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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men's soccer makes its first-ever trip to the state of Arkansas this week, traveling to future Missouri Valley Conference rival Central Arkansas for its first true road game of the new season Friday afternoon.
Kickoff in Conway, Ark., is slated for 5 p.m. Only the trip to Omaha to take on Creighton in October is longer than this week's 1,000-mile round trip trek. Conway is located 30 miles north of Little Rock.
Central Arkansas (2-1) and SIU Edwardsville are set to join the Valley as men's soccer affiliates next season. The Bears open the home portion of their schedule Friday and also host Missouri State Sunday.
Central Arkansas sponsors the only Division I men's soccer program in the state. That's the primary reason why this week's trip is believed to be EIU's first to the state of Arkansas as a Division I program. The rest of the UCA athletic programs compete in the Southland Conference.
Twenty-one of the 22 players on the EIU roster saw action during the season-opening week. Over the course of the three games last week, the Panthers enjoyed an advantage in shots (50-28), shots on goal (14-11) and corner kicks (15-11), but were unable to post a victory.
The Bears' marquee victory so far this season was at UNLV Sept. 4. UCA scored twice in the game's final five minutes to overcome a 2-1 deficit and win 3-2. Sophomore Joseph Cervantes accounted for both late goals, heading in the game-winner with 49 seconds left in regulation.
The Bears also shutout Houston Baptist, 2-0, in their season opener and lost to UC Davis, 3-1, in Las Vegas Sunday.
Central Arkansas head coach Chad Flanders, who is in his seventh year as the leader of the program, earned a master's degree in physical education from EIU in 1996. He spent his undergrad years at Illinois State, where he also played varsity soccer prior to ISU discontinuing its program. He later spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Bradley. Flanders' roster at UCA features 40 players this fall.
In its final season as an independent program, the Bears are playing a schedule that features numerous teams EIU has matched up against the last few years. Central Arkansas travels to UAB, Memphis, Bradley, Western Illinois, Oral Roberts and SIU Edwardsville. Along with Missouri State, UMKC and IPFW also come to Conway this fall.
Friday's game is EIU's only true road game in the month of September. The Panthers conclude their stretch of five consecutive games away from Charleston next weekend with two neutral-site games at Evansville's four-team tournament. Eastern then closes out September with home dates against IPFW (Sept. 27) and Evansville (Sept. 30).
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID
