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Eastern Illinois at Kansas City
Oct. 16 at 7 pm
Kansas City, Mo. (Durwood Soccer Stadium)
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Panthers Head To Kansas City To Face The Roos
Eastern Illinois men's soccer returns to Summit League action as the Panthers travel to Kansas City to take on the Roos.  EIU enter the match with an overall record of 1-8-1 following a 5-0 loss at Louisville on Tuesday evening.  Kansas City comes into the game with an overall record of 1-6-3 following a 5-1 loss at Missouri State on Tuesday evening.  The Panthers sit at 1-2-0 in Summit League conference play, while the Roos sit at 0-1-1 in Summit League conference action.  Kickoff is set for 7 pm.

Burke and Rzewuski Receive Weekly Honors
Sophomore Defender Brennan Rzewuski and Senior Goalkeeper Jonathan Burke were named Summit League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week respectively for their performances for the week of September 20-26.  Rzewuski scored his first career goal in the 66th minute of the tie against Green Bay on September 21 on a header off of a pass from Forward Davi Girardi.  Rzewuski also recorded a shot in the conference-opening win on September 25 vs. St. Thomas.  Burke recorded a combined seven saves in the two games.  Burke, who tied a career high with 11 saves in the loss to Omaha, leads the team and ranks fourth in the Summit League with 40 saves on the season.

The First One Is Always Special
Three of the five goals scored by EIU so far this season have marked the first goal in a Panthers uniform for the player who scored.  Freshman Forward Prince Okonny netted his first career goal in the 39th minute of the loss to Northern Illinois.  It was also the first goal of the season for the Panthers.  It marked the second straight season in which the first goal of the season for EIU was scored by a true freshman.  Then-freshman Midfielder Julian Smith scored the Panthers' first goal of the season last Spring against Bradley.  Against Bellarmine, Junior Forward Lenni Kirschner scored the first goal of his EIU career in the 73rd minute.  Kirschner led the Panthers in the game with four shots, including two shots on goal.

Fresh Faces 
EIU adds seven newcomers who are enrolling as freshmen, including Chad Smith, William Bruce, Nana Nnuro-Frimpong, Prince Okonny, Jared Cornejo, Trey Gora, and Micah McReynolds.  A native of Cincinnati, Okonny earned first team All-Cincinnati Greater Catholic League honors in his senior year, ranking first in the league in goals with ten and second in the league in overall points with 16 on six assists.  Gora, a native of Bartlett, Ill., was a two-time All-Metro Suburban Conference selection in high school. Smith, who also hails from Cincinnati, earned first team All-Great Miami Conference honors and first-team All-City honors his senior year, posting six shutouts in the process.  McReynolds, who comes from Mason, OH, was a first team All-GMC selection in 2020 and a second-team honoree in 2019.  Bruce made his first career start in the match against Bellarmine.  McReynolds made his first career start in the match against Green Bay.  Gora made his first career start in the win over St. Thomas.  All three were in the starting lineup for the match at Denver.

Back for More 
The Panthers return several key players from last year's team, including the team's leader in both goals and overall points, Reed Axthelm.  Shady Omar, Alejandro Lurbe, and Maxwell Allen also return for EIU's offense after each scored two goals last season.  The four players combined for 42 shots last season, 19 of which were on goal.  Allen leads the team in shots on goal on the season with seven.

Series History
Saturday will mark the 17th all-time meeting between EIU and Kansas City.  The Panthers are 8-7-1 all-time against the Roos.  The two teams played twice last season, with both games being played at Lakeside Field.  The Roos beat the Panthers 3-1 on March 4, 2021.  The second meeting two days later resulted in a 2-2 draw.

Upcoming
The Panthers will head to Indianapolis to take in the IUPUI Jaguars on Wednesday, October 20.  Kickoff is scheduled for 3 pm.

Head Coach
Ronnie Bouemboue begins his second season as Panthers head coach.  Before EIU, he was the assistant head coach at IUPUI.  Bouemboue is the tenth men's soccer head coach at Eastern Illinois.  The Brooklyn, New York native was an accomplished player at North Carolina State, where he was a two-time All-ACC team selection.  Bouemboue has been on the coaching staff of Bradley, North Carolina State, and IUPUI.