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Eastern Illinois (1-9-3) at Belmont (5-3-6)
Oct. 26 at 6:30 PM CT
Nashville, Tenn. (E. S. Rose Park)
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Panthers Face Bruins in Nashville
Eastern Illinois men's soccer heads to the Music City to take on the Belmont Bruins in their final non-conference match of the 2022 season.  The Panthers currently hold an overall record of 1-9-3 following Saturday's 1-0 home loss to Kansas City.  The Bruins enter the match with an overall record of 5-3-6, with their most recent match being a 0-0 tie at home against Missouri State.  Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM CT.

Eccles Leading The Way On Offense
Sam Eccles has been the Panthers' offensive leader this season.  The transfer from Hofstra leads the team with 37 shots, making him the first Panther to record 30+ shots in a season since Jake Brillhart in 2014.  Eccles also leads the team with 17 shots on goal, and has scored five goals so far this season to go along with an assist.  His five goals are tied for second in the conference.  He is the first Panther to score at least five goals in a season since Brillhart did so in 2014.  He scored his first goal of the season off of a penalty kick in the 82nd minute of EIU's opener at Green Bay for the Panthers' first team goal of the regular season, and netted his second goal in the 8th minute against IUPUI.  Against Southern Indiana, he became the first Panther to score multiple goals in a game since Zach Medawattage did so in 2017.  His goal in the 66th minute at Bradley helped secure the 1-1 tie against the Braves.

Elsewhere on offense, Delphy Sabu found the back of the net in the 72nd minute to help secure a tie against Xavier, while Julian Smith netted what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 15th minute at Purdue Fort Wayne off of a pass from Eccles.  Lesego Maloma scored his first career goal at Lindenwood off of an assist from Prince Okonny and netted his second goal of the season in the second half against Western Illinois.  Okonny found the back of the net for the first time this season at Oral Roberts in the 38th minute.

Smith Locks It Down At Goalkeeper
Chad Smith has played a team-high 1121 minutes at goalkeeper this season for EIU, playing all 90 minutes in 10 matches this season, including the last seven.  He played all 90 minutes at Purdue Fort Wayne, earning his first shutout of the season en route to a Panther win.  His four first half saves against Xavier single-handedly kept the Panthers in the game and his save in the second half preserved the eventual tie.  He accumulated a career-high 13 saves and allowed just two goals despite facing 51 shots in EIU's game against Dayton.  Smith's 5.23 saves per game lead the Summit League and rank eighth in the nation.  His 68 total saves also leads the conference and ranks ninth in the nation.  As a team, EIU leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation with 5.85 saves per game and also leads the conference in total team saves with 71.

Scouting Belmont
The Bruins are led by fourth-year head coach David Costa.  Offensively for the Bruins, Case Cox and Liam O'Brien have each scored four goals this season while Jansen Wilson leads the team with 26 shots and 15 shots on goal.  Nate Logan has played all 1260 minutes at goalkeeper for Belmont this season and averaged 3.21 saves per game.

Spallinger, Okonny Make Early Impact
Freshman Forward Jude Spallinger scored a goal in EIU's home exhibition win over Parkland CC.  Okonny delivered the assist on the goal and also scored a goal of his own in the win.  Spallinger also has one assist on the season and four shots.  Okonny has recorded six shots so far this season.

Smith, Hamler Named Players To Watch
Chad Hamler and Julian Smith have been named Summit League Preseason Players to Watch.  Hamler comes into this season having made 35 starts at Midfielder for the Panthers.  He scored a game-winning goal a season ago in the Panthers' win at IUPUI and recorded two goals in EIU's exhibition win over Parkland Community College.  Hamler leads all returing Panthers with 14 shots recorded a season ago.  Smith appeared in all 15 games for EIU a season ago, including six starts.  He scored a game-winning goal in EIU's home win over St. Thomas.

Series History
Wednesday will mark the 11th all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Panthers.  The all-time series is currently tied 5-5.  The Bruins won last season's match at Lakeside Field 2-0 and have won five out of the last six in the series overall.

Up Next
The Panthers will host the Denver Pioneers on senior day at Lakeside Field on Saturday, October 29.  Kickoff is scheduled for 11 AM CT.

The Oakley Era Begins
This season is the first under new head coach Josh Oakley, who was hired as the 11th head coach in the history of the program on June 29.  A native of Mattoon, Ill., Oakley previously served as an assistant coach at EIU from 2000-02, and returns to Charleston after a successful stint at Lansing Common FC in the Midwest Premier League.  Oakley also has previous collegiate coaching experience with stops at Spring Arbor University, Alma College, and Asbury College.