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Eastern Illinois (2-5-5, 0-1-2 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (0-8-1, 0-2-1 OVC)
Thursday, October 3
6 pm at Charleston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Live Stats  |  NO ESPN+ Coverage Due To Broadcast Conflict
 
Eastern Illinois at SIUE (1-6-3, 0-2-1 OVC)
Sunday, October 6
2 pm at Edwardsville, Ill. (Korte Stadium)
Watch | Live Stats

ON-TAP:  Eastern Illinois has another split week of Ohio Valley Conference competition as the Panthers host Southeast Missouri on Thursday before traveling on Sunday afternoon to play at SIUE.  EIU picked up a pair of draws in OVC action last week securing two points in the OVC standings.  EIU played to a 0-0 draw with Lindenwood before a 1-1 tie at Southern Indiana.  The Panthers now stand at 2-5-5 on the season, 0-1-2 in the OVC.  SEMO is off to an 0-2-1 record in OVC action coming off losses last week to Tennessee Tech and Western Illinois.  Overall SEMO is 0-8-1 on the year.   On Sunday EIU will travel to face a SIUE team that is 1-6-3 on the season entering the week.  The Cougars had a tie with Little Rock and loss to Lindenwood last week to stand at 0-2-1 in the OVC.  SIUE travels to Macomb on Thursday before hosting EIU. 
 
NEXT UP: Following the matches this week EIU plays just one time next week with a home match against Western Illinois scheduled for a 12 pm start as part of a home OVC women's / men's doubleheader at Lakeside Field.  The match will be Senior Day for the Panthers. 
 
KRATOCHVIL RETURNS TO NET:  Ella Kratochvil returned to the net for the Panthers and posted a shutout in her first appearance in net with seven saves in the 0-0 draw with Lindenwood.  She allowed one goal against Southern Indiana on Sunday making five saves helping EIU secure points in both contests.  Kratochvil made ten starts last season in the net appearing in 12 total matches.  She had three shutouts during the year and finished with a 1.36 goals against average.
 
REINL SCORES: Abby Reinl scored her third goal of the season on Sunday in the OVC match at Southern Indiana.  It was the second straight Sunday match that Reinl has found the net as she has three goals on the season.  She scored in the OVC opener at Morehead State and earlier this season she scored against Akron.   The sophomore from Sheboygan, Wis., now has six career goals.  Reinl was tied for the team lead in goals last season with three.

HOOVER OVC AWARD: Goalkeeper Ashlyn Hoover has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Goalkeeper of the Week on two occasions this season.  Hoover won her first award of the year following a 0.50 goals against average during matches with Purdue Fort Wayne and Valparaiso, posting a clean sheet against the Beacons.  She earned her second weekly award following a six save shutout performance against Indiana State in the Panthers final non-conference match.  Hoover has three shutouts this season and four for her career.  She currently holds a 1.80 goals against average with 39 saves.
 
OVC OPENERS: Eastern Illinois opened its 2024 OVC season with a road loss at Morehead State as the Panthers are now in their 26th season as a soccer playing member in the OVC.  EIU is 8-13-5 all-time in OVC openers, the last win to open a conference season coming in 2018 at Morehead State. 
 
TETTEH HAT TRICK: Alex Tetteh was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week after her performances against Illinois Springfield and Eastern Kentucky.  Tetteh recorded a hat trick in the win over UIS scoring all three of her goals in the opening twenty minutes.  The first two scores came off headers sent into the box by Kate Germano and Colleen Bauer.  The final score was on a penalty kick which Tetteh drew herself with an attack to the goal box.  It was the first EIU hat trick since Aug. 26, 2012 when Kristin Germann had three goals against Cleveland State.
 
GOAL PRODUCTION: Eastern Illinois has had balance on the offensive attack this season with five different players recording goals including Tetteh's hat trick.  A total of eight players have recorded points on the season with Kate Germano the lone player with both a goal and assist this year.  Last season EIU had ten different players score during the season with four players collecting multiple goals.  Alex Tetteh, Abby Reinl and Zenaya Barnes were tied for the team lead with three goals each.
 
TREJO WINNER: Junior defender Kya Trejo came from the back line to steal a pass and send home what proved to be the match winner against Valparaiso (Aug. 22).  It was the first shot of the season for Trejo and just the seventh of her three year EIU playing career.  The goal was the first of Trejo's career and the first match winner this season for the Panthers.
 
RETURNING ALL-OVC: Eastern Illinois has two returning players that earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors last season for the Panthers.  Sophomore Alex Tetteh was a second team All-OVC selection as well as named to the All-OVC Newcomer team.  Tetteh had three goals and one assist during the season.  Elisa Solis was also an All-OVC Newcomer selection.  Solis played in the back line making 15 appearances with 13 starts for the year.  

OVC PLAYER TO WATCH: Senior Avery Richardson was named the Ohio Valley Conference preseason player to watch for Eastern Illinois this year.  Richardson played in all 17 matches last season making 16 starts.  She moved from midfield to defender for the season and led the team with minutes played on the pitch with 1,384.  Richardson logged the full 90 minutes during nine of the 17 matches for the season.

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 30th meeting between Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri.  The Redhawks won last season in the OVC tournament after EIU won the regular season meeting in Cape Girardeau.  SEMO holds a 14-12-3 all-time lead in the series.  EIU and SIUE will meet for the 19th time on Sunday with the Cougars holding a commanding 15-2-1 all-time series lead.  SIUE has won six straight in the series.  EIU's last win was a 1-0 win in Edwardsville in 2018.

HEAD COACH: Dirk Bennett enters his second 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 was his first career win as he holds a 6-14-9 career record, including 3-5-4 in the OVC. He is assisted by Deanna Hecht.