(Cheney, WA – Oct 25, 2026) – Utah Tech women's soccer earns its second straight road draw at Eastern Washington Sunday, thanks to a penalty kick save from
Emma McIff and a late score by
Ella Rusick.
Emma McIff got the nod for her sixth straight start in goal for the Trailblazers (7-6-4, 3-2-3 Big Sky), and for the fifth match in a row, she kept the opposition off the board in the first half. McIff made three saves in the first half on five Eastern Washington (6-6-3, 0-4-2 Big Sky) shots, including two in a span of three minutes.
The Trailblazers owned the possession in the first half, spending most of the time in the Eagles' zone, rocketing 13 shots, seven of which were on goal. Payton Hyde was stellar in net for EWU, stopping all seven on target shots to keep the score tied heading into the half.
Utah Tech had a great look early on in the second half, when
Jocelyn Wright found some space and fired one low and to the right of the goalkeeper. Hyde denied Wright with a sliding stop, to keep the match scoreless.
In the 60th minute, the Eagles were able to break through as Maya Westbrook scored her fourth goal of the year to give EWU the 1-0 lead.
Eastern Washington looked to have a golden opportunity to double its lead late as they were awarded a penalty kick in the 76th minute after video assisted review. However,
Emma McIff dove to her right and was able to stop the PK, keeping the Blazers in the game.
In the 77th minute, the Trailblazers thought they may have found the equalizer as
Bre Koscielski found herself with the ball all alone in front off of a rebounded shot by
Lataya Brost. Koscielski put the ball in the back of the net, but was ruled offside. After a video assisted review, the call on the field was upheld, and EWU retained its one-goal lead.
Utah Tech continued to apply pressure, and in the 86th minute,
Jocelyn Wright set up a streaking
Ella Weathers, who then found
Ella Rusick in the box for a nice one-touch with the left foot that found the upper left corner of the net for the equalizer. The goal was Rusick's team-leading seventh goal of the season, and
Ella Weathers' first career assist.
The Blazers would get three more shots off over the final four minutes of play, but none were on target and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The draw was the second in a row on the road for UT, and third draw in their last four decisions.
MCIFF'S FIRST HALF SCORELESS STREAK
Emma McIff and Utah Tech have now held opponents scoreless over the last five matches.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
- UT fired 25 shots and 11 on goal, marking the second time this season of 25+ shots (Idaho St 10/11)
- The fourth draw of the season is one shy of the D-1 era record, done three times ('23, '24, '25)
UP NEXT
Utah Tech will enjoy their conference bye before returning to wrap up the 2026 regular season in Cedar City with a "Battle for the Ax" showdown with Southern Utah. Kickoff is set for Thursday, Nov 5, at 1 p.m..
