COMING UP: The Evergreen State College opens a nine-match home schedule at noon on Saturday when it hosts the University of Great Falls, located in Great Falls, Mont., in a non-conference match at Geoduck Pitch. As of this year, Great Falls is an associate member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, meaning that the Geoducks and Argonauts will play a conference-counting match against each other on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Great Falls.
ABOUT THE ARGONAUTS: Great Falls enters Saturday's match with a 0-0-1 record following a 3-3 double overtime draw with Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., on Aug. 30. Jessica Watts, Lauren Ozdowski and Kaylee Bartley scored unassisted goals and Kyra Duvall played all 110 minutes and registered 12 saves for the Argos, who rallied to tie after trailing 3-1 in the 60th minute. Rocky Mountain took 26 shots compared to 14 for Great Falls.
RECENT HISTORY: Great Falls scored in the 10th minute to defeat the visiting Evergreen Geoducks, 1-0, in a match played Sept. 1, 2014, in Great Falls. The Argos had the better of the play in the opening half with three shots to none for the visitors, but the Geoducks had a strong second half and ended the game with an 8-7 advantage in shots. They were unable to put the ball in the back of the net, however, and took the loss.
LINFIELD 3, EVERGREEN 0: Linfield got on the board in the 10th minute and added a pair of goals after that to take a 3-0 victory over the Geoducks on Saturday, Aug. 29, in McMinnville, Ore. The Wildcats, a NCAA Division III regional power, opened the scoring at the 9:11 mark on the first of two consecutive goals by Emma Vukic. She added the second goal at 44:27, just 33 seconds before halftime, giving the Geoducks a difficult deficit to overcome in the second half. At the break the Wildcats owned a 6-3 advantage in shots and a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. The second half went significantly better for Evergreen, which took six shots and three corner kicks to seven shots and no corners for the hosts. Still, it was Linfield that notched the only goal during the final 45 minutes when Brianna Norris scored an unassisted tally at 84:28.
Kayla Baskett and
Alison Mackey split time in goal for Evergreen and both had a pair of saves.
PRESEASON POLL: In a preseason poll of Cascade Collegiate Conference women's soccer coaches, Evergreen has been picked to finish 10th in the 12-team league. The Geoducks, who just missed out on the 2014 conference postseason tournament following a 3-5-1 CCC record and seventh-place finish, received a total of 46 points. Defending conference champion Northwest received 10 first-place votes and 140 points, followed by Corban with no first-place votes and 123 points, and conference newcomer Carroll College with two first-place votes and 117 points. Great Falls, Evergreen's opponent on Saturday, received 54 total votes and ranked ninth in the preseason poll.
THREE FOR THE ROAD: Following Saturday's home opener, the Geoducks hit the road for their next three matches. They play a non-conference contest against NCAA Division II foe Western Oregon on Monday, Sept. 14, before opening conference play on Sept. 18 with a game against Eastern Oregon in La Grande. Following that match, Evergreen will hit I-84 westbound for Portland for a match against Warner Pacific scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19.
