Game Notes | Live Stats

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois women's soccer closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule Wednesday afternoon against longstanding regional rival Illinois State. Kickoff at Lakeside Field is slated for 3 p.m.

 

This marks the third year in a row that the Panthers (7-9-1, 4-5 OVC) and Redbirds have squared off in the week between the end of league play and the opening of the conference tournament. However, head coach Tim Nowak said he anticipates moving the annual EIU-ISU game to the month of September in coming years.

 

Each of the last two seasons has seen the road team win, 1-0. Yvonne Northover, now a senior, scored the game-winner in Charleston in 2005, and Michelle Steinhaus provided the offense in Normal last season. Goalkeeper Jenny Williams also came up big in the EIU win, making a season-high eight saves.

 

The performances by Steinhaus and Williams led to OVC Player and Goalkeeper of the Week honors.

 

Picked fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, Illinois State (8-4-3, 4-0-2 MVC) won the regular-season title under first-year head coach Drew Roff. The Redbirds represent the fourth conference champion EIU has taken on in non-conference play. Ball State, Western Kentucky and Western Illinois also won their leagues this fall. The Panthers have posted a 1-1-1 record against those first-place teams.

 

Illinois State has also played Ball State and Western this season, as well as Morehead State and Loyola. The Redbirds lone win came against Morehead State, but the losses to Western and Loyola were in overtime. Both teams have also beaten Indiana State this year.

 

Last year's victory was EIU's first in the series since 1998. However, the Panthers went 3-0 against ISU when both programs were members of the Missouri Valley. With 10 all-time meetings between the two schools entering the season, ISU ranks even with Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan as the non-OVC opponents the Panthers have played most often.

 

After having the first weekend of November off, Eastern will travel to Murray State Tuesday, Nov. 6 for an OVC Tournament opening-round game.

 

STEINHAUS SCORES MORE: Michelle Steinhaus nearly posted the first hat trick by a Panther since 2003 in the Senior Day win against Jacksonville State. After scoring twice in the first half, a team save by a JSU defender was the only thing that prevented the senior from scoring that elusive third goal. Steinhaus recorded the first of her four career multi-goal games at home, scoring twice in a 2-0 win against Murray State in 2004. Her two multi-goal efforts since had both come on the road (at WIU in '04 and at EMU in the '07 opener). Her performance Sunday against Jax State, however, brought back memories of the first Senior Day game she played in. As a freshman in 2004, Steinhaus scored an overtime game-winner against Southeast Missouri. That win locked up a first-round bye in the OVC Tournament for the Panthers... With eight goals this season, Steinhaus has posted the highest single-season total by a Panther since she scored 10 as a freshman in 2004. Trisha Walter also had nine goals in '04, the most by a Panther other than Steinhaus.

 

WILLIAMS SECOND ALREADY: Goalkeeper Jenny Williams recorded her 12th career shutout in the 2-0 win against Jacksonville State. She has already moved into second place on the EIU all-time list. Nine of her 12 shutout performances have come against OVC foes.

STILL STINGY AT LAKESIDE: With EIU shutting out Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Jacksonville State at home this season, only three OVC teams have been fortunate enough to score at Lakeside Field since Oct. 1, 2005. Of the other nine league teams, only three – Southeast Missouri, Samford and Murray State – have scored at Lakeside Field. It's seems like no coincidence that those three teams finish 1-2-3 in the final league standings this season. SEMO and Murray both scored at Lakeside Field in 2006.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID