CHENEY, Washington — The preseason is over, now the season begins. The Eastern Washington women’s soccer team will open the 2024 season with four consecutive road games. This weekend, they travel to the East Coast to play the Troy Trojans on Thursday, August 15th at 4 p.m. and the Kennesaw State Owls on Sunday, August 18th at 10 a.m.
Troy finished last season 6-10-2 overall and 1-7-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Kennesaw State finished the season 4-8-7 overall and 3-5-3 in the ASUN Conference. This season, Kennesaw State will make its debut in a new conference with Conference USA. This will be Eastern’s first-ever meeting between the two opponents.
The Eagles were picked eighth in the Big Sky Conference Coaches Poll after finishing ninth in the 2023 season. Head Coach Missy Strasburg begins her fourth season as coach of the Eagles, who finished last season with a 2-14-1 overall record and 1-6-1 in conference play. Eastern can rely on 18 players and eight regulars from last year’s team and has signed ten new players.
Forward Gillian Martin and Chloe Pattinson lead all returnees with eight goals last season. Two juniors lead all returnees with the most minutes played in the team in Riley Arribas (1042) and Becca Gaido (1064).
The two goalkeepers are also back. Junior Kamryn Willoughby started in nine games and made a total of 64 saves, and Senior Kiara Matson started eight games and saved a total of 51 shots.
The Eagles played two exhibition games and finished the season 1-1 against the Washington Huskies and Thompson Rivers University. Eastern lost 2-0 in a tough match against a strong Big Ten opponent, the Huskies, but rebounded with a 3-1 victory over Thompson Rivers.
Eastern welcomes eleven new players for the 2024 season. Midfielder with college degree Isabelle HertingFirst-year striker Bella Bunnageand midfield newcomer Dakota Harris Both scored in their Eagles debut against the Huskies, while the junior midfielder Becca Gaido played the full 90 minutes. The returning goalkeeper Kamryn Willoughby also recorded 10 saves in the game.
The offense came to life and won 3-1 against Thompson Rivers. The goals were scored by Kendall Moore, Grace TerrillAnd Chloe Pattisonwith Moore and Katrina Kupp As a team, Eastern attempted 31 shots, 11 of which were on goal.
The Eagles continue their non-conference road schedule with games against South Dakota (Aug. 25) and Southern Utah (Aug. 29) before returning home for their first home game on the EWU football field on Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. when they host UC Davis.
After the first road game, Eastern will host five of its final six non-conference games at the EWU football field. The Eagles will also open the Big Sky Conference with three straight home games, hosting Portland State (Sept. 27), Sacramento State (Sept. 29) and defending Big Sky Conference tournament champion Idaho (Oct. 6).
The Eagles finish the season with four of their final five games on the road and host Senior Day against Weber State on October 20.
EWU will attempt to qualify for the Big Sky Tournament this season for the first time since 2019, when they advanced to the conference finals.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 varsity sports, six for men and eight for women, both as a learning opportunity for the most athletically gifted students and as an enrichment of 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 enrollment numbers and academic goals.
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