“We have to do better work in the 18s” is a phrase uttered by many Eastern women’s soccer players this season.

The “18s” that they refer to is the marked 18-yard box that surrounds the goal on each end of the field.

A team’s success on the field is often determined by control of the 18s, one of the reasons so many players have stressed its importance this season.

However, the Panthers haven’t been able to follow through on this goal, which factors in to the team’s 0-10-1 (0-2-0) start to the season.

If the team wants to get into the win column this weekend against Jacksonville State, it must do better then it has in the past at controlling the 18s. In Sunday’s loss to Murray State, all three goals occurred in the 18s, and that has been the trend for the team throughout the season.

Many opposing team’s goals have happened due to scrambles in front of the net where an opposing player is able to get a shot off past the goalkeeper.

Likewise, when the Panthers have the ball in their opponents’ 18, they have not been able to capitalize. These scrambles always seem to go the way of the other team.

One or two of these occurrences can be attributed to bad luck, as often in a loose ball situation, a lucky or unlucky bounce of the ball can give one team an advantage. But after 11 straight games of it happening, it’s clear that something needs to change.

Their offense needs to be able to capitalize when they have the ball inside the 18s.

The defense, for the most part, has been solid despite their record, needs to do a better job of clearing the ball out of the 18s when a scramble for the ball ensues.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

The Panthers are a young, inexperienced team. They’re learning on the fly, as head coach Tim Nowak has said in the past, and with nine new players at the start of the season and only three seniors they’re bound to make mistakes.

But they appear to be getting better, and the future of Panthers’ soccer remains bright.

Controlling the 18s is just one step in building the women’s soccer program into a successful one. The team appears to realize this. They just need to start executing.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.