Eastern Illinois (3-5-2, 2-1-0 OVC) vs. Western Illinois (3-6-2, 1-2-0 OVC)
Thursday, October 8
4pm at Macomb, Ill (John Mackenzie Alumni Field)
Live Stats I ESPN+
Eastern Illinois vs. UT Rio Grande Valley
Sunday, October 11
11am at Edinburg, TX (UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex)
Live Stats I ESPN+
ON TAP: The Eastern Illinois men's soccer team returns to action this week as the Panthers continue Ohio Valley Conference play with a pair of road matches, beginning with a matchup in Macomb, Ill against Western Illinois before heading to Edinburg, TX to face UT Rio Grande Valley.
Eastern Illinois enters the week with a 3-5-2 overall record and a 2-1-0 mark in OVC play after winning a pair of conference matches against USI and SIUE.
The Panthers most recently picked up an impressive 6-2 victory at Southern Indiana on Oct. 1. EIU scored four goals in the opening half before adding two more goals after halftime to secure its second win of the season. Then the Panthers then went on to win a 1-0 thriller against SIUE after Bernardo Hanel scored a game winning goal in the 89th minute.
Eastern Illinois has shown offensive balance recently in OVC play, with multiple Panthers finding the back of the net. Sergej Misic has been a consistent offensive presence, while Nolan Getzinger has also provided a spark for the Panthers' attack.
LOOKING TO BUILD ON USI AND SIUE VICTORY: The Panthers will look to carry the momentum from their road victory at Southern Indiana into the upcoming matches.
Against USI, EIU received goals from Conner Bayliss, Bernardo Hanel, Sergej Misic, Keidin Green, and Nolan Getzinger, with Getzinger scoring twice in the victory.
The Panthers also received another strong performance from goalkeeper Kai Odagiri, who played all 90 minutes in the win.
The six-goal performance marked EIU's second-highest offensive output of the season. The Panthers previously scored eight goals in a victory over UIC earlier this season.
The Panthers beat SIUE on Sunday, October 4 after a battle throughout the whole match. Misic finally got a beat on the ball and made a great assist to Hanel to seal the win for EIU. That is the first time since 1996 since EIU beat SIUE in a men's soccer matchup. The Panthers look to build of that momentum going into another week of conference play.
OVC BATTLE WITH WESTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois will continue conference play with a matchup against Western Illinois.
The Leathernecks enter the matchup with a 3-6-2 overall record and a 1-2-0 mark in OVC play. Western Illinois opened conference action with a victory over Eastern Illinois earlier this season.
The Panthers will look to even the season series while continuing to climb the OVC standings.
EIU TRAVELS TO UTRGV: UT Rio Grande Valley overall record is currently 2-3-2 and has a conference record of 0-1-1. They will play Lindenwood October 8th prior to their match against Eastern Illinois.
Following the Western Illinois conference matchup, Eastern Illinois will turn its attention to UT Rio Grande Valley.
The Vaqueros provide another opportunity for the Panthers to test themselves against a conference opponent away on the road.
NEXT UP: The Panthers will continue OVC action at Lakeside Field Thursday, October 15 against Incarnate Word and then Sunday, October 18 against Houston Christian.
