Set pieces have not been good for the Panthers in the last few matches.

Eastern has allowed six straight goals off of set pieces including four last Saturday in a 4-1 loss to Evansville.

Senior midfielder Mick Galeski said the team has been working on defending set pieces all week to stop the problem that has plagued the team over the last couple of games.

“We have been working on it for a while,” Galeski said. “We have had our three best practices of the year this week. As long as we stop them on restarts we will be fine.”

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said the team used the week to work on a number of different things.

“All week we worked on intensity and toughness,” Howarth said. “We fine tuned things we have to get better at.”

Eastern (9-4-3, 1-2-1 MVC) will play at 1 p.m. Saturday at Western Kentucky (2-10-4, 0-3-1) in the second to last game in MVC conference play.

The two teams tied last season 1-1 at Lakeside Field when Galeski scored the Panthers loan goal. The schools have met 13 times with the series deadlocked at 5-5-3.

Eastern will look to shut down Western Kentucky’s 6-foot-5 forward sophomore Andy Mesteller. So far this season, Mesteller has scored two goals and has two assists.

Howarth said they have to play Mesteller tight.

“We are going to have to mark him,” Howarth said. “We are going to have to play him tight and make sure he doesn’t get his head on any balls. One thing about big guys is they usually aren’t as good with their feet as they are their heads.”

Galeski said Western Kentucky is similar to many of the other teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“They are pretty similar to a lot of the other teams we have played,” Galeski said. “They play with a lot of pressure so we have to make sure we use a lot of width.”

One obstacle for the Panthers could be the playing surface.

Bowling Green, Ky., has been hit by rain for the past three days. Rain is expected for Saturday.

Western Kentucky plays on grass surface at the WKU Soccer Complex.

Galeski does not think this will make much of a difference since the team can adapt to many different styles despite the conditions.

“Both teams will have to play on the same field,” Galeski said. “It does not matter to us because we can adapt to any style.”