CHENEY, Wash. — Coming off a competitive match against a Big Ten opponent, Eastern bounced back in a 3-1 victory over the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. The Eagles finish preseason play 1-1, and look to carry the momentum towards the 2024 season. 

"Washington is a more athletic team than we are, and have a different mindset, mentality, and certainly going into it with a Big Ten team. We had more control in this game. 74% of the time we were on the ball we were on our own attacking half," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "We did a really good job backing this team down which makes it more difficult to find the seams and the attacking moments that we technically produce that lead to goals."

An unassisted goal in the 17th minute from sophomore Kendall Moore gave the Eagles the early lead. The Eagles attempted 20 shots in the first half while limiting the Wolfpack to only two. 

"Kendall [Moore] is a special attacking player, and she has really committed herself to more of defending the side of the ball. A lot of the chances that she is creating for us, the possession and counter attack options, has been due to that commitment on the defending side," Strasburg said. "She is incredibly dangerous in front of goal given the time and space to let loose. I was really proud of her today. She was not feeling 100% great today, an extra bonus in terms of grit and grind. We are just blessed and pleased to have her fire on all cylinders going into our first regular season game."

In the second half the Wolfpack tied the game up in the 58th minute. Eastern was not phased as they responded with their own goal from senior Grace Terrill in the 61st minute. Moore was again involved, as she recorded the assist in the go-ahead goal. 

"It was a good moment for us to learn how to fight through the frustration and learn the right things in tighter spaces and still create good chances. We had three quality goals today from three different players created in three different ways, and a response," Strasburg said. "We gave up a goal, the team was not happy, but they dug in, raised their energy and obviously pulled back a second goal to take the lead back."

An insurance goal came in the 82nd minute with a beautiful cross and header combination from senior Katrina Kupp to junior Delani Walker. Junior forward Chloe Pattison led the team in shots (5), with Delani Walker netting a goal and recording four of her own shots with three on target. Four other Eagles players recorded at least three shots. As a team, Eastern attempted 31 shots with 11 of them on target.  

"Due to some of the frustration, Thompson Rivers was very good defensively in front of their own goal. The patience of an attacking player in that moment is just like basketball where you look for your own shot and be in balance and rhythm. When we start getting out of balance, or turn too hard and rush shots, I think there were some issues with that today," Strasburg said. "We took some low percentage opportunities, but it is not out of the imagination to say we got goal scorers up front that want to score goals. When they get frustrated, sometimes they want to force that issue."

The Eagles will open the regular season on the road August 15th at 4 p.m. against the Troy Trojans in Troy, Ala. 

Eastern will back home September 5th at EWU soccer field to host UC Davis at 4 p.m.
 

---

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.

FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram