LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University women's soccer dropped Friday night's contest, 1-0, to Rocky Mountain College despite outshooting the Battlin' Bears 14-9.
The Mountaineers took early control, with
Makenna Moore forcing the RMC goalkeeper into a save just four minutes into the match. EOU added three more shots and earned two corner kicks over the next 14 minutes while limiting Rocky Mountain's offensive opportunities. Despite EOU's early pressure, Rocky Mountain capitalized on a corner kick in the 21st minute. Reese Jeffers delivered the set piece, and Ava Gibson found the back of the net to give the Battlin' Bears a 1-0 lead. The Mountaineers continued searching for an equalizer before halftime.
Cassidy Harding put a shot on target in the 30th minute, but RMC goalkeeper Matea Vernon made the save to keep EOU off the scoreboard. Rocky Mountain carried its one-goal advantage into the break.
EOU maintained its attacking pressure in the second half, creating multiple opportunities to level the match.
Calie Hitt tested Vernon just two minutes after the restart, and
Gracie Rainsberry followed with a shot on target in the 51st minute. Rainsberry continued to challenge the Rocky Mountain defense, recording several additional attempts in the second half. The Mountaineers' best late opportunities came from
Ashley Smith, who forced Vernon into two saves as EOU pushed for the equalizer. However, the Battlin' Bears held firm through the final whistle to secure the conference victory.
Eastern Oregon finished with advantages in total shots (14-9) and shots on goal (6-3), while both teams recorded three corner kicks. Goalkeeper
Elysa Morse made two saves for the Mountaineers, while Vernon finished with six saves for Rocky Mountain.
Despite generating more attacking opportunities, EOU could not find the breakthrough as Rocky Mountain escaped La Grande with the narrow 1-0 win.
The Mountaineers will look to bounce back tomorrow when they host Carroll College at 4 p.m. PT.
