Live Stats | Drake WSoccer

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois women's soccer welcomes first-time opponent Drake to Lakeside Field Monday for the lone exhibition game of the preseason schedule and the first on-campus athletic event of the new school year.

Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Lakeside Field. Both EIU and Drake open their regular-season schedules Friday, Aug. 20. The Panthers host IUPUI and the Bulldogs travel to Iowa State.

Eastern has never played Drake before in part because the Bulldogs' inaugural season was 2002. The Panthers were one of the teams that helped comprise the Missouri Valley Conference from 1996-98 before Valley schools like Drake, Indiana State and Northern Iowa added women's soccer.



Both EIU and Drake graduated a large senior class since the end of last season. The Panthers lost four starters among their six seniors on the 2009 team. The Bulldogs are looking to replace seven starters from last year's team that was 9-9-3 overall and finished fourth (of seven teams) in the MVC standings.

Including Monday's exhibition game, Drake is slated to play each of its first eight contests away from Des Moines before its Sept. 17 home opener. Conversely, EIU plays six of its first nine games at home before beginning a six-game road stretch on Sept. 17.

The Bulldogs were picked fifth in the MVC preseason poll released Wednesday. Laura Moklestad, who is Drake's top returning scorer after tallying five goals and five assists in 2009, was an Honorable Mention preseason All-MVC selection. Goalkeeper Kourtney Arnold is also back for Drake after playing all but two minutes of the 2009 campaign and compiling an MVC-high 104 saves and a 1.00 goals against average.

Eastern is scheduled to play Drake's MVC rivals Evansville (Aug. 22 in Charleston) and Indiana State (Sept. 5 in Terre Haute) early in the regular season.

Picked sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll, the Panthers begin their second year under head coach Summer Perala. A season ago, EIU scored in every home game for the first time since 2003 and finished 4-1-4 at Lakeside Field. If the Panthers can put together a similar strong showing at home this fall, they'll have a good chance to improve on their preseason poll position. Among its four OVC home games, EIU is slated to host the teams picked first, second, third and fifth in the preseason poll. Eastern's four OVC road games are at the teams picked fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth.

A year ago, the Panthers shutout IPFW, 3-0, in an exhibition friendly at Lakeside Field. Ashley Streid and Kaitlin Sullivan both scored for EIU and three freshmen – Kayla Doran, Kristin Germann and Jessie Morgan – were among the starting lineup.

Eastern has eight freshmen on the roster this season. They've been training with their new teammates since preseason practice began Aug. 6 on campus. Monday, many of the newest Panthers will get their taste of game action at Lakeside Field.