Eastern Illinois vs. SIUE
Thursday, October 3
6pm – Edwardsville, Ill. (Ralph Korte Stadium)
Watch | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois vs. Lindenwood
Sunday, October 6
3pm – St. Charles, Mo. (Hunter Stadium)
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ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois men's soccer team (1-5-1, OVC 0-1) is set to take on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (3-3-2, OVC 1-0) on Thursday evening at 6pm at Ralphe Korte Stadium. The Panthers look to pick up their first conference victory of the 2024 season as SIUE enters Thursday's matchup coming off a 2-0 victory at home over Lindenwood.
NEXT UP: Following Thursday night's contest, Eastern Illinois will stay west as they travel to St. Charles, Mo to take on the Lindenwood Lions (4-4-1, OVC 0-1) on Sunday afternoon. First kick is set for 3pm as this will mark the first matchup between the Lions and the Panthers this season.
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: Graduate Student Sam Eccles carried over his offensive production from the 2023 season, recording two assists in the opening victory versus the University of Chicago. Eccles currently leads the Panthers offensive efforts, sitting at the top of the list in goals, assists, and points for the 2024 season. Eccles currently has seven points and three assists, while sitting tied with freshman Jackson Liley as EIU's top goal scorers with two apiece. Junior Casey Welage leads Eastern Illinois in shots attempted with 13.
OVC PLAYER TO WATCH: Eccles was also named as EIU's Ohio Valley Conference preseason player to watch after a strong 2023 campaign. He looks to build off of his numbers from a season ago as he logged 1381 total minutes and started all 18 games he appeared in.
GOAL PRODUCTION RETURNING: In addition, Eastern Illinois returns the next two points leaders from the 2023 season, Casey Welage and Felipe Kerr Lourenco. Welage finished the season with six points as Kerr Lourenco was close behind with five. Sophomore Kyle Kimberling is set to return as well as he finished the season as the Panthers second leading goal scorer.
BATTLE IN THE NET: In 2023, Eastern Illinois had three goalkeepers who shared time throughout the season. Senior Chad Smith held the box for a majority of the seasons matches as he started in 11 of the 12 games that he appeared in. In addition, EIU returns two other goalkeepers from last season, Joseph Whelan and Kyce Toutanji. Joseph and Toutanju each earned starts in all games that they appeared in. Toutanji earned the most recent start for the Panthers (Sep 4) as he was able to notch a career high 10 saves while only allowing one goal. Additionally, the Panthers added one more body in goal in redshirt freshman Lucas Ortiz.
SERIES HISTORY: This marks the seventh all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Cougars as the last matchup between both programs was played in Edwardsville in October of 2023. SIUE won 4-1, and Eastern Illinois trails the all-time series 0-6-0.
HEAD COACH: Josh Oakley enters his third season as the head coach of the EIU men's soccer program. Oakley spent two years on the Eastern Illinois staff as an assistant coach from 2000-02. He was hired as 11th head coach in EIU men's soccer program history in June of 2022 and guided EIU to an OVC Tournament semifinal appearance with a first-round win over Liberty. Prior to EIU, Oakley was the Head coach of Lansing Common FC in the Midwest Premier League. During his time in the MWPL, Lansing Common FC produced three MWPL Golden Boot Award winners (given to the league's top goal scorer).
