CHENEY, Wash. – In the final tune-up before conference action, the Pacific women's soccer program came away with a last-minute, game-winning goal to secure a 2-1 victory over Eastern Washington on Sunday at EWU Soccer Field.

The Tigers (3-3-2) and Eagles (4-3-3) battled all afternoon, trading scoring chances until the final opportunity of the match fell into the lap of junior Whitney Garn, who buried her first goal of the season in the 90th minute to put the finishing touches on the second straight road victory.

"I'm proud of our resilience in the last couple games on the road," Pacific head coach Jeff Freeman said. "Winning away from home is hard to do and this group is proving to be resilient, tough and tactically savvy. Eastern Washington is very well coached and very organized. They came hard at us, pressed us and I love the way we responded. We found a way to get another win at another tough place to play."

In the lead-up to the final penalty kick conversion by Garn, freshman Yohonna Bell created the opportunity from out of thin air, driving to the net and forcing the Eagles' defense to foul. A moment later, Garn kicked the ball into the lower right corner of the goal that ultimately sealed the second and final Tigers' tally of the match.

Pacific's presence was felt early and often in the match, outshooting their opponent by a 7-6 shots on goal margin, including a 4-1 stretch after the first 45 minutes.

Redshirt junior Mira Scarsella opened the scoring on a set piece as senior Allie Jones sent in the cross into the box that found Scarsella for a tap-in in the seventh minute of play for an early 1-0 lead. For Scarsella, it was her second game in a row with a goal after scoring at Nevada in the 2-1 victory last week.

The Tigers continued to pressure offensively, and the two sides settled at a 1-0 score at the halftime break. The Eagles knotted the game up at 1-1 on a penalty kick conversion following a hand ball in the box in the 48th minute. EWU's Delani Walker was credited with her sixth goal of the season to even the score.

Back-and-forth the two teams exchanged opportunities to go ahead, but it was Bell's rush in the final moments of the match that set up Garn's penalty kick game-winner in the last minute.

With the victory, the Tigers have now won two straight on the road and surpassed its win total from the 2024 campaign.

"Day by day, we are going to keep working to get better and to grow, and we are excited to get WCC play underway this upcoming week!" Freeman said.

Pacific now turns its attention to West Coast Conference action with a quick turnaround at San Diego at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Torero Stadium.

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