After seven home games in a row, the EWU women’s soccer team finally hit the road on Oct. 6 and Oct. 8 with a pair of road games. The weekend was a successful one as the Eagles defeated the University of North Dakota 2-1 on Friday, before beating the University of North Colorado 2-0 on Sunday. EWU is now 4-0-1 in conference play, which is good for first place in the Big Sky Conference.

When the Eagles stepped onto the field at UND, it was the first time they played on the road since Sept. 3. It didn’t take long for Eastern to get on the scoreboard. In the fourth  minute of the match, senior midfielder Aimie Inthoulay received a pass from freshman midfielder Emma Vanderhyden. Inthoulay was able to beat UND sophomore goalie Catherine Klein for her second goal of the season. This would be the last time Klein would be scored on  until overtime.

EWU senior forward Chloe Williams entered the match one goal shy of the BSC all-time record. Midway through the first  half, Williams got her first shot off, but it was into a crowd of UND defenders. Less than a minute later, she got another opportunity and had a shot on goal. Klein read Williams well, however, and was able to make the save. Williams finished with six shots (two on goal), but was not able make any of them.

The score would remain 1-0 through the rest of the first half, however, the Eagles did get a scare in the 36th minute. UND junior forward Kennedy Kidd was awarded a penalty kick for a foul near the goal, but senior goalkeeper Emily Busselman made a great save to protect  EWU’s lead.

UND would finally get on the board midway through the second half as junior forward Katie Moller got a ball past Busselman for her seventh goal of the season. That would be all the scoring either team would manage for the rest of regulation.

Five minutes into extra time, the game came to an end when Vanderhyden was able to beat Klein for the first goal of her career.

After the game, EWU head coach Chad Bodnar was happy to get a win on the road.

“Teams are always going to be tough to beat on the road in this conference and I’m proud of our kids for finding a way,” said Bodnar. “We weren’t as sharp as we usually are in front of goal, but we strung some good stuff together going forward. We just didn’t put the final touch on it today. Now we hit the airport and on to Colorado for a very tough UNC team. I’m proud of our kids for grinding one out.”

On Sunday, both teams started very slow. The score was still 0-0 at halftime. While the Eagles had nine shots in the half, there weren’t any real scoring opportunities for either team.

It wouldn’t take long into the second half for the first scoring opportunity to occur. UNC sophomore midfielder Olivia Seddon had a one-on-one with Busselman, but Busselman was able to make the save for EWU.

Later in the second  half, Eastern would finally break the tie with a pair of goals. In the 60th minute, junior forward Devan Talley hit sophomore forward Saige Lyons with a perfect pass. Lyons was able to beat UNC senior goalkeeper Madeline Burdick for the goal. 10 minutes later, junior midfielder Jenny Chavez launched a shot from 40 feet away. The ball sailed into the upper left corner of the goal and the Eagles took a 2-0 lead.

Coach Bodnar saw the road trip as a success.

“The road trip as a whole showed a toughness in our group to get two wins with tough travel,” Bodnar said. We continue to grow and get better in different areas as a team each week and I’m extremely proud of our whole team.”

Williams, who was held to one shot on goal on Sunday, will now have a chance to get the record in front of EWU fans as the Eagles have a pair of home games this weekend. On Friday, Oct. 13, EWU takes on Portland State University at 3 p.m. The University of Montana then comes to Cheney on Sunday, Oct. 15 for a 1 p.m. start time. Admission for both games is free.