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Eastern Illinois (3-8-3, 2-4-2) at Austin Peay (4-8-3, 3-4-1 OVC)
Friday, October 25
6 pm at Clarksville, Tenn.
Live Stats  |  
 
Eastern Illinois at Murray State (9-7, 6-2 OVC)
Sunday, October 27
1 pm at Murray, Ky.
Live Stats  |  Watch on ESPN+


ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois wraps up the OVC regular season on the road this weekend with matches at Austin Peay and Murray State.  The Panthers wrapped up a five-match homestand last Friday with a 1-1 tie with Tennessee Tech.  EIU was 2-1-2 during those five matches as they stand in a three-way tie for eighth place in the OVC standings with eight points.  EIU is 3-8-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the OVC.  Austin Peay sits just ahead of EIU in the league race with 10 points as the Governors are 4-8-3 overall, 3-4-1 in the OVC.   Murray State is 9-7 overall, 6-2 in the OVC as the Racers are second in the league standings.

POINTS RACE: Senior Sarah DeWolf moved back into the points race lead for Eastern Illinois as she had the lone goal for the Panthers in their 1-1 draw with Tennessee Tech.  DeWolf now has a team high eight points as she is tied with Lexi Ketterhagen for the team lead in goals with three.  She is also tied for the team lead in assists with two with Pilar Barrio and Itxaso Aguero.

PLAYING EXTRA SOCCER: Eastern Illinois played its third straight overtime match last Friday when the Panthers finished with a 1-1 draw against Tennessee Tech.  EIU had played Southern Illinois to a 0-0 tie the previous week and lost in the first overtime period to SIUE.  On the season EIU has now played five overtime matches with a record of 0-2-3 in those contests.  The last time EIU played five or more overtime matches in a season was last season with seven overtime matches.  The last time EIU played three straight overtime matches was 2012 between Aug. 19 and 26.  EIU was 1-2 in those overtime matches..  The last time EIU won a match in overtime was Sept. 8, 2017 with a 3-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

SENIORS LAST REGULAR SEASON MATCHES: Eastern Illinois will look to extend its 2019 season past the regular season this weekend as the Panthers play a pair of road matches.  It will be the last regular season matches for Panthers seniors Angela Corcoran, Sarah DeWolf, Lexi Ketterhagen, Sara Teteak, Lindsey Carlson and Rachel Pappas.
 
OVC TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS: Eastern Illinois is looking to make the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the second straight season.  The top eight teams advance to the post-season competition.  EIU is currently in a three-way tie with Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky for the eighth and final spot.  EIU has a pair of road matches this weekend at Austin Peay and Murray State.  Both EKU and Morehead State will play a single match this weekend at SIUE.  The Panthers most likely will not know their post-season fate until Sunday afternoon.
 
HANNAH HEINZ RETURNS TO TEAM: Forward Hannah Heinz has officially returned to the women's soccer program this fall.  Heinz played her first minutes in nearly two years on Sunday against Purdue Fort Wayne.  Heinz was one of the Panthers top goal scorer's two seasons ago before being diagnosed with cancer near the end of the 2018 spring season.  She underwent treatment against the disease with the EIU team rallying around her for a Hope for Hannah match last fall.  Heinz is now back on the team and looking to see action on the pitch during this upcoming season.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay will be meeting for the 18th time on the pitch when the two schools play in a crucial OVC contest on Friday evening.  EIU holds a 9-6-2 all-time series lead including a 1-0 win last season.  On Sunday EIU and Murray State will be meeting for the 23rd time as the two schools wrap up the regular season.  The Racers have won six straight in the series, including two matches last season, to hold a 10-8-4 lead in the series. 
 
NEXT UP:  Following this weekend's matches on the road, EIU could be in action in the opening weekend of the OVC Tournament next Friday or Sunday. The Panthers must finish in the top eight in the regular season standings to advance.

HEAD COACH: Jake Plant enters his second season as the head coach of the Eastern Illinois women's soccer team.  A 2014 EIU alumnus and former member of the Panthers men's soccer program, Plant was the assistant coach for both the men's and women's program for two years with one additional season as an assistant for the men's program before being named EIU women's head coach last season.  Plant led EIU to a 6-8-6 record in his first season including a 4-3-3 record in OVC play.  He is a native of Birmingham, England.  He is assisted by Dirk Bennett.