FARMINGTON, UTAH – Coming off a seventh-place finish in the Big Sky in 2022, Eastern Washington women’s soccer was picked to finish fifth in the conference in a release on Thursday.

Eastern earned 35 points in the poll, one ahead of Sacramento State in sixth place and five points behind Montana in fourth place.

The Eagles had an overall record of 5-8-5 in 2022, including a 2-3-3 record in Big Sky matchups. Eastern will return nine of the team’s 11 starters from last year, including forward Maddie Morgan and midfielder Madison Kem who were both first-team All-Conference selections in 2022. Morgan was the Big Sky Co-Offensive Player of the Year as well as a co-Golden Boot award winner, and Kem has received first-team all-conference honors in four-straight seasons.

Also among the Eagle’s 21 returning players are forward Grace Terrill, an All-Conference honorable mention in 2022 and goalkeeper Kamryn Willoughby, who started 16 games as a true freshman last year and earned four shutouts and 85 saves.

EWU opens the 2023 season on the road against Washington State at 7 p.m. on Thursday.