CHENEY, Wash. — The fall schedule continues to be busy for Eastern Washington athletics, with four teams in action this week. Soccer looks to continue its strong start and hosts a pair of games at home to wrap up its non-conference schedule. Football will travel southwest this week to play Nevada in an FBS matchup. Volleyball travels just up the road to Spokane for the Gonzaga Tournament. Women's golf begins its 2024-25 season with the Eagle Invitational.
Soccer - vs. UNLV (Thursday, September 19 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time), vs. Boise St. (Sunday, September 22 at 1 p.m. Pacific Time) - Free Admission
EWU soccer (4-3-1) will host the two of their final three matches of non-conference play this week. The Eagles will host UNLV (2-3-1) Thursday, September 19 at 4 pm, and then will host Boise State (6-1-0) Sunday, September 22 at 1 pm. Both matches will be streaming live on ESPN+
The Eagles are 0-2 all-time against UNLV, and have never played them at home. EWU is 1-14-1 all-time against Boise State,and has not played them at home since 2018. Eastern last defeated the Broncos 3-1 in 2012 at a neutral site, and has never defeated them at home.
The Eagles are coming off of a 4-1 home win over San Jose State, and a 4-2 defeat on the road against San Diego State. Junior forward Chloe Pattison continued her hot streak recording two goals in both matches, and has now scored in five straight matches. Pattison leads the Big Sky in goals scored (7), and total points (15).
EWU will look to match or exceed their highest win total under head coach Missy Strasburg over the weekend (5). The Eagles also look to have their best 10-match start since 2017 when they started 6-4 and finished 16-6-1 and won both the regular and tournament Big Sky Championships.
Football - vs. Nevada (Saturday, September 14, 12 p.m. Pacific Time)
The Eagles stay on the road this week to play Nevada for the team's FBS game of the year. The game will kick off at 12 p.m. Pacific Time. It will be broadcast on Nevada Sports Net and streamed live on their Youtube channel as well. The game will also be streamed live on Mountain West Network. Follow the action live on 700 ESPN and the Varsity App with the voices of the Eagles, Larry Weir and Paul Sorensen.
Eastern was in Hammond, La. last week, taking on Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions outlasted the Eagles, 28-24, dropping the EWU record to 1-2. The game was back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than seven points. Eastern tied the game at 21 as the game went to halftime on a 43 yard touchdown throw from Kekoa Visperas to Noah Cronquist, his first career touchdown catch. EWU then took the lead in the third quarter on a 36 yard field goal from Soren McKee for a 24-21 advantage. SLU scored early in the fourth quarter on a 23 yard run to go up 28-24. The Eagles could not put together a drive to retake the lead and the game went to the Lions.
During the game, Efton Chism III caught seven passes for 83 yards, giving him 254 total catches for his Eastern career. He passed Eric Kimble for second on the all-time lists in career receptions (253) and leads the Big Sky with 28 receptions, 321 yards and four touchdowns this season. Malik Dotson scored two touchdowns against SLU, also his first two career touchdowns.
Volleyball - Gonzaga Invitational - vs San Diego State (Saturday. September 21, 12 p.m.), at Gonzaga (Saturday, September 21, 7:30 p.m.)
Eastern Volleyball (3-5) are coming off a productive weekend at the Rocket Invitational, despite a tough loss to Washington State earlier in the week. This weekend, they will head to Gonzaga for the Gonzaga Invitational, where they will face San Diego State (6-2) at 12 p.m. and Gonzaga (1-7) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 21.
The Eagles had several standout performances last week. Bri Gunderson led the team with a remarkable 55 kills and 27 blocks, including a career-high 11 blocks in the victory over Northern Kentucky. Kalista Lukovich was also instrumental, contributing 49 kills, 42 digs, and nine blocks. Meanwhile, Jannie Blake excelled with 91 total assists, highlighted by a career-high 30 assists in the win against Marshall.
As Eastern takes on San Diego State and Gonzaga, they will aim to build on these impressive performances and maintain their competitive edge.
Golf - Eagle Invitational (Sunday-Monday, September 22-23, All Day)
The new season is here for Eastern Washington golf, as the team gets to start the 2024-25 season close to home. They host the Eagle Invitational, starting Sunday, September 22 and going through Monday, September 23. The competition runs all day, with rounds one and two on Sunday and round three on Monday. The tournament is held Circling Raven Golf Course in Worley, Idaho.
Eastern returns three athletes from last season, while bringing in four newcomers. The returners include sophomore Gabriella Ilardi, junior Brooke Mahler and senior Kami Twining. The incoming freshman group boasts Spencer Cerenzia, Natalie Kent, Berkley Ledesma and Esha Reddy.
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.
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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