CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington women's soccer earned its first Big Sky win of the season on Sunday, defeating Idaho State 2–0 at the EWU Sports & Recreation Soccer Field. The Eagles controlled the match from the opening whistle, fueled by defensive intensity and timely goals from
Delani Walker and
Chloe Pattison.
"It really started with the defending energy right out of the gate," said head coach
Missy Strasburg. "When we look at something like the foul count, which seems a little absurd, we know we're doing something right. It means our pressure's on time, we're aggressive, and we're on our front foot. From the first five, ten minutes we knew we were in a great spot, and we trained for that."
Eastern broke through in the 33rd minute when Walker converted from the penalty spot to give the Eagles the early advantage. In the second half, Pattison delivered a highlight-reel strike from well beyond the 18-yard box in the 66th minute, doubling the lead and securing her first goal in conference play.
"Chloe struggled a little bit to score in the last couple of games, and she's a goal scorer. So, yeah, big goal, really big goal, and definitely the fashion of that goal — she absolutely got a hold of that. It was such a really great 90-minute performance for her."
Eastern's back line and goalkeeper
Kamryn Willoughby shut the door on Idaho State, limiting the Bengals to just three shots on frame. Willoughby collected three saves to record the clean sheet, while EWU finished with 10 total shots and five on goal.
The win moves Eastern to 5-4-3 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky play heading into a crucial home matchup on Thursday.
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The Eagles will stay in Cheney to take on their conference rivals in Montana on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m.
"It's Montana. It goes without introduction. Our hope is that people can get out here to see that. We've historically had success against them, and to get them at home is pretty special. We're not looking weeks down the road, just one game at a time — and this is a big one."
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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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