KIRKLAND – Northwest gave itself a chance to finish in the top half of the postseason seeding with a 2-1 win over Eastern Oregon on Friday.
 
The Eagles had already sealed a berth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament but moved up to fourth with the win Friday with one game left. NU cannot move higher than fourth but could drop as far as sixth with a loss on Saturday.
 
Northwest used a strong first half to stake itself to a 2-0 win as Callie Wright registered both Eagle goals. Wright also put one shot off the post and another off the crossbar. Kayla Soderstrom also had a shot go off the post.
 
NU had 14 first-half shots, and Wright gave the Eagles the 1-0 lead, taking a pass from Claire Jo Diede and driving forward before launching a shot off the outstretched hands of the keeper and into the net in the ninth minute.
 
Eastern Oregon was called for a handball in the box, and Wright scored the penalty kick goal for a 2-0 lead in the 35th minute.
 
"We've been talking a lot about the importance of the squad and energy and intensity, and today we showed up ready to fight for and support each other," said NU Head Coach Bryan Chud. "Eastern is a top team, and we knew we'd have to be on our game to beat them. From the first minute, we came at them, and we played a very solid first half that could have seen us ahead by a lot. The second half was more about heart and grinding out the result, and I couldn't be more proud of this group as they stuck together and battled until the last second to secure the win."
 
The Mountaineers came out with intensity in the second half and got their goal in the 62nd minute with Mackinley Gregus getting the honors. 
 
After NU outshot the Mountaineers 14-5 in the first half, EOU outshot the Eagles 11-2 in the second half. Kierstin Patefield finished with nine saves for NU.
 
Wright led Northwest with six shots and three shots on goal, with Diede taking four shots and putting two on goal. Liv Lagerquist also had two shots on goal, with Elizabeth Moretti, Kayla Soderstrom, and Halley Marschall testing the keeper once each.
 
With their fifth win in a row, the Eagles improve to 8-6-3 on the season and 7-2-2 in the CCC. 
 
NU celebrates Senior Day on Saturday and faces the College of Idaho at 3 p.m. to finish the regular season.