HONOLULU, Hawaii. — Eastern Washington fought through a back-and-forth matchup to earn a 1-1 draw against Hawaii on Thursday evening at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
"Despite the early goal, we were pleased with the response by the group to pull even," said head coach
Missy Strasburg. "It was an excellent finish by Lani Walker, coming from perfectly executed passes by
Riley Arribas,
Noelle Raczykowski, and
Chloe Pattison. The night was really highlighted by our centerbacks. They dealt extremely well with the pacey counterattack presented by Hawaii, and got stuck in on some monster tackles to prevent goal-scoring opportunities in that second half. We look forward to building toward a complete 90 minutes for this group, and taking the pitch again Sunday."
The opening half was a defensive battle, with both sides trading chances. Eastern tallied four shots before halftime, highlighted by looks from
Kendall Moore and
Becca Gaido, while goalkeeper
Kamryn Willoughby made a key stop to keep the match scoreless.
Hawaii struck first in the 49th minute, capitalizing to take a 1-0 lead. The Eagles wasted no time answering back—just 90 seconds later, senior midfielder
Delani Walker slotted home her third goal of the season, finishing off crisp passes from Raczykowski and Pattison to level the score at 1-1.
From there, both teams pushed for the go-ahead goal. Walker and Moore each recorded three shots to pace Eastern's attack, while
Dakota Harris and Raczykowski added late chances as the Eagles closed with 11 total shots, three on target.
Willoughby anchored the defense with four saves, including two critical stops in the final 20 minutes as Hawaii pressed with 11 second-half attempts. Thanks to the back line's composure, Eastern held firm to secure the result.
The Eagles return to action on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 4 p.m. PT against Hawaii Pacific.
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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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