CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington (6-4-2, 1-0-1) cruised to a 3-0 victory over Sacramento State (2-6-2, 0-2-0) on a very windy day on the home pitch. Isabelle Herting recorded two early goals to gain momentum, and help secure their first Big Sky conference win of the season.
 

"I do not know if the wind was an advantage for either team today. It is like dealing with a 12th player. The Cheney wind is its own character in our story here sometimes. What it did was pin the play a lot to one side of the field. It just disrupted a lot, so if there was anything in the air, corners included, it was just really difficult for both teams to get underneath it and judge it properly. I think we were able to just diffuse that a lot better by keeping the ball on the ground a lot more today. We want to do that anyway." head coach Missy Strasburg said.
 

Eastern recorded their first win against Sacramento State under Strasburg, as the Eagles faced the Hornets for their 30th all-time meeting. The Eagles move to 10-15-15 all-time against the Hornets, and 5-6-1 at home. Last year, the Eagles fell at Sacramento State 1-0. The Eagles last defeated the Hornets in 2019 with 2-1 double overtime victory in the Semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament. EWU last defeated the Hornets at home in 2015 when they won 3-1.
 

Match Summary: 
 

The Eagles did not waste any time to light up the scoreboard. Isabelle Herting would score in the second minute of the match for her second goal of the season, and the fastest goal for Eastern this season (2:33). 
 

Eastern would not be done in the first half however, as Herting would record her second goal of the match in the 18th minute. Chloe Pattison and Gillian Martin would display some great ball movement, each recording an assist on the play. Martin would record  her first assist of the season, with Pattison recording her sixth assist of her career!
 

"Isabelle has been knocking on the door for some time. We saw the great header goal early in the season off a corner. As she has moved to the wider positions in the field, she has had a lot of great looks. Both in front of the goal, and the back post side in terms of receiving crosses," Strasburg said. "It was great to see her with that confidence today. I know she always has it, and we definitely trust her in that as her team does, but a lot of it was just in rhythm. She ran at a player hard, she took a hard cut, she was finishing in stride and in rhythm, and in balance with great shots."
 

The Eagles would actually be out shot in the first half 6-4, but were more effective with their shots, resulting in the two goals from Herting in the half. Despite the six shots, only one was on target for the Hornets as they would fail to get many clean looks in the box.
 

"Sac State plays a little differently and presents some different challenges, but we were really focused defensively today in terms of taking away some of their dangerous players that produce a lot of shots for them. They do have some really good and dangerous attacking players up front, and we have seen that for years with a lot of them returning players," Strasburg said. "I think a lot of it was really good, committed defending, we had better ball pressure higher up the field, and that resulted in a lot of reduced corners and shots given away."
 

Eastern would start fast in the second half recording four shots in the first 15 minutes, matching their shot total in the first half. A team who leads the Big Sky in corners coming into the match, would not record their first corner until the 71st minute. 
 

The Eagles would record an insurance goal in the 77th minute with the Freshman Bella Bunnage recording her first career goal. Katrina Kupp and Riley Arribas would record the assist for Kupp's first assist of the season, and her third of her career. Arribas recorded her third assist of the season, and her fifth of her career.
 

"Your first college goal is special, and it was a great one today. Well earned, and she has done so much work. She works hard, she takes extra touches after training, and the team celebrates that massively as they should. It is a big milestone for her. As a freshman we know there is plenty more for her, not just this year, but throughout the rest of her career here," Strasburg said.
 

EWU would limit the Hornets to 11 shots, but only three shots on goal, and would fail to record a shot in the last 15 minutes in the 3-0 win. It was the fourth shutout of the season for the Eagles, and moved to 4-0-1 when they record more shots than their opponent. 
 

"It is important as we get into conference play. We talk about our goal output, and how much we score right now, and we are really pleased with that. It is important that the players have embraced that. We have been a lot more stingy about saying we are going to reduce shots and opportunities, but we are also fighting to keep clean sheets," Strasburg said. "That has been the key, as long as the players are bought into that, and taking that pride in the increased number of shutouts the last few seasons, it is just confidence. The more you do it, the easier it is to keep a clean sheet and close out a game."
 

Inside the box score:

• Isabelle Herting recorded two goals and has three for the season. Herting recorded three shots with all of them on goal, and became the second Eagle to record two goals in a match this season.

• Chloe Pattison recorded an assist for her second of the season. Pattison recorded two shots, and has recorded at least two shots in nine straight matches

• Riley Arribas recorded two shots, and has recorded at least one shot in ten matches. 

• Becca Gaido leads the team in minutes played (1059) , playing a full 90 minutes in the last nine matches (only has missed 13 minutes this season.)

• Iris Mattern played a full 90 minutes for the fourth straight match, and the fifth time this season. Mattern has played 65+ minutes in all 10 matches this season.

• Delani Walker recorded one shot and has recorded at least one shot in her eighth straight game, and has recorded at least one shot in 10 of the 11 matches this season.

• Freshman Bella Bunnage recorded her first goal of her career, and recorded two shots for the first time this season.

• Freshman Lauren Chirgwin appeared in her first match for her Eagle career.

• The Eagles move to 3-0-0 when recording three or more goals, and 5-1-2 when they record more shots on goal.

Eagles have a full week off before finishing their five match homestand. Eastern currently sits second in the conference with four points, and will continue Big Sky conference play and host first place Idaho (8-3-1, 2-0-0) Sunday, October 6th at 1:00 pm at EWU soccer field. The match 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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