Detroit Mercy (1-6) vs. Eastern Illinois (1-3-2)
Tuesday, September 19
6PM - Titan Field, Detroit, Mich.
Watch | Live Stats
ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois men's soccer team continues its sequence of road matches, as the Panthers travel to Michigan to face Detroit Mercy on Tuesday. The Panthers are 1-3-2 in the season after dropping their last match to Western Illinois. Detroit Mercy currently sits at a 1-6 record, as the Titans enter the match followed by a win over Cleveland State.
ALLEN SCORES: Maxwell Allen scored his first goal of the season in the contest against Western Illinois. With the goal, the fifth year defender became the fourth player to score for the Panthers, as
Lesego Maloma,
Adrian Lechuga, and
Sam Eccles also found the back of the net at least once in 2023.
ECCLES MEETS WELAGE IN ASSISTS: Sam Eccles is now sharing the lead of assists with
Casey Welage. The most recent assist from Eccles came in the match against Western Illinois, as he found Allen in the play that ended with EIU's goal in the contest. Welage and Eccles have two assists each in the season for the Panthers.
HELLO OLD FRIEND: Panther's goalkeeper
Kyce Toutanji prepares to face his old teammates, as he was a member of the Titans during the 2021 season before transferring to EIU in 2023. Toutanji made one appearance against Western Michigan while playing for Detroit Mercy. In 2023, Toutanji made his appearance in the 1-1 home draw against IUPUI, adding four saves for the Panthers.
ECCLES AGAIN: Sam Eccles added his second goal of the season in the match against Wright State to become the team leader in numbers of goals (2). Earlier in the year, the senior forward scored EIU's goal in the 1-1 home draw with IUPUI.
ASSISTS: Other than Eccles and Welage leading with two assists each,
William Bruce and
Julian Smith also logged one assist each in the season.
OFF TO A GOOD START: The 1-0 home win over Governors State marked the first time EIU has opened the year with a win since 2018. On that occasion, the Panthers defeated Cincinnati on the road, 2-0. The last home opener win came in 2014, when the Panthers beat St. Francis (IL) also 2-0.
CLEAN SHEET TO OPEN THE SEASON: In goal,
Chad Smith posted three saves to give EIU the first shutout of the season. Last time EIU opened the season with a shutout was also in 2018, against Cincinnati.
OVC PLAYER TO WATCH: Sam Eccles was named as EIU's player to watch in the OVC this season. The senior forward from Sheffield, England scored five goals and had one assist last year, which gave him a total of 11 points, the most points scored by an EIU player since 2014. Eccles started in 16 matches and logged 1,024 minutes for the Panthers in the 2022 season.
SERIES HISTORY: Panthers and Titans will play for the second time in history. In 2006, Detroit Mercy beat EIU one-nil to hold a 1-0 record advantage.
HEAD COACH: Josh Oakley enters his second season as the head coach of the Eastern Illinois men's soccer team. Oakley was hired as the 11th head coach in the history of the program. A native of Mattoon, Ill., Oakley previously served as an assistant coach at EIU from 2000-02 and returned to Charleston after a successful stint at Lansing Common FC in the Midwest Premier League. He is assisted by
Chris DeVito
NEXT UP: EIU returns home for the conference opener, as the Panthers host Lindenwood on Sept. 28th. Kickoff scheduled for 4 P.M.
