The Weber State soccer team fell twice this weekend as they opened Big Sky Conference play on the road.

“We have been faced with many challenges so far this season, and we continue to meet those challenges head first. At the end of the day, we will be better for it,” said head coach Tim Crompton.

The Wildcats opened up in Missoula as they traveled to face the Montana Grizzlies on Friday afternoon. Montana opened their scoring early with a goal by Hallie Widner 19 minutes into the game. Widner scored off of an assist from Chloe Torres, who intercepted the ball off of an attempted clearance by the Wildcat defense.

The Wildcats fought back with focused effort, but the lone goal by the Grizzlies proved to be enough to keep the Wildcats at bay.

“I felt like we played well. I’m certainly not disappointed with the players effort today,” Crompton said. “It’s a long conference season and we just need to put this one behind us and move on.”

Due to the injury issues that have been plaguing the Wildcats all season, they utilized a new formation for the team, which proved to improve the play and resting of all the palyers during the match.

On Sunday, the team traveled to Eastern Washington University to take on the Eagles. Despite a strong first half, the Wildcats fell to the Eagles 5-1.

The Wildcats drew first blood in the game by scoring in the 12th minute. The score came off of a corner kick by junior forward MacKenzie Harrison that found its way to the feet of sophomore forward Lana Willard. Willard made the shot with an additional assist by senior midfielder Kendra Smith.

The Eagles equalized the game before the first half ended, when Chloe Williams of the Eagles fired a long distance shot into the goal 29 minutes into the game.

The Wildcats started their second half push, but the effort was quelled quickly when the Eagles pulled ahead scoring off of a corner kick early in the half. The Eagles furthered their lead within two minutes, when they scored on a break away one-on-one scenario.

The Wildcats attempted to redouble their efforts, but that proved costly when the Eagles scored two more times on two rapid break aways, putting the Wildcats behind 5-1 by the time the final whistle blew.

The Wildcats are now 3-8-0 on the season (0-2-0 in conference play). The team has fallen into a slump due to injury issues that have plagued the team since the beginning of the season. The team will begin practice on Tuesday to prepare for their home games on the weekend.

On Friday, the Wildcats kick off homecoming week with a home game versus Northern Colorado at 3 p.m. on the soccer field adjacent to the Wildcat fitness center. They will follow up with another game on Sunday versus North Dakota at noon. Admission is free to both the student body and the public.

Charles can be found tweeting @cbowkstar_91 or actin a fool at Wildcat sporting events