Kickoff Wednesday afternoon against Evansville is set for 4 p.m. at Lakeside Field. Sunday's game in Springfield, Mo., is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
In part two of EIU's senior day series Wednesday,
Nick Bonacker will be recognized before the game for his contributions to Panther soccer.
Both of this week's opponents are ranked among the NSCAA Midwest Region Top 10. Evansville (6-2) is also receiving votes in the national coaches' poll and brings a five-game winning streak to Charleston.
Missouri State (4-2-1, 1-0 MVC), meanwhile, opened Valley play Sept. 19 with a 1-0 victory at preseason favorite Creighton. The Bears host the University of Denver Thursday afternoon.
Due to a scheduling quirk in the double round-robin conference slate, EIU (3-2-2) plays Evansville twice in a week's time but doesn't have its rematch with MSU until the Nov. 7 regular-season finale at Lakeside Field. The Panthers and Purple Aces square off again next Wednesday (Oct. 7) in southwest Indiana.
Evansville leads the Valley with 19 goals, scoring multiple goals four times during its current win streak. However, the Aces have also surrendered five goals in their last two games – wins against Stony Brook (5-3) and Western Illinois (4-2). It marked the first time in the UE program's 36-year history that it had ever won back-to-back games when surrendering a combined five goals in the contests.
Each of the last two EIU-Evansville games at Lakeside Field has ended with a 3-1 final score. The Aces won last year behind goals from Mike Luttrull, Tad Kreamalmeyer and Tyler Crawford, whom all remain part of the program this fall.
Ryan Child accounted for the Panthers' lone score, tying the game in 19th minute with his first collegiate goal.
In 2006, it was
Evan Philpott that scored the game-tying goal in an eventual EIU victory.
Jeff Kupiec is the other active Panther with a goal against Evansville (2007). However, Kupiec is not expected to play Wednesday after sustaining a minor knee injury early in Sunday's victory against IPFW.
Chris Pearson is likely to take his place at center back, returning to the starting for the first time since Sept. 6.
Eastern participated in Evansville's four-team tournament the weekend of Sept. 18-20. Both teams defeated Stony Brook, but it was the Aces' 1-0 victory against IUPUI that made the hosts the tourney champion. The Panthers settled for a draw with IUPUI.
After losing in overtime at Missouri State last season, EIU is still in search of its first-ever win in Springfield. The Bears also won last year's MVC Tournament meeting in Evansville on their way to advancing to the title game.
This season MSU has posted impressive wins at SMU (3-1) and Creighton, but also lost to Houston Baptist and played common opponent Central Arkansas to a scoreless draw. Entering Thursday's game against Denver, the Bears have scored seven of their 11 goals in their two home victories.
Darby Kehoe and Pearson have scored goals in their careers against Missouri State. Kehoe accounted for the final score in EIU's 4-2 victory at Lakeside Field in 2007. Pearson, meanwhile, gave the Panthers an early lead in the 2006 MVC Tournament win in Peoria.
Sunday's game marks the beginning of a three-game road stretch for EIU in which it will play at MSU, Evansville and Creighton in a seven-day span. The Panthers will then have seven days off before hosting Bradley Oct. 18 in game two of an EIU soccer homecoming weekend doubleheader.
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID
