ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Eastern Illinois men's soccer was defeated 2-0 in their Summit League conference opener on the road against St. Thomas. With the loss, EIU opens conference play at 0-1-0 and their overall record slips to 1-5-1.
The Tommies were able to get offensive penetration early, firing off a couple of shots in the first 10 minutes of action. The game then turned into a defensive standoff, as aside from a corner opportunity by the Tommies and a shot on goal for EIU from
Casey Welage, neither team was able to get much penetration. After St. Thomas broke through in the 26th minute with a goal from Carver Tierney, the Panthers turned up their offensive pressure. An EIU corner kick was quickly followed by a free kick opportunity from just outside of the penalty box by
Nikola Salopek, but the shot was just saved by the Tommie goalie. The Panthers were able to afford themselves a total of three corner kicks in the period, but were unable to take advantage. Another St. Thomas goal in the 44th minute put EIU in a 2-0 hole at halftime.
EIU kept up their offensive attack in the second half, but were unable to capitalized as the Panthers saw three shots blocked by St. Thomas defenders and two more by
Delphy Sabu and
Lesego Maloma which were on target but failed to find the back of the net as St. Thomas ultimately held on for the 2-0 win.
Munir Sherali and
Sam Eccles each also recorded a shot for EIU.Â
Chad Smith recorded six saves in goalkeeper to add to his growing total. The Panthers totaled seven corner kicks.
Up next, EIU plays their home opener for the 2022 season as the Panthers will host a Summit League newcomer in the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles next Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 PM CT.
