Men’s soccer

The men’s soccer team is looking for another tournament championship as they compete in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Invitational this weekend.

The Panthers will try to bolster their 2-0 record with games at 5 p.m. on Friday against Oral Roberts (1-1) and against tournament host UMKC (2-0) at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The team will play on turf for the first time this season, something senior midfielder Mick Galeski is not pleased about.

“I’m not a big fan of it,” Galeski said. “I had never played on it until I got to the ‘States. We have no choice. We are just going to have to deal with it.”

The competition in this invitational is much better than last week’s tournament, with the Kangaroos being ranked No. 5 in the Midwest region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The team would like to have the same outcome in 2006 when the Panthers defeated the Kangaroos 1-0 at Lakeside Field.

Senior midfielder Brad Earl sets high goals for the team this weekend.

“Belmont and Lipscomb were solid teams, but Oral Roberts and UMKC are better,” Earl said. “Our team is becoming much more familiar with each other, and we want to record two shutouts.”

Volleyball travels to Ball State

The women’s volleyball team competes this weekend at the Ball State Classic in Muncie, Ind.

The Panther’s will play Friday at 6 p.m. against host Ball State (1-5) and Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against Illinois State (6-2).

Eastern head coach Lori Bennett is looking for her team to improve on its hot start.

The team has started the season (6-1) with its lone loss against Southern Methodist.

Bennett feels practice is the key to her team’s success.

“We work hard and compete everyday in practice,” Bennett said. “We have a great group of women that hate to lose.”

The Panthers go into the weekend with no major injuries and ready for another tournament victory after winning the EIU Pepsi Challenge last weekend.