MISSOULA, Mont. (November 5, 2025) – The No. 6 Northern Arizona women's soccer team scored two unanswered goals and locked down defensively to hold on for a 2-1 win over No. 3 Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Championships.
The victory moves NAU (6-5-7, 2-3-3 Big Sky) into the semifinals of the tournament, which the 'Jacks last reached in 2023.
"It was a great performance by the girls. We've been training very well, and we learned some lessons against Eastern Washington in the 4-0 loss, and then we put a good game together against Idaho and it all lead into this game." said head coach
Alan Berrios. "Even though we went down early, we came out the correct way and had the right mindset to respond and get that goal back and then get ahead of them. It's a great team over there in Eastern Washington and I'm just proud of the girls and super happy that they put an entire game together."
Valerie Llamas and
Avery Ott were the goal scorers for NAU.
Katie Willoughby provided an assist on Ott's score, with Ott delivering an assist on Llamas' score to give her the fifth overall and second straight multi-point game on the year. Llamas also puts together her second straight and third overall multi-point game of the season.
Lexi Saveski made her third overall start in goal, playing all 90 minutes and making five saves, several of which point-blank, game-saving stops. NAU outshot the Eagles (8-7-4, 4-3-1 Big Sky) 19-9 and held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks.
NAU got out attacking early, with
Micala Boex testing the EWU keeper in the fourth minute with a shot on goal. The Eagles also attacked early, as they drew their lone goal in the fifth minute off their lone corner kick. The 'Jacks did not take long to respond, as Ott played the ball just outside the box to a sprinting Llamas who put it past the keeper in the right edge of the net in the eighth minute for the equalizer.
With the score reset, NAU settled in and found its rhythm on both sides of the pitch. Before Eastern Washington could get another shot on goal, Ott gave NAU the lead in the 20th minute after her initial shot in the box was blocked to make it 2-1 Lumberjacks. While NAU did not another shot on goal in the half, Saveski stopped the Eagles' two shots on her in the 23rd and 32nd minutes to keep the advantage heading into halftime.
The second stanza was a defensive showcase, also with several opportunities for a third score. Boex opened the half with another shot on goal in the 46th minute, while Saveski continued making saves on the other end in the 56th and 65th minutes. The defensive backline of
Karli Burton,
Ella Freebury, and
Erin O'Connor also made several key plays to clear the Eagles' aggressive forwards.
NAU got two shots on goal off a corner kick in the 81st minute but were both met by the EWU keeper as the 'Jacks searched for insurance. Following the corner, NAU was able to limit the Eagles to just one more shot on goal that was met by Saveski to seal the win.
With the victory, NAU has now conceded multiple goals in just four games this season. The Lumberjacks also snap the Eagles three-game win streak they brought into the
postseason, during which they had outscored opponents 7-0.
NAU will face the No. 2 Weber State in the semifinal on Friday, Nov. 11. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. Mountain Standard time and will be streamed on ESPN+.
