MACOMB, Illinois – Eastern Washington rolled past Western Illinois, 3-1, to earn its fourth consecutive win and improve to 4-0 for the best start in program history.
Reese Kincaid and
Deanna Montero each recorded their first goal in an Eagle uniform, while
Mia Miconi added her third goal of the season late in the match.
"To put ourselves in a position today to win, and to learn while winning, is truly a blessing," head coach
Missy Strasburg said. "It was far from our best team performance this year, but we definitely celebrate our team for overcoming a lot of challenges today."
Eastern applied steady pressure throughout the opening half, creating several opportunities while limiting Western Illinois' attack.
Allison Bennett had one of the Eagles' first chances in the 18th minute, sending her shot just left of the net.
Miconi put Eastern's first shot on goal in the 24th minute, forcing a save from Western Illinois. Miconi and Bennett each added another attempt as the Eagles continued to push forward.
Eastern turned up the pressure late in the half with back-to-back corner kicks.
Iris Mattern had one shot saved and another blocked before Kincaid capitalized in the 44th minute, firing a shot into the upper-left corner of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage heading into halftime.
Montero doubled Eastern's lead in the 54th minute, striking from just outside the 18-yard box and finding the lower-right corner for her first goal as an Eagle. Eastern continued to generate opportunities following the goal, with
Delaney Deckett, Montero and Bennett all getting looks at the net.
"Some of the big highlights included the scoring of some significant goals, with
Reese Kincaid and
Deanna Montero both with first official college finishes," Strasburg said.
The Eagles' defense kept Western Illinois off the board for nearly the entire match, while the offense added one more late. Miconi put Eastern ahead 3-0 in the 88th minute, finishing an assist from
Faith Hines for her third goal in four games.
"Following a period of really physical play and hard fouls, Mia's goal, off a perfectly weighted through ball by
Faith Hines, came at an excellent time and really served as a statement moment for both her and the team," Strasburg said.
Western Illinois broke through in the 90th minute with a goal, but Eastern closed out the 3-1 victory to remain unbeaten and move to 4-0 for the first time in program history.
"Winning, especially on the road and on an extremely physical second match of the weekend, is always hard," Strasburg said. "This should be an amazing confidence grab for our team, that we can do hard things. We are so proud of this historical start. We turn our attention now to continuing to develop, to having an excellent middle of our season, and most importantly, to continue our pursuit of a historical finish, one match at a time."
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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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