MISSOULA, Mont. - In their first conference tournament appearance since 2019, EWU soccer fought and clawed, but fell in PK's to the Vikings in the Big Sky Quarterfinals.
It was a chilly morning, and an early match for the Eagles, as EWU would strike first in the 29th minute with a goal from senior Grace Terrill. After going into the half with a 1-0 lead, the Vikings fought back and recorded the equalizer in the 73rd minute of the match. A full 90 minutes wouldn't be enough to find a result, as the match would go to two overtimes, and ultimately to a penalty kick shootout. Eastern Washington (9-5-5) would fall to Portland State (4-8-5), as the Vikings would pull out with the 7-6 shootout victory, and advanced to the Big Sky semifinals.
"Having the opportunity to play in November is a blessing and a privilege that this team earned for themselves. Yet one of the inescapable challenges to post-season play is the cruel finality of it all, something that strikes every team except one from this point forward…the eventual national champion," head coach
Missy Strasburg said. "Having such an incredible season end in PKs is absolutely gut-wrenching. But our women put everything they had into that tournament quarterfinal and we are deeply proud of their effort and commitment to each other."
After finishing third in the Big Sky conference and having one of the biggest win improvements in the country, Eastern Washington soccer (9-5-5, 4-1-3) appeared in their 12th conference tournament appearance. The Eagles are now 6-10-1 all-time, and 2-4-0 all-time in the quarterfinals of the tournament. As a #3 seed, the Eagles move to 2-3 all-time in the tournament, and are now 1-2 all-time against #6 seeds.
The Eagles and the Vikings met in the conference tournament for the third time. Eastern is now 2-1 all-time against Portland State in the tournament. Earlier in the season, the two tied 1-1 in Cheney, and it took 110 minutes and a shootout to find an end result in this one.
Match Summary:
In the opening minute Kamryn Willoughby would be tested by the Vikings. Willoughby would record her first save within seconds, as Portland State would get an opportunity with a shot on goal immediately after the start of the match.
Eastern's offense would start a bit slow, but Portland State's would come out firing. The Vikings would record four shots in the first six minutes of the match. Possession would not be in favor of EWU, as the Vikings would control the pace of play early.
In the 10th minute, the Eagles would see their first shot with a left footer from Charity Freeman that would go just above the crossbar. After the shot from Freeman, Eastern looked to get settled in and take back the momentum.
In the 22nd minute, defender Iris Mattern would stop a great attack on the left side from the Vikings. Mattern would be able to win two one on one challenges, and force a goal kick. Riley Arribas would get into the box in the 25th minute for the first time in the match, but the shot would be blocked by a Viking defender.
The Eagles would use the momentum in the second part of the second half, and would strike first. It would be Grace Terrill in the 29th minute who recorded the goal. Delani Walker would give a back heel towards the goalie, and off of the deflection Terrill would record the header as the ball went to the back of the net and take the early 1-0 lead.
EWU would be outshot 9-6 in the first half, but Willoughby would record five saves for the Eagles. The Vikings would fail to record a corner in the half, but the Eagles would only record two of their own.
The second half would see seven shots in the first 20 minutes, but only three would be on goal. Freshman Bella Bunnage would check into the match, as Bunnage would be the second Eastern freshman to appear in the match. Dakota Harris would log seven minutes in the first half.
The Vikings would make a great move into the box, and record a shot, but it would be just wide of the left post in the 71st minute. Portland State would then in the 73rd minute record the equalizer with a left footer in the top right of the net.
Near chances by both teams would come in the last 15 minutes, but neither would be able to record the go-ahead goal. The Eagles would be outshot in both the first and second half. Willoughby would record three more saves in the second half to bring her total to eight in regulation.
Four Eagles would record two shots in regulations, as Eastern would have their first overtime match of the season. Two 10 minute periods for overtime rules in the conference tournament. The first team to score a goal in those 10 minute periods will win the match. If the match is still tied after the two 10 minute periods, then the match will be decided in penalty kicks.
Immediately out of the gate the Eagles would record two shots in the first minute of overtime. Herting and Moore would threaten, but would be unable to record the game-winner. A corner kick in the 94th minute would seem to give Eastern another chance. The Eagles would not be able to get a head on it, but Pattison would get a look a few seconds later. It would be off target however, so we would stay tied.
In the 96th minute the Vikings would get a corner of their own. The ball would go too far out of the box, and would fail to record a shot. After one 10 minute period of overtime action, neither team would score, as we would move to a second 10 minute overtime period tied 1-1.
In the second overtime, the Eagles would start hot again with a beautiful cross to Gillian Martin in the box. Martin would however get tangled up with Viking, and would be unable to get a clean look. The Vikings would then come back down with their own look with a booming left footer, but it would be wide left.
In the 105th minute, the Vikings would get two chances from a pair of corners, but the Eagle back line would stay strong and eliminate the threat. Pattison in the 106th minute would give a toe tap pass in the box, but Herting would be unable to give it a second touch for a shot on goal.
After 110 minutes of play we would head to penalty kicks. Both the Vikings and the Eagles would record their first four PK's. On Eastern's fifth, the Vikings goalkeeper would come off her line, as the eagles were able to sink the redo penalty kick. The Eagles would miss their seventh penalty kick, as the Vikings would sink their seventh and win the penalty kick shootout 7-6, and advance to the Semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament.
Inside the box score:
- In her 60th career start, Grace Terrill recorded her sixth career goal. Terrill finished her playing career appearing in 79 career matches, tied for sixth most in school history in matches played.
- Kamryn Willoughby recorded 10 saves, and matched the second most saves in a Big Sky tournament match. Willoughby finishes the season with 225 total saves.
- Isabelle Herting recorded two shots, playing 84 minutes, and had eight games thi season with at least two shots.
- In her 35th career match, Kendall Moore recorded four shots and played in all 110 minutes. Moore recorded the 3rd most shots in Eagle history in a Big Sky tournament match.
- Chloe Pattison recorded three shots with two shots on goal. Pattison finishes the season 5th all-time in shots on goal (31), and tied 9th all-time in Eagle single season history with 53 total shots. Pattison also moves to 9th all-time in Eagle career shots on goal (47).
- Riley Arribas recorded two shots, and finished with at least one shot in nine straight matches.
- Becca Gaido appeared in her 40th career match, played all 110 minutes, and finished the season in first with 1709 minutes played. Gaido played every single minute in the last 16 matches of the season, and only missed 13 minutes this season.
- EWU recorded 15 shots in the match, tied for the fifth most in school history in a Big Sky tournament match.
- Five Eagle players recorded at least two shots in the match.
- The Eagles only trailed at the half one time this season, and recorded at least one goal in 18 of the 19 matches this season.
- EWU Soccer finished with 136 shots on goal this season, tied for third all-time in a single season, and recorded 33 goals this season, the fifth most ever in a season in school history.
The Eagles were picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky conference coaches' poll, after finishing ninth in the 2023 season. They finished 9-5-5 overall, and finished third in the Big Sky conference with a 4-1-3 conference record. They became the sixth Eagle soccer team to ever record nine wins in a season, and broke a program record for win improvement (+7).
"To be honest, it's almost impossible to express in a few words how special this season, and this team is. While we are certainly crushed to not win a big sky tournament championship this year, it in no way diminishes the individual and collective achievements of this team, and growth of this program overall. Earning 7 more wins and conceding 9 less losses in one season is exceptionally rare. For a team to truly succeed together, It takes an incredible amount of unselfishness and commitment from each teammate - to embrace their role, whatever that might be, for the good of the group. There are so many different roles in a college soccer team…big minute players, impactful subs, supportive bench players…all of whom provided irreplaceable contribution to this years success." Strasburg said.
Eastern earned six players on All-Conference teams, with Chloe Pattison named Co-Offensive MVP, and head coach Missy Strasburg named Big Sky Coach of the Year.
"When you can get that buy in and humility from an entire roster, and build a culture on that, special things happen. Our team leadership, captains, and in particular our seniors -
Lyric Baker,
Elisabeth Cole,
Charity Freeman,
Isabelle Herting,
Katrina Kupp,
Gillian Martin,
Kiara Matson, and
Grace Terrill - invested so much of themselves into reshaping our culture into this awesome "All-In" environment. This commitment was one of the largest factors in our amazing bounce-back season, and will be a legacy that future success will be built upon for years to come. While we still grieve over the finality of 2024, and in particular the conclusion of this special experience for our seniors, our heads are held high, and the fire is already being stoked for 2025."
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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