Charleston, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois women's soccer team showed it wouldn't go down easy by scoring first in the Ohio Valley Conference opener 2-1 loss against current champions, SIUE. With the defeat, EIU sits at a 0-1 OVC record while holding 1-5-2 overall. SIUE moves to a 1-0 in the OVC and 3-4-1 in the season.
The kickoff between EIU and SIUE blew away what seemed to be a rainy afternoon at Lakeside Field. With the clear weather, EIU and SIUE battled through a very balanced game, as both teams created good scoring opportunities. In the 15th minute,
Zenaya Barnes found the back of the net for the Panthers after picking up the rebound from a crossbar shot fired by
Carys Grieve. In the 30th minute, SIUE found the equalizing goal with Aleah Minehart.
In the second half both teams went after the winning goal. SIUE had a total of 17 shots with 9 of them being in the final half. Goalkeeper
Ella Kratochvil ended the match with ten saves in net for the Panthers. EIU's best scoring opportunity came around the 70th minute with Barnes hitting the right post on a low diagonal finish. The Cougars broke through the Panther's defense in the 72nd minute with Macie Begley to secure the win for SIUE.
EIU will now travel to take on Southeast Missouri on Sunday, Sept. 24th. Kickoff scheduled for 1P.M.
