Sophomore defender A.J. Brewer made her first appearance of the season in Sunday’s 3-0 loss at Missouri.

Brewer played 12 minutes off the bench.

“I wish she could have stayed in a little longer,” junior defender Lindsey Wilkening said. “But she’s got to heal.”

Brewer had two assists last season.

Eastern head women’s soccer coach Tim Nowak said Brewer is dealing with multiple type of injuries and she’s working her way back onto the season.

Wilkening has played every minute this season and started 17-of-19 games last season.

The Fairview Heights native was named to the OVC All-Newcomer and the First-Team last year.

Brewer played all 20 matches last season. She was the first Panther since current senior forward Michelle Steinhaus to be named to the first team in 2004.

“She’s working hard,” Nowak said.

Update on Faller

Sophomore forward Melissa Faller has returned to the playing field temporarily.

Faller was out for the beginning part of the season with knee irritation and at Wednesday’s practice was put into contact situations.

Nowak said Faller was cleared this week to practice. She still wears a knee brace.

The Springfield native tore her ACL her senior season of high school.

“She’s thrilled and the team is thrilled for her,” Nowak said. “She’s pretty happy.”

Williams earns nod

The OVC named sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Williams as Goalkeeper of the Week.

Williams made 12 saves against Missouri on Sunday and three in her first season shutout against Indiana State. Williams has given up six goals this season. She posted seven shutouts last season.

The Quincy native was named to the 2006 OVC All-Newcomer team. Williams is second in the conference with 24 saves. Williams makes an average of six saves a game.

“I don’t know how she does it,” Wilkening said. “She’s an amazing goalkeeper.”

Last season, Williams gave up 19 goals and made 73 saves.

Scouting weekend opponents

Eastern will play Ball State (2-2) and Western Kentucky for the first time in program history.

The Panthers play Ball State at 4 p.m. Friday at Lakeside Field. Eastern will play WKU at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lakeside Field.

“We’re keeping each other accountable,” sophomore midfielder Laura Ridolfi said. “We’ve been having hard practices.”

Eastern has defeated Mid-American Conference team Eastern Michigan. But the Panthers have also defeated Bowling Green.

Ball State won the MAC regular season title and was slated to win the MAC this season as well. The Cardinals are 2-0 against the OVC with wins against Jacksonville State and Murray State.

The Panthers are 10-3 against current Sun Belt Conference opponents. The greatest amount of wins has come against Middle Tennessee State with six and three against Arkansas-Little Rock.

Western Kentucky (2-1) was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt. The Lady Toppers finished fourth in the conference last year.

WKU defeated Jacksonville State, Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky last year. The Lady Toppers play well against the OVC. WKU is 12-3 against current OVC opponents. They have defeated Austin Peay the most times with five victories.

Western Kentucky will play OVC opponents Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State this season in Bowling Green, Ky. The Lady Toppers defeated OVC opponent Tennessee Tech 2-1 in an exhibition match in August.

Ridolfi to face former teammate

Ridolfi will play against her former teammates on Sunday.

Western Kentucky’s Rachel Friedman played Metro United Soccer with Ridolfi.

Friedman, a Swansea native, has had success against the OVC. She scored a goal against Jacksonville State last year and played all 20 matches.

Brewer and sophomore forward Rachel Hamilton also played with Ridolfi on the same club team. Ridolfi scored in the game against Tennessee Tech.

“You know how they play,” Ridolfi said of playing with and against club members. “You know how to react.”

Freshman defender Rebecca Holcomb played on the same club team a year later.

Goal scoring

Eastern has scored seven goals through seven games this season. This ranks top in the OVC. The Panthers average 1.75 goals a game. Samford and Southeast Missouri are tied for second with six goals each.

The Panthers averaged 1.05 goals a game last season.

Rachel Hamilton, sophmore forward, fights for the ball against Indiana State last Wednesday at Lakeside Field.

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