LA GRANDE, Ore. – A ranked opponent didn't stop the Eastern Oregon University women's soccer team from its winning ways, as the Mountaineers took down No 20 Northwest, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in front of a noisy crowd at the EOU soccer field.
"I'm extremely proud of the girls today," said head women's soccer coach Justin Wagar. "Anytime you play a nationally-ranked team, it's going to be a battle, and we came out ready to play and kept our composure all throughout. Today's effort was an improvement on our game yesterday because we played as a team for the full 90 minutes."
Last season's regular-season champion of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), Northwest was picked as the preseason favorite in the league, while EOU was tabbed seventh in that poll.
Six of the seven Mountaineer victories have been shutouts this season.
"Defensively, all of our players worked hard to earn the shutout," said Wagar. "Freshmen Zoe Anderson came out big in the first half, and senior Crystal Schuder helped seal it for us in the end. I'm happy with how we started conference play. Now its time to prepare for two very tough teams coming to town for next weekend's games."
Key Performances
Anderson continued the brilliant start to her young career, scoring two goals for the Mountaineers. Meanwhile, Schuder remained consistent with a goal and an assist.
In the box, junior goalkeeper Jessica Parker (7-0) collected her third shutout of the season, and she currently boasts a CCC-best 0.36 goals against average.
The Storyline
The Mountaineers didn't waste any time putting the pressure on the Eagles, as Anderson received a cross from Schuder and sent it into the back of the net in the 6th minute to put EOU on the board.
After Parker scooped up a key save in the 25th minute, Anderson tallied her second goal of the afternoon just five minutes later to give EOU a 2-0 lead.
Besides the two goals from Anderson, it was a fairly evenly played contest in the opening 45 minutes. EOU edged Northwest in both the shot category, 6-4, and in corner kicks, 3-2.
The second half saw a hungry EOU team looking to add to the damage, as the Mountaineers outshot a frustrated Eagles team, 6-1.
In the 61st minute, Schuder beat her opponent and used her strength to score to put EOU ahead, 3-0.
In what was a highly contested contest, Northwest (2-5, 0-2 CCC) came away with three yellow cards and a red card that was issued in the second half due to disorderly conduct.
Stat of the Match
1 – Shot allowed by EOU in the second half.
Up Next
EOU (7-0, 2-0 CCC) looks to continue its winning ways on Sept. 25 against Great Falls in La Grande at 5:30 p.m.
