Eastern men’s soccer did not waste time getting fans excited against for the game against Valparaiso on Sunday.

Before fans could reach their seats, the Panthers had already put the ball in the back of the net on a warm afternoon match at Lakeside Field.

Junior forward Brad Peters scored his first of two goals with a strike from the left side to give the Panthers the lead 39 seconds into the game.

Peters led the Panthers (8-2-2) with two goals and two assists in a 4-0 shutout victory against the Crusaders (3-7-2).

Junior defender Adam Gartner set up the first goal with a free kick from the right side of the field. The ball was played by senior midfielder Mick Galeski, who passed it to Peters on the left flank for Peters’ fifth goal of the season.

“That is something we work on all the time in practice,” Peters said. “Mick flipped it over, it bounced right to me, and I aimed for the far post.”

One of the messages in practice this week was to finish teams.

And that is what the Panthers did.

The Panthers added two more goals before half and made sure Valparaiso would not get back into the game.

Eastern freshman Darby Kehoe notched his first collegiate goal in the 32nd minute when he beat Valparaiso sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Schwartz.

Freshman midfielder Joe Ciuki crossed the ball to Peters, who slipped, but was able to get the ball over to Kehoe. Kehoe took a strike from the left flank to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

“I was running Joe had the ball and crossed it over,” Kehoe said. “I heard Jim (Adee) calling for it, but I felt I was in better position and shot for the far post.”

Peters added his second goal in the 13th as the St. Peters, Mo., native scored from 10 yards out in a one-on-one situation with Schwartz.

Peters raced down the right sideline after a pass from freshman forward Alex Harrison and beat two defenders, shooting the ball past the goalie to the far post for his sixth goal of the season. Galeski also assisted on the goal.

“We talked all week about not letting them stay in the game,” Peters said. “They are a type of team that can hang around and beat you. We wanted to put them away right away and not let them stick around.”

Galeski scored his fifth goal of the season from 10 yards out to the inside post in the 55th minute with an assist from Peters.

Although the Panthers scored early, the team effort remained consistent even with a comfortable lead.

Peters said this is sign of a good team.

“We wanted to make sure they didn’t come back,” Peters said. “We still continued to play with high intensity. I think that is the sign of a good team – we aren’t all the way there yet, but we are working on it.”

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth preaches consistency to his team during practice.

“Even when we have a big lead, we want to make sure our guys are aware and give up no silly goals,” Howarth said.

Howarth was happy with his team’s performance, but knows the most important part of his schedule starts next week.

“We played well and worked hard,” Howarth said. “We have guys coming off the bench that are chomping at the bit to play. We have eight wins, which is great, but the most important part of our schedule is coming.”

The Panthers will open Missouri Valley Conference play against Drake at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Lakeside Field.

Brad Peters, junior forward, attempts a shot vs. Valparaiso Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field. Despite the Crusader’s goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz making the save, Peters would score 2 goals in the Panthers 4-0 win. Amir Prellberg

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