Eastern Illinois vs. Wright State
Wednesday, September 4
7pm – Dayton, Ohio (Alumni Field at Rinzler Student Sports Complex)
Live Stats
ON-TAP: The Eastern Illinois men's soccer is set to continue their mid-season road stretch as they look to take their first action in almost two weeks. The Panthers last contest was played on September 4 as they took on the Evansville Aces and are looking to bounce back with their first road victory of 2024. First kick is set for 7pm under the lights at Alumni Field in Dayton, Ohio. Wright State enters Tuesday's matchup with an overall record of 3-3 as they were able to secure a 2-0 win over IU Indy on Saturday.
NEXT UP: Following Tuesday Night's action, Eastern Illinois is back on the road just a week later as they stay in the state of Ohio to take on the Bowling Green Falcons. This contest will take place at Cochrane Stadium on September 24, with the first kick set for 6pm.
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: Graduate Student Sam Eccles carried over his offensive production from the 2023 season as he was able to record two assists in the opening victory versus University of Chicago. Eccles has already reached the half-way mark in comparison to his assists from 2023, as he was able to record three just a season ago. Jackson Liley currently leads EIU with two goals on the year, logging one in each of the games so far this season.
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 add one more body in goal in redshirt freshman Lucas Ortiz.
SERIES HISTORY: This marks the seventh all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Raiders as the last matchup between both teams resulted in a tie at Lakeside field in 2023. Wright State currently leads the all-time series 4-1-1 while EIU looks to capture their first victory over the Raiders since 2008.
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).
