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CHARLESTON, ILL -- Eastern Illinois men's soccer was defeated 1-0 by the Kansas City Roos Saturday afternoon at Lakeside Field.  With the loss, the Panthers fall to 1-9-3 overall and 0-5-1 in Summit League conference play for the season.

Both sides came out aggressive on offense, as the two teams combined for seven shots in the first 10 minutes, including three for the Panthers from Sam Eccles.  Both teams were able to get offensive penetration but were unable to capitalize as both goalkeepers were able to lock down.  Kansas City broke through in the 34th minute when Christian Koffi scored off of a corner kick from Kotaro Hirokawa.  The Panthers appeared to score the equalizer in the 38th minute, but the goal was nullified by an offsides call as Kansas City took the 1-0 advantage into halftime.  Overall, the two teams combined for 17 shots and 10 corner kick opportunities in the first half.

The Panthers continued to fight in the second half, outshooting Kansas City 7-6 in the period and giving themselves four additional corner opportunities.  Kansas City continued to get penetration, but Chad Smith kept the Panthers in the game with four second half saves.  Sam Eccles got the best look of the game for the Panthers right at the 85 minute mark, but his shot deflected off of the top of the crossbar.  A corner kick opportunity two minutes later also hit off of the crossbar as the Panthers were unable to find the equalizer in the second half.  

"In eight games this year, we've either led the game or we've been down 1-0 and we've come to score a goal to make it 1-1," said head coach Josh Oakley.  "Today, the only thing keeping us from that was the woodworking [and] a few really good saves from their goalkeeper. So, it could have been a total of nine games because of the fight and the soccer we're playing."

Both teams recorded 15 shots for the match, with EIU recording 11 shots on goal to Kansas City's 10.  Eccles led the way for the Panthers with six shots, four of which were on target.  Julian Smith also recorded three shots, all of which were on goal.  Chad Smith recorded seven saves to add to his growing total for the season.

"I think you have to build on things as we start to rebuild Panther Soccer," said Coach Oakley. "You just have to build on the really good things."

Up next, the Panthers head to the Music City for their final out-of-conference match against the Belmont Bruins on Wednesday, October 26.  Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 PM CT.