as all five starters from the 2024 Big Sky Championship team have departed. EWU earned its second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament after a record-breaking 29 win season. The Eagles went to the national tournament as the No. 14 seed, playing the No. 3 seed Oregon State in the first round. Despite leading after the first quarter, Eastern lost to the Beavers, 73-51.
Head coach Joddie Gleason is the reigning Big Sky Coach of the Year and is in her fourth season leading the team. She was listed in Her Hoop Stats Coach of the Year preseason watch list.
Gleason has eight players back from the '23-'24 team and brings in eight newcomers. The top returning scorer for Eastern is senior guard Alexis Pettis, averaging 4.2 points per game, along with ranking fifth on the team with 33 assists and seventh with 22 steals.
Men's Tennis - at Gonzaga Invite. (Friday, November 8th - Sunday, November 10th)
After a week off, your Eastern Washington Men's Tennis will be back in action for their final tournament of the fall season. The Eagles will travel to Spokane, Washington and play in the Gonzaga Invite, November 8th-10th.
In the Peak tournament two weeks ago, four Eastern players participated in the event. In the Singles bracket, Eastern would finish 6-4 overall. In the doubles bracket Eastern would finish 4-1, with two EWU doubles teams facing off in the quarterfinals.
Caden Kammerer and Tyler Dalos would go 2-1 in the singles bracket, while doubles team Tyler Dalos and Arshjot Bhatti went a perfect 4-0 on the weekend.
Women's Tennis - at SDSU Fall Classic II (Friday, November 8th- Sunday, November 10th)
After traveling next door in the Gonzaga Invitational a couple of weeks ago, Eastern Washington Women's Tennis will finish their fall tournament season in the SDSU Fall Classic II, November 8th-10th in San Diego, California. It will be Eastern's third and final tournament of the fall season.
Last week, four Eastern players participated in the Gonzaga Invitational. Isabella Foshee was the spotlight for the Eagles in the singles tournament. Foshee would win two singles matches, and reach the semifinals of the gold main draw singles bracket.
Eastern collected three total singles wins in the tournament, and saw Sara Vasic earn her first win of the season when Vasic and
Leandra Nizetic earned a doubles win on Saturday.
"I thought they competed well, and that's the most important thing. In these tournaments, where we have eight teams, and a lot of conference teams, we're getting our first look at some who we're gonna face in the spring season," head coach Dustin Hinson said.
Season and single game tickets for the 2024 football season are now available. Ticket packages can be purchased online at goeags.com/tickets via your Paciolan account, over the phone at 509-359-6059, or by emailing tickets@ewu.edu.
Volleyball season and single-game tickets are now available, with nine home matches to watch! To purchase, go to www.goeags.com, or call the Eastern Washington University Ticket office at (509) 359-6059.
Season tickets for men's and women's basketball are now on sale. Reserve your seats at Reese Court for the 2024-25 seasons by clicking on the link here, emailing tickets@ewu.edu or calling the ticket office at 509-359-6059.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
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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