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Eastern Illinois (1-5-1, 0-1-1 OVC) vs. Eastern Kentucky (3-7, 1-1 OVC)
Friday, September 27
3 pm at Lakeside Field
Live Stats  | 
 
Eastern Illinois at Belmont (1-6-2, 0-2 OVC)
Sunday, September 29
2 pm at Nashville, Tenn.
Live Stats  |  Watch Live on ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois plays its second week of Ohio Valley Conference action as the Panthers will host Eastern Kentucky on Friday at 3 p.m.  The Panthers opened the OVC slate with a 0-0 tie against UT Martin on Friday night and a 1-0 loss at Southeast Missouri on Sunday.  EIU is now 1-5-1 on the season, 0-1-1 in the OVC.   Eastern Kentucky enters the weekend at 3-7 overall, 1-1 in the league.  On Sunday EIU will travel to Belmont to face a Bruins team that is 1-6-2 overall, 0-2 in the OVC.

TETEAK SOLID IN GOAL: Eastern Illinois senior goalkeeper Sara Teteak turned away 16 shots on Friday evening at UT Martin as the Panthers and Skyhawks played to a 0-0 draw.  It marked the second straight season that EIU has played the defending regular season OVC champion to a 0-0 draw.  For Teteak, it was her first shutout of the season and the 16th of her career as she moved into a tie for second on the EIU career shutouts list.   Teteak currently needs four more starts in goal this season to become the EIU career leader in games started.

SHOTS FROM DIFFERENT ATTACKERS: Eastern Illinois was held off the scoreboard during the opening weekend of Ohio Valley Conference action but the Panthers did have a variety of players record shots on goal over the first two matches.  On Friday against UT Martin, the Panthers had shots on goal from Sarah DeWolf and Nicoletta Anuci.  On Sunday at Southeast Missouri three different players had shots on goal.  Lexi Ketterhagen, Pilar Barrio and Lindsey Carlson all directed shots on goal.

OVC GOALS: Eastern Illinois did not score over the weekend in either Ohio Valley Conference match.   Last season EIU scored in its opening OVC match of the season with a  1-0 win at Morehead State. The last time EIU went two or more OVC matches to open the season without a goal was two years ago when EIU's first goal came in the fifth conference match of the year against Morehead State. 

LOGGING MINUTES: Eastern Illinois has had solid play in its backline over the past four matches allowing only three goals during that time frame.  Part of the success has come from a consistent backline that features Lindsey Carlson, Victoria Wharton, Kenzie Balcerak and Eva Munoz.  On the year Wharton is the only EIU field player to be on the field for all 650 minutes of game action.  Carlson, Balcerak and Munoz have all logged over 600 minutes in the backline.   
 
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 Eastern Kentucky will be meeting for the 16th time on Friday afternoon.  The all-time series is tied 7-7-1 after the two schools played to a 0-0 draw last year.  Prior to that EKU had won four straight in the series.  On Sunday, EIU and Belmont will be meeting for the tenth time with the Bruins holding a 6-3 all-time series lead.  Belmont won 3-1 last season and has won five straight in the series.
 
NEXT UP:  Following the two matches this weekend, Eastern Illinois returns home to Lakeside Field for five straight matches including four OVC contests.  The long home stand begins on Friday, Oct. 4 as the Panthers host Jacksonville State. 

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.