CHENEY, Wash. — The Eagles shutout Hawaii 2-0 and recorded their first home victory of the season. Eastern also recorded their second shutout win of the season, and advanced to 3-2-1 on the season. The Eagles are off to their best six match start under head coach Missy Strasburg.
"It feels awesome. Winning is fun. It is all smiles today. Sometimes it is not the prettiest. I think that there was a great portion of the game with some quality, and felt really good about our play. There were going to be moments that game with momentum shifts and can get a little ugly and physical. You are just thinking about preservation for chunks of time. That is the thing I love about the group. They are not stubborn, and do not get frustrated with the game and when it gets ugly and not pretty, especially in the end in the last 12 minutes trying to close it out," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "It is not just the winning. It is the path and the process, and we were able to look at that result today. A shutout is incredibly important to us, and will be across the season. The group derives a lot of confidence from that, so that is a great step going into next week
Eastern hosted Hawaii in just their second road match of the season. The two teams last faced off a decade ago in 2014 when Hawaii pulled out the 3-1 victory over the Eagles. After the win the Eagles are now 3-2 all-time against Hawaii. Eastern was able to split the Big West conference this year 1-1 and are now 12-23-3 all-time against Big West Conference teams.
Match Summary:
The Eagles would strike first in the 14th minute with a left-footed score from Delani Walker. It was Walker's first goal of the season, with Kendall Moore and Isabelle Herting recording their first assists of the season.
The first half would end on a scramble in the box from Hawaii, but Willoughby was able to record the save for her third in the half and keep the 1-0 lead.
The second half would present some early opportunities for the Eagles. In the 53rd minute a double assist again, this time from Kendall Moore and Riley Arribas would give Chloe Pattison the goal to take the 2-0 lead. Moore recorded her second assist of the match, and is the first Eagle to record two assists in a match this season. Pattison has also recorded a goal in three straight matches.
"She (Pattison) was pretty frustrated a week ago at Southern Utah because she hadn't put one in the back of the net yet. Chloe is really a special goal scorer. There were a lot of opportunities for her last year that came off of posts and bad luck. She is truly an unselfish attacking player. When she finds her opportunities like she has in the last few games, everything for her changes, and how she moves off the ball, how she threatens, and how she runs at people with the ball at her feet," Strasburg said. "Like anybody, goal scorers are like shooters in hoops. They are so confident, and for her to start putting things away consistently, even though today she said it was not the prettiest goal today, but it goes in the back of the net. We are seeing her grow massively out of that. I really think she has the capability of scoring 10 plus goals this year if she feels good about taking more opportunities for herself."
Eastern was actually out shot by Hawaii 19-11, but again as they have this season, were able to take more quality shots than their opponents with four shots on goal to Hawaii's three. Eastern has also led or tied at the half in all six matches this season, and have never trailed at the half.
Inside the box score:
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Forward Chloe Pattison recorded a goal in her third straight match, and leads the team in shots (12), shots on goal (6), and is tied with teammate Kendall Moore in points recorded (6)
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Forward Charity Freeman had her five match streak of at least one shot on goal broken, but was able to record a shot in her sixth straight game.
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Delani Walker recorded a goal and became the eighth different Eagle to record a goal.
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Forward Kendall Moore is the only person this season to recorded two assists in a match
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Ryanne Ampi made her first start of the season, her fourth of her career.
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Defender Becca Gaido played a full 90 minute match for the third straight match, and leads the team in minutes played (519).
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Goalkeeper Kamryn Willoughby recorded her second shutout of the season, and sixth of her career.
Eagles Record Watch:
The Eagles will be home again to finish their three-game home stand September 12th at EWU soccer field to host San Jose State at 2:30 pm and 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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