LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University men's soccer opened the final weekend of regular-season play in convincing fashion Friday night, shutting out the Evergreen Geoducks 3-0 behind a strong offensive showing and a dominant defensive effort.
The Mountaineers wasted little time putting pressure on the Evergreen defense.
Njabulo Nkosi nearly opened the scoring with a deep strike that rattled off the crossbar, narrowly missing an early goal. Just 5:36 into the match,
Christian Samayoa found the back of the net off an assist from
Jeff Jaimes to give Eastern Oregon a 1-0 advantage.
Davyd Fedina nearly doubled the lead just minutes later, forcing Geoduck goalkeeper Tom Cole to make a save. EOU continued to dictate the pace throughout the opening half, creating several additional scoring opportunities and keeping the pressure on Evergreen's defense. However, the Geoducks managed to turn away the Mountaineers' remaining attempts, sending the match into halftime with Eastern Oregon holding a 1-0 lead.
Returning from the break, the Mounties broke the game open. Just six minutes into the half
Henry Lopez doubled Eastern Oregon's lead, finishing a pass from
Davyd Fedina to put EOU up 2-0. Just under six minutes later,
Lance Nelson added another goal, extending the Mountaineers' advantage to 3-0 and putting the match firmly out of reach.
Eastern Oregon's defense was equally impressive, limiting Evergreen to just three shots throughout the contest, with only two finding their way on goal.
Kevin Pullara started in goal and played the first 70 minutes, while
Victor Melendez finished the match, combining for the clean sheet. Melendez recorded the Mountaineers' lone save of the evening. Offensively, EOU finished with a 14-3 advantage in shots and held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.
The victory moves Eastern Oregon to 5-3-6 overall and 5-2-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play, continuing the Mountaineers' strong push through the final stretch of the regular season.
Eastern Oregon will close out the regular season tomorrow, returning to Community Stadium to host Northwest University at 7:30 p.m. PT. EOU will honor the 2026 senior class at the conclusion of the game.
