After losing a tough game against West Chester last weekend, the Panthers wanted to go out and get a win this weekend to boost their confidence.

Consider the confidence still reeling.

Eastern lost its second game in a row as the Panthers lost to Indiana 44-14.

“We probably underestimated them a little, and it was different having to play on Friday and go straight from class, to a bus, to the game,” said junior wing Samantha Manto.

The Panthers defeated Indiana 77-0 last year.

The Panthers were coming off a 20-19 loss at Lakeside Rugby Field in the first NCAA women’s rugby match.

Manto said they could make excuses but it just seemed like their hearts weren’t really into it and that a lot of that had to do with the game against West Chester.

“I think we are all still feeling the West Chester game, emotionally and physically and I don’t think we realized how much of a toll that game had on us until we got back into the game situation,” junior center Molly Clutter said.

Eastern ended up playing with 12 players by the end of the game after freshman prop Anne Schnura, sophomore flanker Stephanie Militello and junior lock Victoria Rosales left the game with injuries.

“It seemed like we just started to fall apart and we don’t have subs or anything so once those people were gone,” Clutter said. “We were definitely at a disadvantage. It was really upsetting seeing teammate after teammate go down one after another.”

Manto said they tried not to think about being outnumbered and let that affect them, but it wasn’t easy.

“We started to fall apart, and then we’d lose someone, then they’d score and we’d lose someone, they’d score again, another girl down, it was chaotic,” Manto said. “By the end of it they had three girls more than us and we were all having to switch and cover different positions.”

Manto said even though the Panthers didn’t give up, after a while it just seemed like there was nothing they could do.

“It was past the point of just not knowing how to react, after each score we were silent on the goal line, no one knew what to say,” Manto said. “We just felt hopeless.”