Eastern Illinois men's soccer opened Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday afternoon, falling 2-1 to Western Illinois at Lakeside Field.
The Panthers moved to 1-5-2 overall and 0-1-0 in OVC play, while the Leathernecks improved to 3-4-2 overall and 1-0-0 in conference action.
Eastern Illinois struck first in the 19th minute when Lucas Comitre scored his first goal of the season. Bernardo Hanel provided the assist as Comitre found the back of the net at the 18:41 mark to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.
Western Illinois answered in the 33rd minute. Xavier Gagnon scored his fourth goal of the season at 32:42, with Ty Duax recording the assist to level the match at 1-1 heading into halftime.
After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Leathernecks found the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute. Fabrizio Kasperiski scored his first goal of the season at 82:07, with Maksim Palisak providing the assist to give Western Illinois a 2-1 lead.
Eastern Illinois applied pressure throughout the second half, recording 11 shots after halftime compared to just two from Western Illinois. The Panthers finished the match with a 15-11 advantage in total shots and earned four second-half corner kicks.
Kai Odagiri made three saves in goal for EIU, while Western Illinois goalkeeper Harvey Bolland finished with one save.
Comitre recorded two shots, including his first-half goal. Keidin Green recorded three shots, while Shuto Ishikawa, Nolan Getzinger and Marcos Ayelo each added two shots.
Western Illinois held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks, while EIU was called for 10 fouls compared to eight for the Leathernecks. The match drew an attendance of 150 at Lakeside Field.
Eastern Illinois will look to bounce back as OVC play continues.
