Eastern Illinois vs. Wright State
Thursday, August 27
4 p.m. at Charleston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Live Stats I Watch ESPN+
Eastern Illinois vs. St. Thomas
Sunday, August 30
12 p.m. at Charleston, Ill. (Lakeside Field)
Live Stats I Watch ESPN+
ON TAP: Eastern Illinois will open its 2026 regular-season home schedule with a pair of matches at Lakeside Field this week. The Panthers host Wright State on Thursday, August 27 at 4 p.m. before welcoming St. Thomas to Charleston on Sunday, August 30 at noon. Both matches will be a part of doubleheaders with EIU's women soccer.
HOMESTAND BEGINS: The two matches will be the first contest of a four-match homestand for Eastern Illinois. Following Wright State and St. Thomas, the Panthers will host Northern Illinois on September 5 and Bradley on September 11. EIU will play six consecutive non-conference matches before opening Ohio Valley Conference play on September 26 against Western Illinois.
WRIGHT STATE: Wright State enters the weekend under second-year head coach Alex Van der Sluijs. The Raiders' 2026 schedule includes nine home games and 19 total contests. Wright State opened the regular season at Bowling Green on August 20 before hosting Belmont on August 23 and traveling to Charleston for Thursday's meeting with the Panthers.
SERIES HISTORY-WRIGHT STATE: Thursday will be the 16th all-time meeting between Eastern Illinois and Wright State. The Raiders hold an 8-5-2 advantage in the series. The teams last met in 2024, with the match ending in a draw at Wright State. The Panthers and Raiders have also played two consecutive draws in their most recent meetings, with a 2-2 result in 2024 following a 1-1 draw in 2023.
ST. THOMAS: St. Thomas to Charleston for the second match of the weekend on Sunday at noon The Tommies are coming of their best season of the Division I era, finishing 7-5-5 in 2025. St Thomas opens its 2026 campaign with three consecutive home matches against Detroit Mercy, Green Bay and Chicago State before making its first road trip of the season to Eastern Illinois.
ST THOMAS SCHEDULE: The Tommies' 2026 non-conference schedule includes road matches as Eastern Illinois, Milwaukee, Marquette, Utah Tech and Belmont. St. Thomas begins Summit League play October 3 at home against Kansas City. The Tommies will play a 15-match regular-season schedule in 2026.
SERIES HISTORY-ST.THOMAS: Sunday's contest will add another chapter to the Eastern Illinois-St. Thomas series. The Tommies' 2026 schedule lists Eastern Illinois as the first road contest of the season. St. Thomas is coached by Jon Lowery, who led the program to its best Division I season in 2025.
OVC PLAY: Eastern Illinois will open Ohio Valley Confernece play on September 26 when the Panthers host Western Illinois. EIU will play a 10-match conference schedule in 2026, with the OVC Tournament scheduled for November 8, 11, and 14 at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
HEAD COACH: Ruy Vaz enters his second season as the head coach of the Eastern Illinois men's soccer program. Vaz is assisted by Andre Cavichione, with Valentine Iheanyiogu serving in soccer performance and Rafeal Furlani serving as the student assistant coach for goalkeepers.
2026 SCHEDULE: Eastern Illinois' 2026 schedule features nine non-conference matches before the Panthers begin OVC play in September. After the four-game homestand, EIU travels to Chicago State and Marshall before opening conference action against Western Illinois. The Panthers will also face Southern Illinois, SIUE, UT Rio Grande Valley, Incarnate Word, Houston Christian and Lindenwood during the OVC schedule.
GAME INFORMATION: Thursday's match against Wright State is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Lakeside Field, while Sunday's match against St. Thomas begins at noon. Both matches are scheduled to have live stats and an ESPN+ broadcast.
