Saturday, November 7 - Omaha at Lakeside Field 10 a.m. [Live Stats]

Closing Out The Season: Eastern Illinois men's soccer team will have their final match of the 2015 campaign at Lakeside Field as they host conference opponent Omaha Saturday [Nov. 7] morning. This is the first time the Panthers will have their season finale on their home turf since the 2011 season. EIU is 1-4 in Charleston this season with their only win coming in Summit League play against IUPUI giving the Panthers a 1-1 home conference record. In the past three seasons the Panthers have fought hard in their home season finales as the previous three home matches to close out the season have all gone into overtime. With a 10 a.m. start time this match is the only early morning match EIU has played all season.

Senior Day: Saturday morning's match will mark the last collegiate soccer match for seven different Panthers.

- Kyle Callender has been a foundation for the Panthers' backline as the senior defender is one of the few players to start in all 16 matches of the season. Callender has been a leader for the team sporting the captain's armband all year long. Callender finishes his EIU career having played in 50 matches throughout his four years and nearly 4,000 minutes on the field, earning one assist his junior season.
- Ben Feltes has split time in the net his four years at EIU as the red-shirt junior has opted not to pursue his extra year of eligibility. Feltes has played in 14 matches at goalkeeper during his career accumulating 1287:52 minutes between the posts for the Panthers. He leaves EIU with a 2-9-1 career record pulling in 66 saves throughout his time in a Panther uniform.
- Tony Meza has been a crucial player for EIU coming off the bench with the senior midfielder playing in 41 matches throughout his career while earning only nine starts. Meza picked up the opening goal against Robert Morris earlier in the season giving him two career goals to go along with his 20 career shots.
- Nick Smith has seen sparse time on the field this season but leads the team in career matches played with 52. The senior midfielder has two career goals and three career assists to his name along with 19 shots taken during his time as a Panther. Smith was named to the 2014 Summit League All-Academic Team during his junior year.
- Eric McCausland is an often looked to bench player for EIU seeing minutes in 29 different matches during his career at EIU. The defensive-minded midfielder finishes his career with one goal and three shots to his name.
- Victor Krogmann finishes his time at EIU playing in 20 matches during his career as a Panther. The German international has earned two goals, one assist, and three shots in his time as a forward at Eastern Illinois.
- Conor Bartuch has not played this season for EIU, but has seen action in 42 matches during his career as a Panther earning one goal and taking 22 shots throughout his four years. 

Season In Review: As first year head coach Kiki Lara looks back on the 2015 EIU men's soccer season there will be plenty of positives to look at despite the overall record. While not necessarily showing in the final results the Panthers' work rate and performance has improved greatly throughout the season. EIU may only have won one match out of the last five but the defensive consistency has picked up as the Panthers only allowed six goals throughout the five game span. The Panther defense managed to hold No. 8 Denver to one goal, a vast improvement from the 8-0 defeat by No. 19 Xavier early in the season. EIU has not taken many shots this season only averaging 4.7 shots per game, but are very accurate in the shots they take holding a .520 shots on goal percentage. With a win or tie against Omaha on Saturday [Nov. 7] morning Lara will match or surpass last year's overall season record of 3-13-1 and will hold the best season outcome for EIU since 2011.

Novotny Closes Out Record Season: EIU goalkeeper Mike Novotny will look to close out an already stellar season on a high note against Omaha. The sophomore currently sits at No. 7 in the NCAA for saves per game with a 5.21 average and is also ranked 22nd in the nation for total saves with 73 to his name this season. Novotny will close out the season coming off back-to-back Summit League Defensive Player of the Week awards. This is the first time since the 2012 season that EIU has had a player earn a weekly conference award and the first time a player has won multiple awards since Mick Galescki won three Offensive Player of the Week awards during the 2007 season. In the last four games for EIU Novotny has earned 25 saves, one shutout, and has saved two out of three penalty kicks he's faced. Novotny currently ranks eighth all-time at EIU for career saves, matches, and minutes played as a goalkeeper. If Novotny manages to make nine saves against Omaha he will be tied for tenth all-time in total saves in a single season at EIU with John Gouriotis and Brian Hecht.

Summit League Implications: The Panthers cannot qualify for the Summit League postseason tournament no matter what the result is Saturday, but EIU has the opportunity to play spoiler for Omaha. Omaha currently sits fourth in the Summit League with only the top four teams advancing to the Summit League Championship Tournament. The Mavericks hold a slight edge over IPFW with a one point lead over the Mastodons. With a win or tie  by EIU and an IPFW victory Saturday, Omaha will find itself just outside the top four and miss out on the postseason. A win by EIU will also mark the most conference victories in a season by the Panthers since 2009.

Scouting The Mavericks: Omaha comes to Lakeside Field 8-5-3 on the season having just lost 1-0 to Rutgers this past Saturday [Oct. 31]. The Mavericks are fourth in the Summit League with a 2-2-1 conference record while going 1-4-2 in true road matches throughout the season. The Panthers have only faced Omaha three times in its history all coming in the past three seasons. EIU has yet to earn a result against the Mavericks going 0-3 in the series, but Saturday's match marks the first time ever that Omaha will travel to Charleston. Omaha is led by the midfield duo of Logan Mendez and Mark Moulton. Mendez has six goals and four assists so far this season while Moulton has five goals and five assists to his name. Omaha is a heavy attacking team as Moulton leads the Summit League in shots taken for the season with 55, while teammate Fazlo Alihodzic is second with 38 shots.