CHARLESTON, Ill.- The Panthers opened Summit League play Saturday morning. Eastern Illinois men's soccer hosted No. 23 Omaha and held them scoreless ending the match in a 0-0 draw.

EIU improves to a 2-3-5 record tying a their all-time draw record. The last team to have five ties was 1982 when the Panthers finished 13-3-5.

The Panthers and Mavericks came on to the field ready to battle. Defense was key for both teams and held each other shot less in their first 37 minutes of play. Omaha took a total seven shots with five on goal. Xavier Gomez and Emmanuel Hamzat each had two shots on goal for the Mavericks. Seth Rinderknecht, Brahan Gamarra, and Diego Gutierrez each had one shot.

EIU kept pace with with Omaha. They had five shots with three on goal. Marcus Menniti, Simeon Packer, and Shady Omar each had one shot on goal for EIU. Federico Verlichi took two shots for the Panthers.

Goalkeeper Mike Novotny played all 110 minutes in the net for EIU. He tallied five saves for the match. Two in the first half and three in the second earning him his fifth shutout of the season.

The Panthers will be on a three match road trip over the next week. EIU will travel to Western Illinois Sept. 30 for a 1 p.m. conference match up followed by matches at Denver and Bradley.