Sophomore midfielder Laura Ridolfi remembers Tennessee Tech.

The Godfrey native scored her first collegiate goal against the Golden Eagles in Cookeville, Tenn., last season, but the game would change, as TTU’s Jennifer Hoffman scored in the 47th minute to tie the game.

“(Rudolfi’s) goal was a really nice goal,” Eastern head coach Tim Nowak said.

Nowak said she crossed the ball and scored to the back left post.

“We had a hard time putting the game away,” Ridolfi said. “We had opportunities. We couldn’t finish.”

Senior midfielder Kathleen Hayes also went down with an injury in the first 15 minutes of the match.

The teams battled to a draw and it was one of the two ties that weekend.

The Panthers also battled Austin Peay to a scoreless draw on Sunday.

This weekend, Eastern plays Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay at Lakeside Field.

Eastern had plenty of chances to score in last year’s games. They outshot the Golden Eagles 14-10 and the Panthers had two corner kicks in the second overtime. Hoffman shot five times with two being on goal.

Nowak said he expects lots of attacking from TTU players.

“They fought incredibly hard for the whole game, and we need to expect that from them again,” Nowak said. “They’re going to come out and compete against us with everything they have.”

Seven-of-the-14 Panthers shots were on goal. Senior forward Kellie Floyd and sophomore defender A.J. Brewer led the Panthers with three shots apiece.

The Panthers also had plenty of chances when they played Austin Peay.

They had 19 shots and 10 of them were on goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Williams made five saves in the match.

It was the Colonels’ goalkeeper who was the most impressive that day. Brooke Abraham made eight saves and perhaps the best save in the game.

Senior forward Michelle Steinhaus drove the ball at point-blank range, but Abraham still managed to stop the shot in the 96th minute in the first overtime.

“(She) got in behind their defenders in overtime,” Nowak said. “She just crushed the ball and put exactly where she needed to put it. There’s nothing (Steinhaus) could have done different. Everybody on the bench thought the game was won.”

Floyd led the Panthers with five shots, and Steinhaus shot three times.

“We thought we had it,” Ridolfi said. “It didn’t work out. It happens though.”

Those two ties would add the to team’s record with four total tie games in 2006. If the Panthers would have one more game in 2006, they would have finished in a tie for second place.

“That’s soccer sometimes,” Nowak said. “The ball doesn’t go in.”

The Panthers also tied DePaul, Murray State and Morehead State. The number of ties tied the 2003 team with five ties as well. In 2003, the Panthers tied Indiana State, Evansville, Jacksonville State, Tennessee-Martin and Samford.

Eastern (4-5-1, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) leads the series against the Golden Eagles 11-2-2. The Panthers also lead the all-series against Austin Peay 4-0-1.

The Panthers have only 10 ties in the OVC. The Panthers have 20 ties in program history. The only draw happened in the OVC Tournament against Samford in 2003. The Panthers won the OVC Tournament on penalty kicks.

The Panthers have only battled to a draw in one game this season. They lost a 2-1 lead against Western Illinois in the final minute on Sept. 21 at Lakeside Field.

Senior midfielder Kathleen Hayes strikes the ball against Ball State. The Panthers play Tennessee Tech at 3 p.m. Friday at Lakeside Field. Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News

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