It is a fact of life in college athletics that players will graduate and move on. New players will need to fill their shoes and produce results.

This year Eastern has some Shaq-sized shoes to fill in for departed senior Jimmy Klatter. Klatter was a force for the Panthers, being named an all-conference selection all four years of his career. He left Eastern ranked seventh in program history in goals (31) and ninth in total points (77). The St. Louis Steamers recognized Klatter’s ability, as they took him in the fifth round of the Major Indoor Soccer League’s 2006 draft.

Despite losing a player of Klatter’s ability, head coach Adam Howarth is excited about this upcoming season because of the talent of the returning underclassmen.

“Our freshman class last year was a great class,” Howarth said. “One of the strongest we have had in quite a few years. We have a good core of guys.”

He said one sophomore Brad Peters will be looked upon to take over the scoring role Klatter filled at the striker position.

In the Panthers’ exhibition game Friday against St. Xavier University at Lakeside Field, Peters showed that he is ready to fill that role.

In the 30th minute of the first half, Peters beat his defender and placed a shot in the bottom left corner of the goal.

Less than a minute later Peters took a shot from the top of the penalty box that scorched neck-high past the keeper.

The Panthers beat the Cougars, 5-0.

Peters came to Eastern last year after leading the state of Missouri in goals scored as a senior at St. Dominic High School. In addition to scoring 51 goals that season, Peters led his team to a Class 2 state championship, earning himself a First-Team All-Metro selection by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

But putting shots into the back of the net is not the only thing Peters can do.

“Brad is a kid who can do so much more than score,” Howarth said. “He is so skilled in all areas of the game.”

In addition to Peters, Howarth is looking to others to fill the scoring void left by the graduation of Klatter.

Other names Howarth mentioned as possible scoring threats were freshman Ari Horing, sophomore Adam Gartner, who also had a goal in Friday’s exhibition, and transfer Matt Patterson, who is coming back from an injury.

Howarth also expects to see a lot of scoring from the midfield positions and even the defense.

Senior defender Mike Comiskey scored on a free kick that glanced off a defender before hitting the back of the net.

Replacing Klatter won’t be easy. But getting the entire team to pitch in is something Howarth is relying on.

“The ability for all our guys to contribute is going to be the story of our season,” he said.