After battling through rainy conditions in a scoreless match, Big Sky conference-leading Eastern Washington scored a late goal to give the Sacramento State women’s soccer team its first home loss of the season on Sunday.

Sac State (3-5-4) was kept on its heels in the first half as Eastern Washington (9-1-2) controlled the game’s pace early and outshot the Hornets 9-2.

Junior midfielder Andrea Boehm led Sac State with three shots on goal in the game, and admitted the team struggled early to match Eastern Washington’s hustle.

“I think first half we came out a little bit slow,” Boehm said. “Coming out stronger in the first half (and) having a full game instead of a half game would’ve really helped us.”

Though struggling to create much offense, Sac State’s defense kept them alive as the Hornet defenders kept the Eagles scoreless through seven corner kick scoring opportunities.

Sac State also managed to silence junior forward Chloe Williams, who had seven goals in 11 games prior to Sunday. Meanwhile, Hornet sophomore goalkeeper Destiny Butcher made three saves, including a leaping stop in the 31st minute.

“We really focused on just trying to shut them down, work as a team (and) make sure that we could close off the shots which I thought we did a very good job of,” Butcher said.

In the second half, Sac State returned to the field dry and composed, and subsequently dominated play, outshooting Eastern Washington 11-6 to finish just two shots behind the Eagles’ total count at the final whistle.

However, the Eagles broke the scoreless tie on a free kick in the 86th minute of the game. After the Hornets were called for a foul near midfield, sophomore midfielder Allison Raniere kicked a shot that arched over the Hornet defenders and bounced to midfielder Kiana Hafferty, who knocked the ball past Butcher for the lead.

Fans groaned about the call that led to the free kick, but Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said the team’s problem lied in its execution of the play.

“That can’t happen from 60-yards out,” Dedini said. “A ball looped over the top of all of our defenders and in front of our goalkeeper and (we’ve) got to do a better job winning that ball, plain and simple.”

Moving forward the Hornets will continue defending its home field in Big Sky conference play as the Idaho Vandals come to Hornet Field on Oct. 7 at 3:30 p.m.