CHENEY, Wash. — The Eagle offense came alive with a season high 21 shots in their 4-1 win over San Jose State.
Chloe Pattison continued her hot streak recording two goals, and recorded her first assist of the season.
The Eagles are now 4-2-1 and are off to their best seven match start since they started 4-3 in 2017. Eastern won both regular season and postseason Big Sky Conference championships, and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
The Eagles are now 2-2-0 all-time against San Jose State, and record their first win over the Spartans since their first all-time meeting in 2007, when they won 3-2.
Before the match, the Eagles were 1-2-7 in their last 10 matches against Mountain West Conference teams, and had a 9 nine-match winless streak, losing six in a row to the conference. They recorded their first win over the conference since 2019, when they beat Nevada on the road 1-0 in overtime.
Match Summary:
It was a windy day on the pitch, and was a slow start for the Eagles as they fell behind early after a 19th minute goal from the Spartans. It was then Grace Terrill that checked in shortly after the goal and made an offensive spark, even though she did not record a goal. Terrill would go on to record three shots with one on goal, and was a spark off the bench for the Eagles.
The Eastern offense finally broke through, as it was the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week Chloe Pattison with the equalizer in the 28th minute of the match. The match would not be tied for long, as the Eagles were on the attack again with Riley Arribas in the 32nd minute recording a goal and taking the 2-1 lead.
In the closing minutes of the half, Pattison would record her second goal of the match in the 42nd minute to take the 3-1 lead. Freshman Dakota Harris would record the assist for her first assist of her Eagle career.
In the second half, the Eagles would record yet another goal in the 59th minute. This time, Delani Walker would record the goal for her second of the season. Pattison would record another point, but this time with the assist for her first assist of the season.
"We keep trying to solve the mystery of starting hot. We obviously have not found the answer to that yet. There was an unfortunate goal to start if I am being honest to fall behind. San Jose State is very dangerous upfront and they put people in a lot of pressure,and they definitely pressed us to that situation," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "We have had great resilience, and we are proud of the group's response as we have been throughout this season. We have been very good in moments where things have not been going our way. We need to do better at being in the front foot, but you can not complain about four goals in response to that, and some really good football."
It was tough for San Jose State to get clean looks after their early goal, as Eastern limited the Spartans to seven shots and no goals in the second half, and would record more shots on goal then the Spartans in the match (7-5).
"Every coach, our job is trying to find out the mindset of our group and what works best in terms of helping players wrap their head around the progressiveness that is a 90 minute match. For this group, they respond very well about breaking up the game in terms of segments," Strasburg said. "Winning those 15 minute segments of each half. It came down to embracing it half by half, and saying let's just get to halftime, and win the first half, and then the same with the second half. It is a mindset that we are proud of in terms of a progressive base mindset instead of an outcome based mindset."
EWU has yet to trail at the half in all seven matches this season, and recorded three goals in a span of 14 minutes played to close the first half. The Eagles also recorded a season high four goals, with three Eastern players recording at least three shots in the match.
"When the players up high find and create opportunities to finish, it allows us to take a breath. I think all of us realize we do not have to be perfect on the day. We have a team that has and will continue to show that we are capable of scoring goals, and scoring them in a hurry," Strasburg said. "When you have the ability to score, it does allow the back line to take a bit of a breath, and that is what we saw today. A lot of people were involved today, and they had fun. There were smiles and they were loose, and our team is very good when we are loose and sharp. It is an important combination for us."
Inside the box score:
- Forward Chloe Pattison recorded two goals and recorded her first assist of the season. Pattison recorded a goal in her fourth straight match, and has scored five goals in the last four matches.
- Forward Charity Freeman was able to record a shot in her seventh straight game, and has recorded a shot on goal in six of seven matches this season.
- Delani Walker recorded a goal in her second straight match for her second of the season.
- Freshman Dakota Harris recorded her first career assist
- Defender Becca Gaido played a full 90 minute match for the fourth straight match, and leads the team in minutes played (609).
- A pair of players made their Eagle debut in the second half. Freshman Audrey Schlotfeldt, and Freshman Addison Romey. Kiara Matson made her first appearance in goal this season and recorded a save in the second half.
- The Eagles are now 4-1-1 when they record more shots on goal.
The Eagles have finished their first home stand of the season. Eastern will travel and play San Diego State Sunday, September 15th at 12 pm. The Eagles will then finish non-conference play at home when they host UNLV Thursday, September 19th at 4 pm, and then Boise State Sunday, September 22nd at 1 pm at EWU soccer field. Both home matches will be streaming on ESPN+.
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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