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CHARLESTON, Ill. – The upcoming week presents Eastern Illinois men's soccer with its first opportunity this season to play back-to-back home games, as the Panthers welcome IUPUI and Western Michigan to Lakeside Field for nonconference action.

 

Eastern (2-3) plays at home on Wednesday afternoon for the second week in a row, taking on an IUPUI (3-3) team that will be a conference rival in The Summit League next fall. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. Sunday's game against Western Michigan (4-2-1) represents EIU's final contest prior to the beginning of Missouri Valley Conference play on Oct. 1. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

 

The Senior Day Series also begins Sunday with Trevor Kohlrus Day. Each of EIU's four seniors will be highlighted at a home game again this fall.

 

Eastern and IUPUI square off for the fifth season in a row, but for the first time in Charleston since 2007. Last year's game, a 1-1 draw, was played on day two of Evansville's four-team September Tournament.

 

Meanwhile, Western Michigan has not visited Charleston since 2000. The Panthers won that game in overtime and were also victorious in the last meeting, a 2008 early-season contest in Kalamazoo.

 

After dropping each of its first three games of the season in shutout fashion, EIU bounced back last week with a pair of clean-sheet victories. The home-opening win against long-time rival Western Illinois last week looked even better when the Leathernecks defeated MVC preseason favorite Evansville, 3-1, Sunday in Macomb.

 

Dating back to the start of the 2006 season, the Panthers are 10-3-1 in nonconference home games. If EIU can keep IUPUI off the scoreboard Wednesday, the team will have its first streak of three consecutive shutouts since early in the 2007 campaign.

 

With Zach Piekarski and Graham Lynch accounting for the game-winning goals last week, a different EIU player has now scored the decisive goal in each of the last 10 victories dating back to 2008. That's the longest such streak in the program's MVC era (1996-present).

 

Alex Harrison and Mike Picinich have both scored against IUPUI during their careers. Harrison accounted for an insurance goal in the 2007 home win, scoring in his regular-season debut at Lakeside Field. Piekarski duplicated that feat last week with his game-winner against WIU. Picinich gave EIU a halftime lead in the draw with IUPUI last season.

 

Harrison also scored an insurance goal in the 2008 win at Western Michigan.

 

Coincidentally, each of the first six opponents on IUPUI's schedule was a team that EIU is also slated to take on this season. The Jaguars also participated in the University of Kentucky Invitational over Labor Day Weekend, defeating UNC Asheville and losing to the host Wildcats. IUPUI defeated MVC newcomers Central Arkansas and SIU Edwardsville on the road, but lost at Missouri State. The Jaguars lost in overtime to Valparaiso, which EIU plays Nov. 3 in Northwest Indiana, in their lone home game so far.

 

IUPUI has surrendered at least one goal in each of its first six games this season. Perez Agaba and Jeff Keyler have carried the scoring load, recording three goals each to account for six of their team's seven scores.

 

Western Michigan has run hot and cold offensively early this season, suffering both of its losses in shutout fashion. The Broncos have managed to score at least two goals in each of their other five games. However, a season-opening win against NAIA opponent Concordia (Mich.) has been WMU's lone shutout thus far.

 

Western Michigan posted a 4-2 win against common opponent IPFW and played Green Bay to a 3-3 draw in northeast Wisconsin in its last game. The Broncos are idle until traveling to Charleston.

 

Shane Lyons accounted for WMU's first goal of the season and leads the team with four scores. He found the back of the net twice Sunday at Green Bay. CJ Brown and Oliver Mayer have scored three goals apiece in primarily reserve roles.

 

Eastern is slated to play five of its next eight games at home. The WMU game is EIU's lone Sunday home date this fall.

 

Eastern Illinois enjoyed a successful week, posting shutout wins against in-state rivals Western Illinois (1-0 at home) and DePaul (2-0 on the road). Zach Piekarski provided the late-game heroics Wednesday vs. Western, scoring his first goal as a Panther in the 84th minute. Coincidentally, the Panthers' first win of the season the last two years has now come in similar fashion against a future conference rival. Last season after EIU was shutout in its first three games, Mike Picinich finished off a corner kick chance in the final seconds at Central Arkansas, which joined the Missouri Valley Conference this year, for his first career goal. This year's 1-0 win came against a WIU team that will be a conference rival when the Panthers move to the Summit League next fall. Eastern also won its fifth game of 2009 in 2-0 fashion.

 

Eastern goalkeeper Sean Molony was a busy man in the shutout win at DePaul, making a career-high 14 saves. He finished the week with 17 saves while helping EIU post a pair of shutout victories. He has now recorded eight shutouts in his 21 starts as a Panther. However, he had not recorded back-to-back clean sheet efforts since September 2009. Molony was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week Monday.

 

International Goal Scoring in Chicago
Irishman Graham Lynch and Englishman Ryan Child accounted for EIU's two goals in the win at DePaul Saturday. Lynch connected with a free kick chance from the top of the 18-yard box in the 38th minute and Child capitalized on a rebound to record an insurance goal late in the game. Chicago was also the site the last time two different EIU players from across the pond scored in the same game. Mick Galeski and Alex Harrison were the English goal scorers in a 2-2 draw at Loyola in September 2007.