Wednesday night in Peoria, Eastern (5-4-2) and Bradley (5-5-1) become the last two teams in the country that play in an NCAA Division I automatic-bid league to begin conference play.
Saturday night in Des Moines, the Panthers take on their third nationally-ranked opponent of the season in No. 25 Drake (9-2), which reentered the NSCAA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week.
Both games are slated to kickoff at 7 p.m.
Eastern squared off against both opponents during the regular season and MVC Tournament last season.
The Panthers are very familiar with Bradley's Shea Stadium. Members of EIU's current senior class have played six games at the Braves' home field during their careers, leading the program to a 3-2-1 record in Peoria.
Unfortunately, none of those three victories have come against Bradley. Eastern enters Wednesday's game in search of its first win against the Braves since 2000 and first victory against its in-state rival in Peoria since 1996.
En route to its 2007 MVC regular-season and tournament titles, Bradley spoiled the Panthers' spirited home finale and ended their season in the conference tournament. The Braves then caught lightning in a bottle and reached the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
However, EIU has played Bradley tough the last few years. Each of the last four regular-season meetings have been decided by a single goal, and the Panthers enjoyed a 22-5 advantage in shot attempts in the 2007 MVC Tournament contest.
The Braves enter the game with a 1-3-1 record at home this season. That lone victory came against a Howard team that was 1-11-1 entering the week.
Both EIU and Bradley have lost to Valparaiso and played Northern Illinois to a draw. The Braves also lost to Western Illinois at home in overtime.
Among the current Panthers,
Brad Peters (three),
Chris Pearson (two) and
Alex Harrison have all scored goals at Shea Stadium during their careers. But again, none of those have come against Bradley. The Braves shutout EIU, 1-0, in the last meeting (2006) in Peoria.
Drake won its Valley opener against Missouri State Saturday, 3-2, and hosts Western Illinois Tuesday night. The Bulldogs have also defeated Oral Roberts and lost to UMKC.
The Bulldogs' current 9-2 record represents the best start in program history. The Bulldogs opened the season 6-0, winning all six games in shutout fashion, and posted a 6-2 record September record despite not playing a home game.
Eastern's MVC Tournament victory against Drake last season snapped a nine-game winless streak in the series. However, each of the last three regular-season meetings has ended in a draw, including a scoreless affair in 2006 in Des Moines.
Mike Lewis and Peters both scored in the 2-2 draw with Drake at Lakeside Field last season.
The Panthers are currently two games into a busy stretch in which they were slated to play five times in a 14-day span.
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID
