CHENEY — The Eastern Washington Eagles (4-0) are off to their best regular season start in school history after earning a commanding 3-1 win over Western Illinois. According to a statement by EWU Athletics, Reese Kincaid and Deanna Montero each recorded their first goal in an Eagle uniform, while Mia Miconi added her third goal of the season late in the match. 

"To put ourselves in a position today to win, and to learn while winning, is truly a blessing," head coach Missy Strasburg said. "It was far from our best team performance this year, but we definitely celebrate our team for overcoming a lot of challenges today." 

Eastern applied steady pressure throughout the opening half, creating several opportunities while limiting Western Illinois' attack. Allison Bennett had one of the Eagles' first chances in the 18th minute, sending her shot just left of the net. 

Miconi put Eastern's first shot on goal in the 24th minute, forcing a save from Western Illinois. Miconi and Bennett each added another attempt as the Eagles continued to push forward. 

Eastern turned up the pressure late in the half with back-to-back corner kicks. Iris Mattern had one shot saved and another blocked before Kincaid capitalized in the 44th minute, firing a shot into the upper-left corner of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage heading into halftime. 

Montero doubled Eastern's lead in the 54th minute, striking from just outside the 18-yard box and finding the lower-right corner for her first goal as an Eagle. Eastern continued to generate opportunities following the goal, with Delaney Deckett, Montero and Bennett all getting looks at the net. 

"Some of the big highlights included the scoring of some significant goals, with Reese Kincaid and Deanna Montero both with first official college finishes," Strasburg said.

The Eagles' defense kept Western Illinois off the board for nearly the entire match, while the offense added one more late. Miconi put Eastern ahead 3-0 in the 88th minute, finishing an assist from Faith Hines for her third goal in four games. 

"Following a period of really physical play and hard fouls, Mia's goal, off a perfectly weighted through ball by Faith Hines, came at an excellent time and really served as a statement moment for both her and the team," Strasburg said. 

Western Illinois broke through in the 90th minute with a goal, but Eastern closed out the 3-1 victory to remain unbeaten and move to 4-0 for the first time in program history. 

Despite the deficit, the Leathernecks continued to battle and maintained the energy that had been evident throughout the afternoon, according to a statement by Western Illinois Athletics. Head coach Ross Henderson said the team's shape, tenacity and physicality were among the biggest improvements he saw. 

"Just all round, the shape was very good off the ball, our tenacity, our energy, our physicality," Henderson said. "We ruffled the feathers of the other team, and we haven't really done that for 90 minutes this year so far. It was really good to see the camaraderie, support and energy throughout the whole game from everyone." 

With the win, Strasburg feels great about the impact an undefeated start will have on her team this season.  

“Winning, especially on the road and on an extremely physical second match of the weekend, is always hard," Strasburg said. "This should be an amazing confidence grab for our team, that we can do hard things. We are so proud of this historical start. We turn our attention now to continuing to develop, to having an excellent middle of our season, and most importantly, to continue our pursuit of a historical finish, one match at a time." 

The Eagles return to the pitch on Aug 30 at 1 p.m. when they face California State University-Bakersfield at home.