The Eastern women’s soccer team will look to build off the momentum of its first win of the season Sunday and improve its playoff chances in a pair of road matches this weekend.

The Panthers (1-12-1, 1-4-0 Ohio Valley Conference) travel to Cookeville, Tenn., to play Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. today before heading to Clarksville, Tenn., to play Austin Peay at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Eastern handed Morehead State its first conference loss last Sunday with a 1-0 victory at Lakeside Field. Senior forward Pam Melinauskas scored the lone goal in the victory and the Panthers’ third goal of the season. Melinauskas has scored two of Eastern’s three goals with the other coming in the Panthers’ 2-1 loss to Eastern Kentucky on Friday.

Eastern head coach Tim Nowak has said all season long the Panthers have looked to control the 18-yard box on both offense and defense. In last weekend’s matches, the team appeared to make a big step forward with six and five shots on goal, respectively, against the Colonels and the Eagles.

Eastern sophomore goalkeeper Kaylin Lorbert was also able to post her second shutout of the season despite Morehead State placing six shots on goal.

“I think we’re trying to build off of the confidence we have inside the 18s,” Nowak said.

This weekend, the Panthers will take on a pair of teams that have struggled this season, combining for a 7-19-2 overall record.

However, while Tennessee Tech has only a 3-10-1 overall record, they played the toughest non-conference schedule in the Ohio Valley Conference this season.

Tennessee Tech is also 2-1-1 in OVC play, but the Golden Eagles have allowed a league-high 43 goals this season, or 3.07 goals per match.

Sunday’s match features an Austin Peay team that, like the Panthers, has only one OVC victory this season. That victory came in the Lady Governors’ conference opener, a 1-0 victory against Jacksonville State.

Austin Peay features the league’s active career scoring leader, senior forward Ashley Beck, who has 29 career goals and 63 career points.

The Panthers have never lost to the Lady Governors in program history with a 5-0-1 record. Eastern won last year’s match 2-0 as junior midfielder Alexis Miller and former Panther Michelle Steinhaus scored for the Panthers.

Two wins this weekend could also improve Eastern’s shots at an OVC Tournament berth. The Panthers’ 1-4 OVC record currently puts them eighth in the conference, and the top six teams make the conference tournament. However, the team currently in sixth place, Jacksonville State, has a record of 2-3-1, so a pair of weekend victories would improve the Panthers’ chances.

Even before Sunday’s victory against Morehead State, Nowak said he believed his team was on the right track to success.

“We just need to stay relaxed and calm and not worry about when we’re going to score,” Nowak said. “We just need to keep doing the right things.”

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

Senior forward Pam Melinauskas goes for a header against Eastern Kentucky sophomore goalkeeper Stephanie Lynch during the Panthers’ 2-1 loss to the Colonels on Friday afternoon at Lakeside Field. Eastern continues Ohio Valley Conference play at Tennessee

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