With time winding down in Friday’s game, Brad Peters was one goal shy of a hat trick.

In the final minute, Peters took a shot from nearly 20 yards out and found the back of the net.

“I was surprised, especially when you’re playing at this level,” Peters said.

The sophomore forward recorded his first hat trick of his collegiate career against Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne.

The scoring output is something the Panthers did not see out of Peters last year.

During his freshman year, Peters scored his only goal in a win over Olivet Nazarene.

He was also named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s All-Freshman Team last year.

This season, Peters leads the team with six goals through seven games.

By comparison, last year’s leader, Jimmy Klatter, finished the season with seven goals.

“It’s kind of been luck but it’s naturally what I do,” said Peters about his improvement over last season.

As a senior at St. Dominic High School, Peters scored a school-record 51 goals.

He was named Missouri Player of the Year and led the school to a state championship.

Several schools, including St. Louis University, offered Peters scholarships to play soccer.

He said he chose Eastern because of the school’s size.

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said Peters’ growth as a player is a result of having a season of college level soccer under his belt.

“Now he’s getting used to the college game,” Howarth said. “He’s developing himself as a player and has done pretty well.”

Peters scored his first goal in the second game of this season against Bowling Green State University.

Against IPFW, Peters extended his streak of scoring a goal to four games.

Teammates have seen strong leadership qualities this season.

“This year he’s realized he’s got to step it up and work a lot harder,” said best friend and teammate Mick Galeski.

Peters has high hopes for the rest of his collegiate soccer career at Eastern. With the team already having as many wins as last season, he said they could only go up from here.

Before he graduates, he would like to win the MVC along with making an appearance in the national tournament.

“He’s always preparing and has a great attitude,” said Galeski. “He always wants the ball and plays like a winner.”

Coach Howarth said they have talked about a set number of goals he’s hoping to score this season, too.

Peters plays with a club soccer team at home during the off-season and trains with his uncle, Daryl Doran, a former player for the St. Louis Steamers of MISL.

He said his parents try to attend every home game and close away games.

He is tied for first place in the MVC with Ian McAuley of Evansville with 13 points and six goals as of Sept. 13.

He is ranked nationally at 16th in goals per game and 20th in points per game.

“He’s a leader,” said Howarth. “He has that attitude of ‘If I don’t score but the team wins, I’m happy.'”

Sophomore forward Brad Peters is this week’s Top Cat after scoring his first career hat trick Friday against Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne. Carrie Hollis/The Daily Eastern News

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