Eastern Illinois women's soccer opened the 2026 season with back-to-back shutouts with two Panthers earning weekly Ohio Valley Conference honors on Tuesday as part of that effort.
 
Casey Kittridge was named the OVC Defender of the Week with Ella Kratochvil named the OVC Goalkeeper of the Week.
 
Kittridge helped the Panthers post back-to-back shutouts to open a season for just the third time in program history (2022 & 2010).   She was one of three defenders to log all 90 minutes on the backline in the season opening 2-0 win over Valparaiso.  She played a team-high 77 minutes (for field players) in Sunday's 0-0 draw with UIC.
 
Kratochvil opened the 2026 season with back-to-back shutouts turning away six shots in both matches against Valparaiso and UIC.   The two shutouts moved her into a tie for third on the EIU career shutouts list with 16.  She helped EIU post its first season opening win since the 2017 and marked just the third time in program history that EIU has opened a campaign with back-to-back shutouts.
 
The Panthers (1-0-1) return to action on Sunday playing at Purdue.