The Panther defense did not take long to rebound from their 2-0 loss to Loyola.

Eastern (5-2-0) shutout Western Illinois (3-4-0) at the Leathernecks home opener for a full 90 minutes, but it would take a couple more minutes to bring home a victory.

Junior striker Brad Earl connected for the game winner at the 98 minute mark in overtime.

“I’ve never had a game-winning overtime goal before,” Earl said. “It feels great, to come in here and beat Western is big-time.”

Earl, who scored his second goal of the season, was able to corral a pass from junior midfielder Adam Gartner and place the ball just inside the near post as Western goalie Stephen Paterson rushed out of the net to try and block the shot.

Head coach Adam Howarth was proud of his team’s performance even though he felt it might not have been their best.

“We all played well as a unit,” he said. “Individually we struggled some and maybe we were a bit lucky, but everybody grinded it out.”

Eastern was able to put good pressure on the ball and keep the game in Western’s half of the field.

The Panthers again had the advantage in both shots (18-13) and shots on goal (8-5), an advantage they have had in every game thus far this season except for the season opener against Detroit-Mercy.

Eastern has out-shot their opponents 91-56 this season, an average of five more shots per game.

Goalkeeper Mark Hansen made five saves in the game and the defense responded after a disappointing loss Sunday afternoon.

With only one day off in between games, Howarth had his team practice mostly set plays, including corner kicks.

The Panthers had a 12-1 advantage on corners but were unable to convert any into goals.

Overall Howarth said his squad put forth “a good team effort” and the Panthers will need more of them as they continue on long road trip.

The Panthers do not play another game at Lakeside Field until Oct. 10 when they take on Missouri Valley Conference opponent Western Kentucky.

Eastern will travel to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to take part in the UW-GB Nike Challenge, an invite similar to its season opening weekend at Bowling Green.