CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington battled Idaho State to a scoreless draw on Thursday afternoon. The Eagles finished with seven shots, including one on goal, while
Payton Hyde anchored the defense with three saves across the full 90 minutes to secure the clean sheet.
Delaney Deckett led Eastern with two shots and recorded the Eagles' lone shot on goal, while
Ella Hyde added two shots off the bench.
"Is a point better than dropping that game? For sure," head coach
Missy Strasburg said. "Idaho State, to their credit, had some incredibly dangerous chances today. Pleased with how we defended that, pleased with our goalkeeping today, for sure. It's a shutout, it's a clean sheet, so we take that and that's a really positive thing for us to move forward with."
Idaho State generated the first shot on goal in the 13th minute, but Hyde was there for the save. The Bengals continued to apply pressure midway through the opening half, earning three corner kicks in a four-minute stretch. Hyde was tested again in the 24th minute, turning away Lena Bonnard after her initial attempt was blocked.
Eastern began to find its attack later in the half.
Faith Hines recorded the Eagles' first shot in the 31st minute before Deckett put Eastern's first attempt on frame three minutes later, forcing a save from Idaho State goalkeeper Aliya Garrett. Eastern earned its first corner with 16 seconds remaining, but the teams went into halftime scoreless.
The Eagles created more pressure after the break, with
Maya Bossenbrook having a shot blocked in the 51st minute before Eastern earned a corner in the 56th. Idaho State answered with an opportunity of its own, but Hyde denied Parker Sullivan in the 57th minute to preserve the clean sheet.
Eastern continued to find opportunities from the wide areas midway through the half.
Ella Hyde had a pair of shots blocked, while Deckett sent an attempt off target.
Addison Stendera added another look in the 73rd minute, sending her shot wide.
"We were much better in that second half of exposing them wide, running at them," Strasburg said. "It's really just, again, a little lack of quality today for us in terms of finishing those chances."
The Bengals pushed forward late, but Eastern's back line stood strong. Eastern made one final push, earning back-to-back corner in the closing minutes, but could not find the deciding goal.
"We're going to feel good about this defensively," Strasburg said. "On the attacking side, it just wasn't our best, most polished, most explosive day. All good. We turn the page and get into Sunday against a very, very good Weber State team, and we bring out a more explosive attacking presence."
Up Next
Eastern will stay home to take on Weber State on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m., at the EWU Soccer Field.
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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