For the second-straight week, the Eastern Washington women’s soccer team split a pair of matches, beating Northern Arizona University on Oct. 16 and falling to Southern Utah University on Oct. 18.

The Eagles started conference play 4-0 and have dropped two of their last three matches, each by one goal. With three matches remaining before the Big Sky conference tournament, the Eagles sit alone in third place in the standings with 15 points, needing just a draw to clinch a playoff berth.

The Eagles defeated the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 4-2 in the first match of the week, scoring three goals in the first half. The third goal came with just seconds left in the half, when Delaney Romero put away a cross from Savannah Hoekstra, putting the Eagles up 3-0.

The Eagles would not come close to relinquishing the lead, going up 4-0 in the second half before the Lumberjacks tacked on two late goals. Chloe Williams, Jenny Chavez, Tasha Luu and Romero each scored for the Eagles, with Williams assisting on two goals as well.

“We looked extremely sharp and were very good going forward. … We scored some great goals and looked good in possession and I thought our back line and goal keeping was very good,” said head coach Chad Bodnar.

The Eagles wouldn’t be as efficient two days later, where they fell to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, 1-0. The Eagles dropped to 5-2 in the Big Sky, while Southern Utah kept its playoff hopes alive, moving to 2-4-1 in conference play.

The lone goal of the match came from the Thunderbirds’ Logan Harker, unassisted while breaking away from the defense early in the second half.

The Eagles had 10 shots on goal but failed to find the back of the net, while the Thunderbirds had just six shots on goal and were able to capitalize once for a match-winning goal. Williams and Luu each finished with three shots on goal apiece.

“There is no excuse for our performance at home today,” said Bodnar. I obviously didn’t prepare our group well enough to get the result we should’ve gotten in a conference game at home. I need to do a better job. We will learn from it and continue the path forward.”

What’s Next: The Eagles make the trek to Greeley, Colorado for a match against Northern Colorado University on Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. The Eagles have a quick turnaround after the match, returning home to Cheney for an Oct. 25 tilt against the University of North Dakota. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.