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Eastern Illinois (2-10-1, 1-3-0 Summit League) at Western Illinois (1-12-1, 1-3-0 Summit League)
Oct. 30 at 1 pm
Macomb, Ill. (John MacKenzie Alumni Field)
Live Stats

Panthers Resume Summit League Action At WIU
Eastern Illinois men's soccer returns to Summit League conference play on the road against the Western Illinois Leathernecks.  The Panthers, who currently sit at 1-3-0 in Summit League conference play, come into Macomb with an overall record of 2-10-1 following a 2-0 home loss to Belmont on Tuesday, October 26.  WIU, who also currently holds a Summit League record of 1-3-0, enters the match with an overall record of 1-12-1 following a 1-0 loss at Kansas City on Saturday, October 23.  Kickoff is set for 1 pm.

Smith and Hamler Record Game Winners
Midfielders Julian Smith and Chad Hamler have each netted their first career game-winning goals this season.  Smith, a sophomore, netted the game-winner in the 36th minute of the conference-opening win over St. Thomas on September 25.  Hamler, a senior, scored what was both the game-winning goal and the first goal of his Panthers career in the 78th minute of the Panthers' road triumph over IUPUI on October 20.  Hamler is currently in a three-way tie with Davi Girardi and Jonas Castelhano for second on the team in shots with 12 on the season and ranks third on the team with six shots on goal.

Girardi Finding The Back Of The Net
Redshirt Senior Forward Davi Girardi leads the Panthers on the season with two goals scored.  Girardi's first goal of the season came in the 12th minute against Omaha.  His second goal came in the 57th minute of the game at Kansas City.

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 is tied for third in the Summit League with 42 saves on the season.

The First One Is Always Special
Four of the seven 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, and leads the team in shots on the season with 15.

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 led the team with four shots, including three shots on goal, in the loss to Purdue Fort Wayne.  Allen leads the team in shots on goal on the season with nine.

Series History
Saturday will mark the fifteenth all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Leathernecks.  Western Illinois leads the all-time series history 8-4-2.  In the previous meeting between the two teams last spring, EIU defeated WIU 2-1 at Lakeside Field on April 17, 2021.  The game marked the first win of head coach Ronnie Bouemboue's tenure at EIU.  Maxwell Allen and Reed Axthelm each had a goal for the Panthers, while Jonathan Burke recorded a career-high 11 saves.

Next Up
The Panthers will conclude the 2021 regular season with a senior day matchup against Oral Roberts at Lakeside Field on Saturday, November 6.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1 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.