Eagle women open season on the pitch

CHENEY - The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team is inching closer to the start of the 2021 fall season. The Eagles have been training hard under newly named head coach Missy Strasburg and are excited for the upcoming season that looks to be operated in normal fashion following an unusual 2021 spring season.

"As a staff, we are very happy and impressed with the extra energy shown so far," Strasburg said. "From the resilience displayed to the quality of play, we are extremely excited about what will come this season."

Eastern Washington, which has won a Big Sky Conference Tournament title in two out of the last five seasons, is looking to build on a shortened season that saw a winning 5-4-2 finish last spring. Additionally, the 2021 spring squad finished above .500 for the seventh season in a row and has a standard focus around winning.

The opening of the 2021 fall schedule was delayed a bit as the Eagles Aug. 13 match with Columbia Basin was postponed due to wildfire smoke and will not be rescheduled.

Who's back

The Eagles welcome back 23 returners and nine starters to this year's squad. In addition, the 2021 fall roster is filled with the 2019 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and 2020 second-team defender, Taylor Matheny, first-team selection Madison Kem and second-team selection Sariah Keister.

Forwards: The Eagles return a solid number of veterans on the front line including leading goal scorer Matheny, along with Maddie Morgan who earned herself two goals and three assists in the 11 matches played.

A senior, Matheny scored three goals and three assists to collect nine points, the most on the team, as well as tied for first in Big Sky Conference play for assists. Morgan, a sophomore, earned Big Sky Player of the Week (March 15) after scoring two goals and tallying an assist for five points across two matches versus Portland State.

Another threat in the EWU attacking position is second-team All-Big Sky forward Sariah Keister, who scored two goals for the Eagles last season, as she returns for her senior year at Eastern.

Grace Terrill returns as a freshman after competing in a shortened 2021 spring schedule in which she scored two goals and took 11 total shots, six on target.

Sophomore Brooke Flores returns on the frontlines after scoring one goal and handing out one assist against the College of Idaho last spring.

Midfielders: After receiving Newcomer of the Year during her freshman year, first-team selection Madison Kem returns for her sophomore year to control the midfield as she played and started in all 11 matches for the Eagles last season.

Another force in the midfield is Brittany Delridge as she returns as a redshirt-junior coming off a three-point season after scoring one goal and one assist last spring.

Joining this group are junior Kaelyn Barnes and sophomores Corina Froehle and Kalista Kakou. Barnes played in four matches for the Eagles and 60 minutes on the pitch, while Froehle contributed in three matches and Kakou competed in seven matches. Additionally, redshirt-junior Mareonna Henderson returns after competing in four matches and logging 51 minutes.

Defenders: A trio of juniors in Jordyn King, Janae Lee and Marissa Mills return to the starting lineup for the Eagles. King started in all 11 matches for the Eagles while Lee played in all 11 and represented the starting line-up in nine matches. Mills played in all 11 matches with six starts and one assist against Montana (April 9), which opened-up the scoring. Additionally, all three players anchored the Eagle backline and finished with four total shutouts during the season.

The Eagles welcome back junior Mya Elder-Hammond who played in 11 matches and started in one. Elder-Hammond is no stranger to EWU as she has a second-team All-Big Sky midfielder nod under her belt and returns to assist in the defensive midfielder role.

Goalkeeper Kelsee Winston is back for her senior year. Winston has earned a Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week nod at least once in every season with EWU and holds the school record in career shutouts with 18. Winston picked up her fourth defensive award after helping the Eagles shutout the College of Idaho, 5-0, at Roos Field (Feb. 28) for their home-opener.

Last season, in EWU's season-opener at Washington State on Feb. 12, she notched a career-high 13 saves and made seven against Gonzaga in the match after. In the season prior, she led the Eagles on a seven-game unbeaten streak recording four-straight shutouts and finished the season with six total shutouts. 

Who's new

Eastern welcomes not only a new experienced coach, but also five newcomers to the program. All are expected to help the Eagles soar into the new season.

The new Eagles include forward Gillian Martin and midfielders Rylee Franklin, Allie Jones and Katrina Kupp. Additionally, defender Miranda Matson, sister to EWU goalkeeper Kiara Matson, joins the Eagle squad as a true freshman.

The season

The Eagles finished the 2021 spring season with a winning record for the sixth-straight year, finishing 5-4-2 with a 4-2-2 conference record, collecting the fourth best record across all BSC programs. 

The 2021 fall schedule includes 16 total regular season matches and one exhibition, with nine to be played at home. Eastern's non-conference schedule begins on Aug. 19 at Gonzaga.

The first official home match for Eastern Washington takes place on Saturday, Aug. 21 against Arkansas State. Following the match, the Eagles travel to face Washington State and Seattle before returning home to host CSU Bakersfield and St. Thomas on Sept. 5 and Sept. 16, respectively. To conclude non-conference play, the Eagles travel to face Texas Tech on Sept. 19.

Big Sky Conference play begins Sept. 24 against Idaho State on the road. The Eagles stay on the road to face Weber State on Sept. 26 and then return home for two matches at the EWU Soccer Field against Southern Utah on Oct. 1 and Northern Arizona on Oct. 3.

The following weekend consists of two away matches versus Portland State on Oct. 8 and Sacramento State on Oct. 10. The regular season closes with home matches against Northern Colorado on Oct. 15, Montana on Oct. 17 and Idaho on Oct. 24.  

The first round of the Big Sky Conference Championships takes place Nov. 3-7 in Greeley, Colo., with the winner of the tournament receiving the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.