The Eastern women’s soccer team returns home this weekend as they try to get in the win column against a pair of Ohio Valley Conference teams.

The Panthers welcome Eastern Kentucky 4 p.m. Friday and take on Morehead State 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be played at Lakeside Field.

The Panthers are coming off a weekend loss at Jacksonville State. The team fell 3-0 in a match played nine and a half hours away in Jacksonville, Ala. The team fell to 0-11-1 overall and 0-3-0 in the OVC with the loss.

Against Eastern Kentucky, the Panthers welcome a team coming off their first OVC win of the season. The Colonels defeated Austin Peay 3-0 on Sunday in Richmond, Ken. and are 3-7-2 overall with a 1-2-0 record in the OVC.

Like the Panthers, the Colonels have struggled to score this season. They’re being outscored 15-12 by opponents through their first 12 matches of the season and are averaging only one goal per match. Senior forward Kayla Swearingen leads the team with four of the team’s 12 goals.

But while the Colonels have struggled to score, their defense and goalkeeping has factored in all three of the team’s victories this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Stephanie Lynch posted shutouts in the Colonels’ three wins and has a 1.15 goals against average on the season. Additionally, junior defender Eva Hollenberg was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week after the team’s shutout win against Austin Peay.

Panther head coach Tim Nowak said that he believes his team has shown improvements recently and hopes that they will be able to get on the winning track.

“We’ve shown in our last four games that we’re capable of playing like we expect to play,” Nowak said. “We need to continue to believe in ourselves because when we put it together, it’s a pretty good product.”

Morehead State enters the weekend with a record of 5-6-1 and is 2-0-1 in the OVC. They travel to Cape Girardueau, Mo. Friday to take on Southeast Missouri before Sunday’s match against the Panthers.

The Eagles are led by freshman forward Jillian Birchmeier who has eight goals on the season, twice as many goals as any of her teammates and one-third of the team’s total goals on the season. The Eagles are also out-shooting their opponents 191-156 this year.

Morehead State splits time between two goalkeepers and both have put up solid numbers. Sophomore Samantha Yocke has a 1.68 goals against average in nine starts and sophomore Lily Meisner has a 1.20 goals against average in eight starts. It is unclear which of the two will start Sunday’s contest.

After Sunday’s match, the Panthers hit the road for two more OVC games next weekend before returning home for their home-finale and senior night on Oct. 26 against Southeast Missouri.

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