Eagles take to road
Eastern Washington University’s soccer team finds itself in a rare position and facing a difficult challenge as it heads into the final week of the regular season.
The Eagles (6-6-2) sit alone atop the Big Sky Conference with a conference record of 3-0-1 following last Sunday’s 1-0 win over Sacramento State (7-4-4, 3-1-1) in Cheney.
But now the Eagles must close regular-season play with three consecutive Big Sky road games, beginning with Friday’s 6 p.m. match against Northern Colorado (4-9-1, 0-4) in Greeley.
Then comes a noon Sunday showdown against Northern Arizona (7-7-1, 2-2) in Flagstaff, followed by a 3 p.m. regular-season finale against Montana (3-11-1, 1-2-1) in Missoula on Oct. 30.
The Eagles are unbeaten in their last six games and own the longest such streak in school history. They have already beaten second-place Idaho State (8-5, 3-1) and tied Portland State (8-6-2, 2-1-1), the team tied with Sacramento State for third place in the BSC standings.
Still, EWU head coach George Hageage is keeping his team’s immediate goals simple.
“Today’s win puts us one step closer to getting into the (Big Sky) tournament,” he said following Sunday’s Senior Day win over the Hornets, prior to which seniors Mandy Cheney, Brittney Doran, Chelsey Hanneson and Morgan O’Friel were honored at their last home game. “Now we need to focus on Northern Colorado and, hopefully, get a win there and then fight the last two games for a regular-season championship.”
Cougars prepare for Stanford
Washington State’s nationally ranked women’s team is asking fans to show up in big numbers – and donned in Crimson – on Friday, when the Cougars entertain Stanford, the nation’s top-ranked team, in a Pacific-10 Conference match at 3 p.m.
The Cardinal (15-0, 4-0 Pac-10) have already beaten six teams ranked in the Top 25 and can add to the impressive number with a win over WSU (10-3-1, 2-0-1), which is ranked No. 23 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America weekly poll.
The Cougars are hoping to set an attendance record for a home soccer match against Stanford, which has won the last four games between the two schools and leads the series 5-2-1.
WSU’s home attendance mark is 1,085, set in 1993, but the Cougars came close to matching that when they drew 1,007 to this year’s season opener against Idaho.
Highlight video assists Vandals
Idaho women’s coach Pete Showler kept his Vandals loose prior to last Sunday’s Western Athletic Conference home match against archrival Boise State by showing a highlight video instead of talking about the Broncos.
The strategy paid off in a 3-1 victory that featured a pair of second-half goals by freshman Chelsea Small and snapped a three-game losing streak for the Vandals (9-7, 2-3 WAC).
According to senior defender Sari Morrison, who experienced her first Governor’s Cup win over BSU (7-6-4, 2-3), the Vandals didn’t discuss the Broncos before taking the field.
“The coaches just showed us a highlight video before the game,” Morrison said. “They just said, ‘Look, you guys can score goals. You’ve done it all year. Let’s just go back to having fun.’
“And today was fun.”
Corner kicks
The 1-0 win by Whitworth’s women (12-3, 9-2 Northwest Conference) over visiting Puget Sound on Sunday ended an 11-game winless streak against the Loggers (12-1, 9-1) and also snapped their 25-match winning streak against NWC opponents. … Whitworth’s men (9-2-2, 7-1-1) are tied with Pacific (11-2-1, 7-1-1) atop the NWC standings and have a key match against the Boxers coming up Sunday in Forest Grove, Ore. Prior to that, the Pirates must take care of business Saturday on the road against George Fox (4-10, 1-8).