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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Riding a program best 23-game winning streak, the Eastern Illinois women's rugby squad is set to entertain instate rival Illinois at Lakeside Field on Saturday, with kickoff set for 11 am. Following the game the squad will entertain a large group of Girl Scouts.
QUICK LOOK AT LAST WEEK
Last week, the Panthers ran over Big 12 foe Missouri, 87-6, as the squad ran-in 15 trys on the day. After jumping out to a 46-0 halftime lead, Eastern would eventually record 58 solo tackles and nine assists enroute to the blowout.
SEVENTH MEETING ...
Saturday's game with Illinois marks the eighth time the two squads have battled on the rugby field. Out of all the Panther opponents thru the years, EIU has faced Illinois the most, as the Panthers own a 6-2 all-time series lead. Including winning two road contests over the Illini back in 2007. Illinois' last win over EIU came back in 2001, as UI topped the Panthers, 35-5 on Eastern's home field.
PINK PANTHERS
Saturday, all the EIU players will be wearing pink shoelaces in honor of breast cancer awareness month. There will be also be a donation box available during the game, located at the rugby Fan Club tent. All monies received will be given to the Susan B. Komen Foundation.
GRAZIANO ON ILLINOIS ...
"It's important that don't relax the rest of the season… which is why throwing some complicated and challenging drills at this point of the year is good… it certainly got their attention during practice… plus we need to continue to work on some very basic drills to keep the players on their game... that being said, we can't look beyond Illinois… they are looking for something in their schedule to give them momentum, and catching us off guard would certainly achieve that, so we need to eliminate that possibility… it is always a good game… we anticipate a good crowd this weekend… will be nice to host the girl scouts following the game in some fun drills and handing out smaller rugby balls... we just hope it can stay dry this weekend here… surprisingly we've been able to practice on the field the last few days."
UP NEXT FOR EIU ...
The Panthers hit the road for the final time this season, as the squad heads to Boone, N.C. to face Appalachian State for the first time.
.... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
