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Eastern Illinois (0-1-1) at IUPUI (0-1-1)
Sept. 2 at 6 PM
Indianapolis, Ind. (Michael A. Carroll Stadium)
Live Stats

Panthers Bound For Indy
Eastern Illinois men's soccer hits the road again to take on the IUPUI Jaguars in Indianapolis, Ind.  The Panthers are coming off of a 1-1 tie against Xavier that leaves them standing at 0-1-1 on the young season.  IUPUI likewise enters Friday's matchup with a record of 0-1-1, as they are coming off of a 3-1 road loss to Evansville.  Kickoff is set for 6 PM CT.

Smith Solid at Goalkeeper
Chad Smith has logged all 180 minutes so far this season at goalkeeper and has been stellar.  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.  Smith's ten saves currently lead the Summit League and his 1.5 goals against average is tied for third in the conference.

Panthers Steady on Defense
In the last game against Green Bay, the Phoenix were able to occupy the ball within EIU's half of the field for much of the first half, but the Panther defense held strong, limiting the Phoenix to just four shots in the first half and no shots on goal.

Spallinger, Okonny Make Early Impact
Freshman Forward Jude Spallinger scored a goal in EIU's home exhibition win over Parkland CC.  Okonny made the assist on the goal and also scored a goal of his own in the win.

Eccles, Sabu Find The Back Of The Net
Sam Eccles scored a goal off of a penalty kick in the 82nd minute of EIU's opener at Green Bay for the Panthers' first goal of the regular season.  Delphy Sabu found the back of the net in the 72nd minute to ultimately secure a tie against Xavier.

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
Friday will mark the 18th all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Jaguars.  Both teams have won six in the series, while the other five prior meetings all ended in ties.  The Panthers have gone 2-0-2 against IUPUI in the last four meetings, including last season's 1-0 win in Indianapolis in which Chad Hamler netted the game-winning goal in the second half.

Up Next
The Panthers will remain in the state of Indiana as they head to Fort Wayne to take on the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, September 4.  Kickoff is scheduled for 2 PM 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.