Men’s soccer had been lucky this season injury-wise.

The men went 10 games without any players missing a single game.

The streak will end Wednesday with sophomore defender Chris Pearson and senior defender Jeremy Maubauch both expected to miss Wednesday’s match against the Alabama-Birmingham.

Pearson hurt his right foot in the 2-0 win against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Friday. The Newcastle, England native went down in the first half and did not return.

Maubach also hurt his foot during the match.

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth is not sure how the team will replace the two players.

“Right now we are trying a few things out,” Howarth said. “We are working on center back by committee.”

Following Pearson’s injury in the IPFW game, freshman defender Ben Friesen and sophomore defender Nick Bonacker were vital subs in the team’s shutout victory.

Friesen scored his first collegiate goal in Pearson’s absence.

Junior defender Adam Gartner was impressed by their play.

“We subbed Bonacker and Freisen and they did a great job,” Gartner said. “We will be able to continue to play well at a high level if we work hard in practice.”

Clinic to be held at Lakeside Field

The men’s and women’s soccer programs will get into the action during Parents Weekend by holding a clinic before the two teams play a doubleheader Sunday at Lakeside Field.

The men’s team will play Valparaiso at 3:30 p.m. and the women’s team will play Austin Peay at 1 p.m.

The teams will hold a youth clinic for players in from kindergarten through eighth grade from 11 a.m. to noon. Players will teach children soccer skills and techniques of the game.

“It will be a great way to get players out there helping out,” Howarth said.

Between the men’s and women’s contest from 2:30-3:30 p.m. a reception will be held at Lakeside Field where people can come and meet Eastern coaches, staff and Panther club members.The event will be sponsored by the Panther Club Special Events Committee. Sandwiches, chips and beverages will be served during the reception.

Missouri Valley Conference play to start next week

The Panthers have nearly completed their non-conference schedule and will begin play against Missouri Valley Conference opponents next Wednesday.

The team will open against Drake at 4 p.m., Oct. 10 at Lakeside Field.

“I think we are ready,” Howarth said. “We have two tough games this week that will give us good prep to see where we are.”

The Panthers finished (1-3-2) in MVC play last season and look to improve on its sixth place finish.

Eastern (7-2-1) is in first place in the MVC standings with a record this year after a great start in non-conference play. The Panthers are followed by Creighton at (4-1-2) and Drake at (6-3-1) according to the team’s win percentages.

Eastern’s eight goals allowed are the second lowest in the conference behind Creighton’s seven.

Four of the seven teams in the conference: Drake, Bradley, Creighton and Eastern are all ranked in the National Soccer Association of Americas rankings for teams in the Midwest.