The way the Panthers played against Loyola it seemed unlikely that they had just lost. But the scoreboard revealed the truth.

Despite out-shooting Loyola (Chicago) 10-7 Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field, Eastern lost 2-0, as the Ramblers were able to finish their limited chances.

“They never really looked like they were going to score as we certainly dominated possession,” said Eastern head coach Adam Howarth. “We created chances, but didn’t put them away, that’s what was frustrating.”

In the beginning of the second half, the Panthers (4-2-0) put constant pressure on the ball as play stayed on the Loyola’s half of the field.

But soon Loyola would pull away and snap Eastern’s 12 game streak of allowing one or less goals.

Loyola senior Matt Marek broke the scoreless tie in the 64th minute when he scored the first goal for the Ramblers on a flick header from a corner kick that dropped right in front of him. With no defenders within five feet of him he tapped the ball into the empty net.

“Matt Marek came off the bench for us and did a fantastic job,” said Loyola head coach Brendan Eitz.

Eastern goalie Mark Hansen’s hands failed him on Loyola’s second goal, as a rocket shot with seven minutes left from Marek bounced off him and rolled right to Loyola freshman Alex Jones, who finished the shot.

“Everybody was ball watching instead of following their man,” said freshman defender Nick Bonacker about Jones getting free for the rebound.

While the Panthers looked solemn leaving the field after the loss, Eastern split its weekend games.

Sophomore striker Brad Peters entered Friday’s game at IPFW with three goals on the season, he would double that total in a bit more than 30 minutes of play.

Peters scored all three Panther goals in the second half, recording the first hat trick of his collegiate career. The goals gave Eastern a 3-1 win against the Mastodons.

Peters scored his first goal on a chip shot over the goalkeeper’s head in the 56th minute, but IPFW freshman Chris Moreno tied the game on a header 20 minutes later.

With just eight minutes remaining in regulation, Peters scored on an unassisted shot to break the tie. Then Peters scored an insurance goal in the final minute of play on a shot from 18 yards out to give him a hat trick and the Panthers their win.

Eastern will not have much time to dwell on its loss to Loyola as they travel Tuesday to Macomb to take on Western Illinois.