Purdue Fort Wayne (2-2) vs. Eastern Illinois (1-2-1)
Thursday, August 31
5pm - Fort Wayne, Ind.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
ON-TAP: After a home draw against Indiana State 1-1, Eastern Illinois women's soccer are back on the road as the Panthers look for its first away win of the season. The Panthers are now 1-2-1 while Purdue Fort Wayne sits at 2-2 on the season following a win over Southern Indiana in their last contest.
PIZANO ON THE SCORESHEET: Serra Pizano scored her first goal of the season in the contest against ISU. The senior forward became the fourth different player to find the back of the net for the Panthers. Other than her,
Alex Tetteh,
Katiebeth May, and
Abby Reinl have scored at least once this season.
ONSTOTT LEADS IN ASSISTS: Ella Onstott logs another assist against Indiana State. The sophomore midfielder leads the team in number of assists with two. Her first assist of the season came in the season opener at Valparaiso.
REINL NAMED OVC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abby Reinl was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week for week one. Reinl was sharp to command EIU's offensive action in both season inaugural matches. She scored EIU's goal against Valpo on Thursday. On Sunday, Reinl was once again exceptional to come out of the bench and assist EIU's second goal against UIS and score EIU's third goal in the 3-1 home win over UIS. The two goals were the first of Reinl's career as she has been a member of EIU's 2023 recruiting class. The last EIU player to win OVC Offensive player of the Week was
Zenaya Barnes during the 2021 season.
OVC PLAYER TO WATCH: Cam Korhorn was named the Eastern Illinois player to watch in the OVC this season. A veteran player, Korhorn adds experience to the Panthers midfield this season after starting 13 contests last season. She finished the season tied for second in scoring on the team with 1 goal and 1 assist.
SERIES HISTORY: The match marks the eighth meeting between schools. EIU holds a close 4-2-1 series advantage. Last season, the Panthers defeated the Mastodons at home, 2-0.
HEAD COACH: Dirk Bennett enters his first season as the head coach of the Eastern Illinois women's soccer team. A two-time EIU graduate, Bennett previously served as the Panthers assistant women's soccer coach since July of 2019. In February of 2023, he became the seventh head coach in program history. In 2022, Bennett helped coach the team to a 0.81 goals against average, which is the third best single season mark in school history. EIU's 3-1 home win over Illinois Springfield this season marked Bennett's career win number 1. He is assisted by
Deanna Hecht and
Kayla Baird.
NEXT UP: EIU returns home to host Illinois State on Thursday, Sept. 7th.
