General  Ryan Shumaker

Moment number nine on our “Top Ten Moments of 2019-20” stands as a series of events as the ENMU women’s soccer team got off to the best start in program history with a 3-0-1 record through the first four games of the season.

The Hounds rose to the no. 10 spot in the United Soccer Coaches South Central Region Poll after beginning the season with three straight victories, and were one of just six Division II teams to not allow a single goal through the first four games of the season. The 3-0-1 start was the best start in the 17-year history of the program and helped kick off another quality season for the Hounds in 2019.
The stretch of solid defensive play for the Hounds got started on Sep. 5 in Ada, Okla. as Eastern New Mexico picked up the program’s first opening game win since 2006 with a 1-0 victory over East Central. The Greyhounds dominated the Tigers in terms of shots with a 21-9 mark, while junior Kierra Diaz broke the scoreless match in the 60th minute with a left-footed shot off of a pass from classmate Caitlyn Schmidt.

Eastern continued their quality play as they returned home for the 2019 home opener on Sep. 12 inside Greyhound Stadium with a 3-0 win over Adams State. The Hounds once again dominated the action, recording 10 shots on goal in the match, while getting goals from both Hayden and Keyara Zuniga as well as sophomore Desiree Morgas.

The Hounds defense stepped up in a big way just two days later as Eastern remained undefeated with a 1-0 win over Fort Lewis. The defensive pressure allowed the Greyhounds to once again defend their home turf as well as an outstanding individual performance by junior Whitney Dockweiler, who made seven saves in goal throughout the match.

Those three shutouts to start the 2019 campaign led to a clean sweep for the Hounds in the Lone Star Conference Player of the Week Awards in week two as Morgas was named the Offensive Player of the Week, Hayden Zuniga was named the Defensive Player of the Week, and Dockweiler was tabbed as the Goalkeeper of the Week. Eastern New Mexico established themselves as a premier defensive unit in the South Central Region over the course of the first two weeks of the season, standing as the only squad in the region yet to concede a goal.

That feat would continue into the fourth and final piece to the ninth best moment of the 2019-20 season for Eastern New Mexico as the Hounds finished up the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 0-0 draw on the road against Southern Nazarene. Eastern New Mexico recorded 27 shot attempts against Southern Nazarene despite being unable to find the back of the net. The Greyhounds limited the Crimson Storm to just 11 shot attempts and once again proved to be extremely disruptive on the defensive side of the ball.

The strong start to the season in 2019 helped lead the Hounds to an overall record of 8-8-1, marking the first time in the history of Eastern New Mexico women’s soccer that the program finished the season .500 or better in back-to-back years. Morgas would go on to being named the league’s Newcomer of the Year and a D2CCA Second Team All-South Central Region selection after leading the team with 22 points on the year and finishing third in the Lone Star Conference with 3.76 shots per match.

The Hounds are tentatively scheduled to take part in just one non-conference match in 2020, a Sep. 13 meeting inside Greyhound Stadium against Northwestern Oklahoma State, but will look to once again stand strong on the defensive side of the ball to ensure early season success.

PLAYERS MENTIONED