Sports
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Saturday, February 5, 2022
ON THE SLATE
Saturday, Feb. 5
COLLEGE MEN’S
BASKETBALL
Eastern Oregon at Lewis-Clark
State, 5 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
Eastern Oregon at Lewis-Clark
State, 3 p.m.
COLLEGE MEN’S
WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at Southern
Oregon, 7 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at Southern
Oregon, 6 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon at Linfield,
1 p.m.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Joseph at Nixyaawii, 4:45 p.m.
Heppner at Union, 5:30 p.m.
Elgin at Pine Eagle, 5:30 p.m.
Powder Valley at Baker,
5:30 p.m.
Imbler at Cove, 5:30 p.m.
Griswold at Wallowa, 5:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Enterprise,
5:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Joseph at Nixyaawii, 1:30 p.m.
Elgin at Pine Eagle, 3:30 p.m.
Heppner at Union, 4 p.m.
Powder Valley at Baker JV, 4 p.m.
Imbler at Cove, 4 p.m.
Griswold at Wallowa, 4 p.m.
Grant Union at Enterprise, 4 p.m.
PREP GIRLS WRESTLING
La Grande, Union/Cove, Elgin,
Imbler at Special District 4, West
Albany High School, TBA
PREP SWIMMING
La Grande at Riverdale/Lewis
and Clark, Portland, TBA
Cove at Riverdale/Lewis and
Clark, Portland, TBA
PREP BOYS WRESTLING
Union, Imbler and Elgin at Bank
of Eastern Oregon Invitational,
Heppner, TBA
Sunday, Feb. 6
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon at Linfield, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 8
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Elgin at Cove, 5 p.m.
La Grande at Baker, 7:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Union,
7:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
La Grande at Baker, 6 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Union, 6 p.m.
Elgin at Cove 6:30 p.m.
Eastern Oregon University Athletics/Contributed Photo, file
Kiara Fontanilla readies to clear the ball in front of the Eastern Oregon University goal during a match in the 2021 spring season. Fontanilla helped the Philippines
earn a spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, marking the first time the country has ever qualified for the tournament.
MAKING HISTORY
EOU goalkeeper plays
part in historic World
Cup run by Philippines
women’s soccer team
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
PUNE, India — A local col-
lege soccer player recently helped
the Philippines women’s national
soccer team make history.
Kiara Fontanilla, a goalkeeper
for Eastern Oregon University,
played a part in the team’s mag-
ical run at the AFC Women’s
Asian Cup. A dramatic victory in
penalty kicks over Chinese Taipei
on Sunday Jan. 30, sealed the
Philippines’ spot in the 2023 FIFA
Women’s World Cup, marking
the first time the country has ever
qualified for the tournament.
The Philippines’ run started
in the group stage, with the
team looking to earn enough
points to make the
knockout stages.
The team started
with a narrow 1-0
victory over Thai-
land on Jan. 21 to
secure three points
Fontanilla
— forward Chandler
McDaniel scored the game-win-
ning goal in the 81st minute.
In the team’s second matchup,
Fontanilla earned her first career
start at the international level
against one of the toughest teams
in the tournament. Fontanilla
started in net against Australia,
ranked No. 11 in the FIFA wom-
en’s soccer rankings.
Up against one of the strongest
teams in the tournament, Fontanilla
and the Philippines held Australia
scoreless in the first half. Australia
picked up the pace in the second
half and won 4-0 after controlling
possession for 75% of the match.
A 6-0 win over Indonesia in
the Philippines’ third match of
the AFC group stage ensured
the team’s spot in the knockout
rounds.
Matched up against Chi-
nese Taipei, the Philippines had
their hands full in a low-scoring
match. Both teams went back and
forth with chances, but played
out a scoreless first half. Quinley
Quezada scored the opening goal
in the 49th minute off a volley,
giving Philippines a 1-0 lead.
However, Chinese Taipei’s Zhuo
Li-ping scored an equalizer off an
incredible long shot from outside
the box in the 82nd minute.
After 30 minutes of scoreless
extra time, the Philippines’ fate
would come down to a series of
penalty kicks.
Both teams converted three out
of their first five attempts, leaving
the game up for grabs. Ping shot
the sixth penalty for Chinese
Taipei, but her shot was saved
by goalkeeper Olivia Davies
McDaniel. With the game on
the line, the Philippines’ Sarina
Bolden drilled a shot into the left
side of the net to send the team
through to the semifinals and
clinch the country’s first World
Cup appearance. Players and
coaches alike embraced on the
field as history was made.
The Philippines went on to
lose 2-0 to No. 19 South Korea in
the semifinals, ending the team’s
hopes of winning the AFC Wom-
en’s Asian Cup. Nonetheless, the
team achieved its ultimate goal of
earning a spot in the FIFA Wom-
en’s World Cup.
The Philippines are one of six
teams currently eligible for the
World Cup, with other continents
still in the qualifying stages. The
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
is set to take place across Aus-
tralia and New Zealand, with
group stages scheduled to begin
in late July of 2023.
Oregon baseball gets
new turf at PK Park
By JAMES CREPEA
The Oregonian
Samantha Flett/Eastern Oregon University Athletics, File
Samantha Buckley (5) of Eastern Oregon University maneuvers between a pair of Corban University players during a lacrosse match Satur-
day, March 20, 2021. The Mountaineers completed the program’s inaugural season with a 1-4 record. The program’s lone win came against
Whitworth, posting a 22-16 victory March 5.
EOU women’s lacrosse schedule set for 2022
Mounties will
host five games
at Community
Stadium
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
Eastern Oregon University
women’s lacrosse team is
back in action for its second
season as a program.
The university
announced the team’s 2022
schedule on Tuesday, Feb.
1, a slate of 12 games. The
Mountaineers are set to
host five games at Commu-
nity Stadium in La Grande
this year and travel for the
remainder of competitions.
Eastern is coming off its
inaugural season in 2021,
one year later than the pro-
gram was expected to hit
the field. The COVID-19
pandemic canceled the
2020 season, setting the
stage for 2021 as Eastern’s
first year of competition.
In a season still heavily
impacted by the pandemic,
the Mountaineers com-
piled a 1-4 record and com-
peted in five seven-on-
seven scrimmages. Eastern
picked up its first win in
program history on March
5 against Whitworth.
This season, the Moun-
taineers will open up com-
petition against Whitworth
in Spokane, Washington,
on Feb. 12. Eastern will
host two straight home
games on the weekend of
Feb. 19, welcoming in Wil-
lamette and Linfield.
The Mountaineers will
travel for a handful of
mid-season tournament
matchups, facing Whitman
and Whitworth on the
weekend of Feb. 26 at the
Whitman Classic in Walla
Walla, Washington. After
a road tilt against Corban,
Eastern is set to travel to
Boise, Idaho, to compete
at the Boise State Tour-
nament on March 12 and
March 13.
Eastern hosts Mult-
nomah on March 19 and
Whitman on March 20 on
a back-to-back homestand
at Community Stadium.
The Mountaineers head to
Tacoma, Washington to
face Puget Sound on March
26 and conclude regu-
lar-season road competition
at Corban on April 2.
The Mountaineers con-
clude the regular season at
home against Multnomah
at Community Stadium on
April 16.
In Eastern’s first season
under head coach Monica
Plut, the Mountaineers
faced Corban three times
and lost each matchup.
Eastern will have two
chances at revenge against
the Warriors this year, as
well as welcoming first-
year program Multnomah
to the lacrosse scene.
Eastern has a young
team, with 11 under-
classmen listed on the
roster. The Mountain-
eers return numerous key
players from last year’s
roster, including junior
Kiana Watchman and
senior Lauren Kombol.
Eastern announced last
October the hiring of assis-
tant coach Ryan McMillen,
another new addition
looking to build up the uni-
versity’s women’s lacrosse
program.
Eastern’s opening game
at Whitworth on Feb. 12 is
set to start at noon.
EUGENE — Oregon
baseball is going to look
different on the field in
more ways than one this
season.
The Ducks will have an
entirely new pitching rota-
tion and several new starters
in the field as well. They’ll
also be playing at a reno-
vated PK Park, which had
its FieldTurf replaced, the
fences brought in slightly in
the power alleys, a new vid-
eoboard installed in left field
and the fence height made
uniform throughout the park
this offseason.
“It’s coming along
nicely,” Oregon coach Mark
Wasikowski said. “There’s
brand new turf out there.
There’s graphics all over
the place. They just are
beginning the videoboard
and scoreboard. All of the
changes and the updates
and all of that stuff should
be complete by the begin-
ning of the season, first
home game. Everything is
on pace. It looks amazing.”
The walls in left- and
right-center have been
moved in between 10 and
15 feet and the fence is now
6-1/2 feet tall across the
entire outfield, compared
to the previously shorter
wall in front of the Oregon
bullpen in right field.
The hope is those changes
will create more offense in
the pitcher-friendly ball-
park, specifically allowing
more opportunities for tri-
ples since there will be fewer
ground-rule doubles.
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian, File
Oregon head coach Mark Wasi-
kowski during a game against
the Portland Pilots last season.
“It’s going to allow out-
fielders to make more ath-
letic plays, maybe rob some
home runs,” Wasikowski
said. “It’ll also allow for the
ball that goes over an out-
fielder’s head, instead of
bouncing over the fence that
we saw a lot of times, espe-
cially in right field with our
short porch, I think what
we’re going to see now and
what we’ve seen so far in
the early going is that ball
bounces and hits the fence.
“More triples in the ball-
park or scoring a guy from
first base on a ball that goes
to the wall. That’s a pretty
exciting piece of the base-
ball game, the three-base
play is the most exciting
play in the game. To limit
that is something we tried
to get rid of, we tried to
maximize that and I think
we’ll be able to do that.”
The players like the ren-
ovations and naturally hit-
ters and pitchers have dif-
ferent perspectives on the
changing dimensions in the
outfield.