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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men's soccer travels west to Omaha and Kansas City this weekend for its Missouri Valley Conference opener at No. 13 Creighton Friday and its final game against a Summit League opponent at UMKC Sunday.

 

The Panthers (3-4) visit Creighton (6-1) and Morrison Stadium for the final time as an MVC affiliate member for a 7 p.m. Friday kickoff, the third of EIU's six regular-season night games this season. Previously, Eastern also opened Valley play at Creighton in 2001 and 2005.

 

Sunday, EIU travels to Kansas City for the first time since winning UMKC's four-team tournament in September 2007. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Durwood Soccer Stadium. The Kangaroos (4-3-1) were the preseason favorites in The Summit League, a conference EIU is set to join next fall. The Panthers are 2-1 against Summit opponents this year.

 

The EIU-Creighton game is the only Valley contest on the league schedule this week. Missouri State and Central Arkansas played the first Valley game of the season Sept. 25, with MSU winning in the final minute of double overtime. Missouri State visits Charleston Oct. 9 for EIU's MVC home opener.

 

Eastern will be in search of its first victory against Creighton as an MVC member (1996-present). The Panthers did manage to shutout Creighton for the first time since 1984 in last year's scoreless draw in Charleston. But that marked only the second time since 1996 that EIU was able to earn a standings point against the Bluejays.

 

After seeing its streak of 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances end last year, Creighton was the premier team in the MVC over this season's first month. New head coach Jamie Clark took over the program in June after Bob Warming moved on to Penn State. The CU players responded to the coaching change by winning their first four games in shutout fashion, highlighted by a victory at nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara. The Bluejays have also shutout common-opponent DePaul in Omaha.

 

Creighton and Eastern entered the week as the top two defensive teams in the league; this week, CU is 24th nationally in goals against average, EIU 44th. The Bluejays have surrendered only five goals in their seven games (654 minutes), while the Panthers have given up only six goals in their first seven games (636 minutes). Goalkeepers Sean Molony (EIU) and Brian Holt (CU) have compiled two of the best goals against averages in the league, but Molony has made 40 saves versus Holt's 14.

 

Creighton has been a much more efficient offensive team, featuring the MVC leaders in goals (Ethan Finlay, 5) and assists (Jose Gomez, 6). The Bluejays have yet to be shutout so far this year. Saturday in Omaha, Wisconsin was the first team to keep CU from scoring in the standard 90 minutes. But Finlay scored a golden goal in the 96th minute to lift his team to victory.

 

Alex Harrison (three goals) and Jonathan Hinds (one) are the active Panthers who have scored against Creighton during their careers.

 

UMKC has posted three of its four victories at home, highlighted by 1-0 wins against Valley opponents Central Arkansas and Missouri State. The Kangaroos host Oral Roberts Friday in their Summit League opener.

 

Rutgers transfer Jimmy Simon leads the way for UMKC with four goals, scoring with four of his six shots on goal. John Bayron Sosa and David Sarabia received the majority of the preseason publicity. Sosa was named to the initial MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List after leading the Summit League with eight assists in 2009. He has scored twice this year but has yet to setup a goal for a teammate. Sarabia, meanwhile, has scored just once in the first eight games after recording nine goals as a freshman in 2009. He leads the team with 23 shots, but has put only seven on goal.

 

UMKC has also been fairly solid defensively. Three of the eight goals the Kangaroos have surrendered were scored in a Sept. 15 loss at Drake, another Valley opponent.

Sunday's EIU-UMKC contest completes a four-year home-and-home series that dates back to 2006. The Panthers have won each of the three previous meetings and lead the all-time series 8-3. Eastern won in 1-0 fashion in 2006 and 2007 and 3-2 in the 2008 home opener.

Following the weekend road trip, EIU is scheduled to play three of its next four games at home during a 12-day stretch.