The Eastern soccer program has a busy weekend ahead of them as the men’s and women’s teams both begin their regular season with two games on the road.

The men’s team begins the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic at Bradley University with games Friday against Belmont and Saturday against Lipscomb.

Men’s head coach Adam Howarth is confident and feels winning both games is an attainable goal.

“Our team is ready to play and we are ready to start beating up on someone else,” Howarth said.

The men’s team comes into the game completely healthy and mentally focused, according to Howarth.

“We are ready to get the first couple of games out of the way so we can start evaluating and make ourselves better,” Howarth said.

The women’s team also begins its regular season on the road this weekend with games Friday against Eastern Michigan and Sunday against Bowling Green.

Third-year head coach Tim Nowak feels opening on the road is no different than opening at home.

“As long as there are four corners and a round ball, we are ready to play,” Nowak said.

Last season, the women’s team dropped games to both opponents 2-0, but Nowak has high expectations for the road trip.

“We feel we can win the game,” Nowak said. “We want to play the style of soccer we had talked about throughout the preseason.”

The women’s team comes in with a few knocks, but no major injuries.

The team is anxious to begin the regular according to Nowak.

“The girls are a little nervous, but excited to play,” Nowak said. “I’d question their passion for the game if they were not excited.”