All but one player on the EIU roster saw action in the victory, which coincided with the Panthers' first home game of Ohio Valley Conference play.
The shutout was EIU's fourth straight at home against an OVC team dating back to last season. Goalkeeper
Jenny Williams extended her consecutive scoreless minutes streak at home to 871. She has not given up a goal at home in more than a calendar year's time. Williams was replaced by
Kaylin Lorbert with 8:10 remaining in the game, and thus the shutout goes into the record book as a team effort.
Eastern (5-5-1, 2-1 OVC) enjoyed a 12-0 advantage in corner kicks, registering the team's most corner opportunities since October of 2005 at Murray State. The Panther defense also limited Tennessee Tech (2-6-2, 1-1 OVC) to just two shots on goal and Williams was in position to stop both.
Slota scored her second career goal in the 44th minute following a free kick off the foot of
Alexis Miller from the near sideline. Slota deflected the ball in from point blank range in front of the net. The goal was eerily similar (including on the same side of the field) to the game-winner Slota scored against Tennessee-Martin in last season's OVC Tournament opening-round win.
Sullivan became the second member of EIU's freshman class to find the back of the net when she scored in the 61st minute.
Kathleen Hayes and
Angela Ziemba were both credited with assists on the goal, with Ziemba playing a great thru ball ahead to Sullivan.
Melinauskas capped the scoring in the 77th minute after getting loose for a semi-breakaway following another well-placed thru ball. This time the lead pass came from
Samantha Kohen. Each of Melinauskas' three career goals has come in OVC play.
The assists for Ziemba and Kohen were the first of their careers. Miller, meanwhile, now shares the team lead with four helpers on the year.
The starting back four of
Caitlyn Eisenhauer (77),
Lindsey Wilkening (77),
Meghan Ryon (75) and Slota (82) led the field players in minutes played.
Jenny Bock logged 50 minutes off the bench, most among the reserves. However, every non-starter but Lorbert played more than 10 minutes.
Nine Panthers have now scored at least one goal this season, already matching 2006's total number of goal scorers.
Eastern hosts Austin Peay Sunday at 1 p.m. in game one of an EIU soccer doubleheader.
More Info: Contact
Ben Turner, Asst. SID
