The 2009 Fall sports season at Eastern Oregon University is one to remember. The Mountaineers broke records, competed at a national level, and finished near the top of the conference.
VOLLEYBALL
The Eastern Oregon volleyball team finished its season in the conference semifinals after a third place finish, led by a co-Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year, and a coach no one will forget at EOU.
The Mountaineers finished their season 15-9 overall, and a conference record of 13-5. Eight of the nine Eastern Oregon losses came to ranked opponents this season. The Mountaineers had their highest seed in the conference tournament since 1990. After beginning the season receiving three votes, Eastern received a vote in every poll in 2009. It's highest amount of votes on Oct. 13 with 28, but failed to crack the top 25.
Kaki Morehead collected her 61st victory at Eastern Oregon, the second highest total amongst coaches in the program's history. She announced following the semifinal season-ending loss to No. 13 Southern that she would not be returning for a fifth season. Morehead ends with the highest winning percentage in school history (.610).
Grace Deboodt finished her career at Eastern setting eight new school records and was named a co-conference player of the year. She was also named to her third consecutive all-conference first team. Joining Deboodt was Jessica Lea who was named to her second straight first-team in her sophomore season.
SOCCER
The Mountaineer soccer team began its season with an 0-4 start and a tough trip to Southern California.
Eastern Oregon went from the bottom to the top … literally.
EOU started the conference schedule by winning its first three games and stood atop the Cascade Conference standings. The Mountaineers knocked off Oregon Tech, who was 8-1 at the time, in Klamath Falls to collect the third straight win.
Eastern Oregon routed Northwest Christian University on Senior Day in La Grande, 7-1. EOU shot a school-record 35 times in the win, putting 19 on goal. Tennly Paul-Bowden finished her last game in La Grande with a hat trick and added an assist. She shot 11 times against the Beacons, before that game the Mountaineers had only shot 11 times as a team in a game twice in 2009.
EOU's Martha Billings and Courtney Gaskell ended their careers on the All-Cascade Conference second team. Paul-Bowden and Lori Wilson, each seniors, finished on the conference honorable mention team.
FOOTBALL
A season of numbers. 30 … school records broken in 2009. 7 … wins in a season, only the third time in 80 years EOU has done that. 43 … points scored on No. 2 Carroll College, the most scored on the five-time national champion in a decade. 8 … straight weeks the Mountaineers stayed in the national top 25.
Eastern Oregon climbed as high as No. 19, and played in a NAIA National Game of the Week. To put it simple, EOU had its best season in almost 30 years.
The Mountaineers were ranked in the top 20 in 12 different statistical categories. The offense amassed over 4,800 yards, led by quarterback Chris Ware. The sophomore sensation ended the season with 3,811 yards of total offense. He was named a national player of the week and maybe the conference player of the year.
Eastern Oregon packed the stands in La Grande and its traveling offensive showcase attracted fans on its away games. Numerous opposing broadcasters called the EOU offense the “best they have ever seen,” and “one of, if not the most dangerous in the nation.”
CROSS COUNTRY
It was a season of growth for the EOU harriers. Nationally underrated to begin the season, the Mountaineer women climbed as high as No. 19 during the regular season, while the men rose to No. 18.
Karlee Coffey raced to a first place finish at the 'Yote Twilight Meet in Caldwell, Idaho, and DJ Flores paced the men with several top ten finishes. The two freshman have run far beyond their years this season. Coffey finished in the top four of every race but one in 2009.
Coffey, a La Grande native, finished the season with a 12th place finish at the NAIA National Championships. She became only the third women's Mountaineer runner to be titled an All-American as a freshman.
The Eastern Oregon men had their highest finish at nationals since 2004 when they came in 7th. The Mountaineers 12th place finish in Vancouver, Wash., matched head coach
Ben Welch's first season finish at the national meet. Flores' 16th place finish was the highest ever as a freshman at Eastern. The last male runner to be named to the All-American team as a freshman was in 1967.
