Box Score



GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The Eastern Oregon women's soccer team fell in its season opener at the University of Great Falls in overtime, 2-1.

“It was frustrating,” EOU head coach Jennifer Simonetti said. “We hit the post twice, missed three one-on-one breakaways, and their goalkeeper made four extremely tough saves. We are a very young team and low in numbers due to injury, so 13 players played the majority of the 96 minutes with six freshmen getting huge minutes.

“We gave up two goals on two shots on goal, but overall our defense was very solid. The first goal came out of not marking tight in the midfield; the second was a counter-attack when we lost the ball in our attack.”

In the season opener for both programs, it was the Argos (1-0) that begin the season with a win. Ashley Todd began her collegiate career with an unforgettable start. The freshman found the back of the net twice in the victory.

“I give UGF a lot of credit for playing tough the entire time, even when we attacked the entire second half,” Simonetti said.

The Mountaineers took nine shots, two more than UGF. EOU had four corner kicks, again two more than the Argos. Great Falls was assessed 10 fouls, while Eastern had seven.

Erika Whitehurst opened the scoring in the 38th minute on a penalty kick, putting the Mountaineers up 1-0. Less than a minute before halftime, Todd was credited with an unassisted goal. Todd scored the clincher four minutes into the extra period. Cass Gross received the assist after sending a cross to Todd.

Jocelyn Morris made four saves for UGF. Eastern's Kailey Moss saved three shots. This was a rematch of last season's meeting Great Falls that the Mountaineers won 6-2. The teams will meet again in the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Conference Challenge on Sept. 7.

“We are working through injuries and the youngness of our squad, but once our roster numbers improve and we learn our individual roles better, all of our mistakes are easy to fix,” Simonetti said. “We just need to finish the opportunities that we create and have better composure on the ball in the attacking third.

“Our freshmen class looks incredibly strong and our returners starting are providing great leadership on and off the field. I don't think it will take long for our women to finally click, but hopefully we can get some results in the meantime and fix some small personal mistakes every game as we go.”

Eastern Oregon is at Rocky Mountain College Sunday. Kickoff against the Battlin' Bears is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT.