With two wins, EWU soccer clinches regular season title and Chloe Williams breaks Big Sky goal record

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By Jeremy Burnham, Staff Reporter

The EWU women’s soccer team traveled to Idaho State University on Friday, Oct. 20, and Weber State University on Sunday, Oct. 22. They came home with two wins, six points, and a Big Sky Conference regular season championship. On top of that, they earned themselves at least one more home game, and senior forward Chloe Williams took sole possession of the BSC all time goal record. Not bad for a weekend road trip.

Going into the game on Friday, the Eagles were two wins, or two Portland State University losses, away from wrapping up the regular season championship. Any combination of those two things would also clinch the title for EWU. So, when PSU lost on Friday morning, The Eagles knew that one win was all they needed.

Williams also entered this game tied for the goals record. Adding interest, was the fact that Idaho State was the school Amanda Ellsworth, the previous owner of the goal record, played for. Williams had the opportunity to break Ellsworth’s record on her own field.

ISU was not able to put up much resistance on the defensive side of the ball. In just the third minute of play, senior midfielder Aimie Inthoulay found Williams in scoring position. Williams sent the ball into the back of the net for her 40th career goal, breaking the BSC record, and giving the Eagles a lead they would not surrender for the rest of the game.

But Williams wasn’t done yet. Less than four minutes later, she picked up her 100th career point on  an assist to junior forward Devan Talley. Earlier this season, Williams became the first player in the conference to reach 90 points when she broke Ellsworth’s record of 89. She is now the first player to hit triple digits.

EWU went on to outshoot ISU 23-10 in their 4-2 victory. Junior midfielder Jenny Chavez and sophomore forward Saige Lyons also picked up goals for the Eagles. Sophomore midfielder Makena Bambei and sophomore forward Brooke Kortekaas had goals for the Bengals .

EWU head coach Chad Bodnar was pleased with his team after the game, but stressed they still had some work to do.

“It’s great to see our players accomplish our goal of hosting the tournament, and I’m extremely proud of all of them as well as our staff,” said Bodnar. “We have more goals to accomplish this season and a lot of work left to do. We will enjoy this tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”

On Sunday, the Eagles took on a Weber State team needing a win to keep its slim postseason chances alive. Early on in the game, it was easy to see which team needed a win. WSU came out attacking, and scored the first goal of the game. Though EWU outshot WSU 6-2 in the first half, the Eagles were limited in their actual scoring chances and were held scoreless heading into halftime.

EWU came out for the second half with a little more energy. Williams would take the game into her hands, as she scored her No. 41 and No. 42 career goal. Her point total increased to 104.

On defense, the Eagles limited the Wildcats to three second half shots, with only one of them on goal. EWU left with a 2-1 victory.

“Today was just an overall gritty win for us and it’s nice to see that we can go down in a game and respond with effort and get a result,” said Bodnar. “I’m very proud of our group as we keep growing in different areas this season.”

EWU has one regular season game remaining. On Friday, Oct. 27, the Eagles will travel to the University of Idaho. They will then return home to Cheney to host the BSC championship tournament, where the top six teams will face off.

Teams seeded three through six will play in the quarterfinals on Nov. 1. The top two teams will receive a first round bye. The Eagles will play their semi-final game on Friday Nov. 3.  The championship game will on Sunday, Nov. 5.