LA GRANDE, Ore. – The last time Eastern Oregon University Women's Soccer played in the fall, the team was hoisting a conference tournament trophy. Two years later and the Mountaineer women are ready to get back into a full slate of action and reclaim more than just one trophy. Read below to learn about the 2021 EOU Women's Soccer team as they begin the season this weekend.
 
2021 Season Outlook
• The Mountaineers will once again look to win another Cascade Collegiate Conference title and earn a return trip to the NAIA National Championships for the fifhh year in a row and sixth overall. Going into 2021, EOU is picked as the favorite to win the CCC.
• Besides being the odds-on favorite to win the conference crown, Eastern is also the highest ranked team in the league as they begin the 2021 campaign as the No. 10 team in the first edition of the NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll.
• Depth and experience will be what leads the Mountaineers in 2021 as the team brings back 19 letterwinners from last season and eight starters. 10 newcomers grace the squad this year, while 20 upperclassmen make up the team, which includes 11 seniors.
• The Mountaineers will look forward to playing a full schedule this year and get to take on some familiar opponents in non-conference play. With a squad that features 29 players, EOU is reloaded and ready to make another run in 2021.
 
2020 Season Review
• Despite not winning a title in what was a modified 2020 season, the Mountaineers still posted a winning record and were able earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships. EOU made it to the final site for the third straight year, this time as the champions of the Santa Barbara bracket.
• Eastern went into the final site of the NAIA Tournament as the No. 10 seed and was eliminated in the first round to No. 7-seeded Spring Arbor. EOU finished the year ranked No. 10 in the NAIA, which was the highest of any team out of the CCC.
• In conference play, the CCC was split into two divisions and played in the Spring of 2021. EOU was put in the East Division and finished second overall with a conference record of 5-1-2. For the year, EOU posted an overall record of 8-2-3.
• Along the way in 2020, Head Coach Jacob Plocher picked up his 50th career win as the EOU bench boss. His 50th win at EOU came back on March 14 in the mountaineers 2-0 road win at Carroll College.
• Two players were named NAIA All-Americans in Cassidy Quick and Sarah Mitchell. Both were tabbed Honorable Mention All-Americans after earning First Team All-CCC honors.
• In all, the Mountaineers had five All-CCC selections for the 2020 season. Mitchell and Quick were both first team picks, while Hannah Jenkins, Erika Skindlov, and Morgan Farrington were all named Second Team All-CCC.
 
The Jacob Plocher File
• Head Coach Jacob Plocher enters his fifth season at the helm of leading EOU women's soccer. In four seasons he has posted a 53-12-11 record with the Mountaineers.
• In the first four seasons at EOU, Plocher guided the Mounties to a pair of CCC regular season and tournament titles. The Mountaineers have also made it to the NAIA National Tournament each of the last four seasons under Plocher's leadership.
• Prior to joining the Mountaineers, Coach Plocher spent four seasons as the head coach at Presentation College in South Dakota.
 
POSITION BREAKDOWN
Forwards
• Leading the way on the front end of the Mountaineers offense will be seven players, with four also likely to see time at the midfield position. Coming in as pure forwards are Mackinley Gregus, Jersey Heiss, and Morgan Farrington. The remaining four forwards that will also potentially play in the midfield are Erika Skindlov, Gracie Hoover, Jordan Bartlow, and Lindsay Balkenbush.
• Farrington, Skindlov, Gregus, and Balkenbush are all returners and will look to guide the three newcomers. Farrington led the team goals and points in 2020 with six and 12, respectively. Gregus comes into the 2021 campaign as the top assist getter from last year as she had three. Both players appeared in all 13 games last season. Farrington was a starter in 12 contests, while Gregus a key reserve off the bench.
• Skindlov and Balkenbush are no strangers to facilitating the offense as both played key roles last season in helping guide the EOU offense. Balkenbush appeared in all 13 games in 2020 and was a starter in 12, while Skindlov played in 12 and came on late in the year to be a starter in seven contests.
• New this season to the forwards in Bartlow, Heiss, and Hoover. Both Bartlow and Heiss come from the state of Washington as true freshmen, while Hoover hails from the final frontier of Alaska, also as a true freshman.
 
Midfielders
• The midfield unit for EOU is composed of 15 athletes, with five playing purely at that position. Six of the 15 athletes will also potentially see playing time at defender, while the remaining four may see time at forward as well.
• Playing at the pure midfield position this year Corynn Vigil, Sarah Mitchell, Kaitlyn McLeod, Brooke Ford, and Lexi Maslowski. Playing at midfielder and defender are Natalie Goeth, Kara Gooderham, Kasey Johnson, Darby McDevitt, Katie Arnold, and Tally Connors.
• This group does boast a quality amount of experience with multiple players seeing time on the pitch over the past 2-3 seasons. Leading this group is Mitchell who is in her final season and is a returning All-American. She will have help from fellow seniors in Goeth, Vigil, McLeod, Arnold, and Maslowski.
• Arnold, Vigil, and McLeod all are returners who logged quality time in 2020 as juniors. McLeod was third on the team in points last year with six. Maslowski comes to EOU as an NCAA Division I transfer from Austin Peay State. Goeth is back for her second stint at EOU. She played for the Mounties in 2017 before transferring to Arizona Christian. Bartlow is the only true freshman of this group as she hails from the Evergreen State of Washington.
• Also back in 2021 Gooderham, Johnson, Ford, McDevitt, and Connors. All five players played in 2020 and were key components on both sides of the ball. Ford is the only relative newcomer of the five as she transferred at winter term, while the remaining four have been a part of the EOU squad for 2-3 seasons.
 
Defenders
• The Mountaineers' defensive unit will be made up of 15 total student-athletes, but only nine are listed as pure defenders, while the remaining six will also see some time at midfield. The pure defenders in this group are Megan Gustafson, Kayla Storm, Alexandria Segeberg, Mikenna Rasmussen, Yahaira Chavarria-Mondragon, Hannah Jenkins, Chloe Flynn, Cassidy Quick, and Paige Farrington.
• Quick will look to be the leader of this group as she enters her junior season. A returning All-American and two-time All-CCC selection, she has anchored the defense each of the last two seasons. She will have help with the return of three seniors in Jenkins, Chavarria-Mondragon, and Storm, all who know the scheme of the EOU defense.
• All five returners listed above appeared in 10-plus games in 2020 and were key components of a defense that posted eight shutouts during the year. This quintet has the potential to showcase another high level defense in the NAIA in 2021. Rasmussen also adds depth having been with the team since 2019, but redshirted the 2020 season.
• New to the squad for this group is Gustafson, Segeberg, Flynn, and Farrington. Segeberg is the only transfer of the group as she played at Life Pacific University before joining the EOU team. The remaining three athletes all come from the state of Idaho as true freshmen.
 
Goalkeepers
• The Mountaineers have just two goalkeepers this year once again, with one being a returner and the other coming in as a true freshman. Kiara Fontanilla is back for her second season at EOU, while Madeline Barker is the newcomer.
• Fontanilla appeared in six games last season in net, all of which were as a starter. She posted an undefeated record on 5-0-1 and all five of her wins were in shutout fashion. She finished the 2020 season with 19 saves and had a .950 save percentage.
• Barker posted a solid prep career while playing at R.A. long High School. She was a four-time All-League selection and was a team captain in her final two seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
No. 3 Spring Arbor
• The Cougars come into the 2021 campaign nationally ranked in the top-five of the NAIA as they begin the year as the No. 3 team in the country. They finished the 2020 season at 15-2-2 and were able to advance to last year's NAIA National Semifinals.
• Going into Friday's match against EOU, the Cougars already have one match under their belt. They battled to a 1-1 tie on Monday, Aug. 16. Their match against the Mountaineers will be their second of the season and a rematch from the first round of last year's NAIA National Championships.
• SAU had four athletes rack up double-digit goals last season and all four are back. Leading scorer Mackenzie Selvius had 18 goals to go along with three assists for 39 points in 2020. She already has one goal on the year that scored against Embry-Riddle earlier this week.
• The Marshall sisters, Lauren and Madison, are back and were tied at No. 2 in total points. Lauren had a solid debut as a freshman in 2020 scoring 15 goals to go along with seven assists. Madison also matched her sister's total in both categories during her junior campaign.
• Rounding out the double figure scoring from last season is senior Lexi Ponstein. In 19 starts, she scored 10 goals and was the team leader in assists with 10 for a total of 30 points.
• The Cougars also had four athletes earn Honorable Mention All-American status and all four are back as well. Selvius was a First Team selection, while Becca Mindling and Lauren Marshall were Second Team selections. Samantha Tracey rounds out the quartet as a Third Team pick at goalkeeper.
 
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
• The Eagles did not compete in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to playing against Spring Arbor on Monday, Aug. 16, Embry-Riddle last played in 2019 and finished with an overall record of 13-4-4. The Eagles come into the 2021 season garnering national attention and are in the receiving votes category of the NAIA top-25 poll.
• Leading the team in scoring early on this year is Raelyn Yoshioka who scored the lone goal for the Eagles in game one. Leading goal scorer from the 2019 season in Sierra Vincente is back for her senior season. She scored 11 goals and dished out seven assists for a team best 29 points.
• Also back from the 2019 campaign is Katy Hyde who was third on the team in points. She had six goals scored and tallied eight assists for 20 points that year. Both Hyde and Vicente will look to lead the way for the Eagles offense after not playing in just over 21 months.
• In net, Makenzie Osther will look to help guide the defense. She started game one against Spring Arbor and logged all 110 minutes of action. In 2019, she appeared in just three games and made eight saves. Against the Cougars, she had five saves.
 
Up Next
• Following the two games this weekend, EOU will not be back in action until mid-September. The Mountaineers will host Westmont College (Calif.) on Sept. 13 inside Community Stadium. Kickoff against the Warriors is set for 5 p.m. PT.

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