Men’s soccer is finally coming home.

The Panthers will play at home for the first time this season after 19 days on the road at 5 p.m. today against Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis at Lakeside Field.

Junior midfielder Mike Lewis is happy he does not have to leave Charleston.

“We feel good and we are rested,” Lewis said. “It will be nice to play and not have to travel.”

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth is also happy to be playing at Lakeside Field today.

“Road games are great early,” said Eastern head coach Adam Howarth. “But when it starts to get cool outside, it’s great to play at Lakeside (Field).”

A new addition at home games this season will be that when an Eastern player scores a goal, the player will throw a t-shirt or soccer ball to the fans.

“We want to create a good atmosphere for our fans and encourage more people to come out,” Howarth said. “Hopefully this will encourage our players to score more.”

The team won its home opener 2-0 versus Asbury College last season and has won two of the last three home openers.

The Panthers have started off strong this season amassing a 4-1-1 record, outscoring opponents 8-3.

IUPUI (1-5-1) is coming off a 0-5 loss on Sunday versus Xavier University. Despite the poor record of IUPUI Howarth has told his players not to take the team lightly.

“I told them we can’t overlook anyone,” Howarth said. “Struggling teams are beating good teams all over the country.”

The Panther’s hope to have the same result as last years contest where they defeated IUPUI 2-0 in a match in Indianapolis. Lewis was the Panther’s lone goal scorer as IUPUI helped out Eastern by scoring a goal for them.

Howarth looks for his team to start strong today after the team came out slow on Friday in a 2-0 loss to Dayton.

“We weren’t as solid as we could have been,” said Howarth. “We have been stressing defense this week. We have to come out flying more in the first half.”

The Jaguars are led by 2006 All First Team performer senior midfielder Vangel Nacovski who leads the team in points and goals.

The match will be Faculty Appreciation Day at Lakeside Field. Each team member will invite one member of the staff that they have felt has helped in their career at Eastern. The faculty will be honored before the start of the game.