The Eastern men’s soccer team received a nice break this week, getting seven days off between matches.

The Panthers last match was Friday at Central Arkansas. They will return to action this Friday in the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic in Evansville, Ind. as they play Stony Brook.

“I think the week off of matches has really helped us,” senior defender Jeff Kupiec said. “In our last match our legs were a little tired towards the end of the game. I was just hoping we did not go into overtime.”

Sophomore Mike Picinich said the team got a day off yesterday, which will be key because the Panthers play two matches this weekend.

Kupiec said he is excited for the weekend tournament because the Panthers are challenged with competition they do not normally see.

“We play the teams from our conference every year, so the good thing about these tournaments is we see formations we are not used to.”

Injuries

Through four matches, the Eastern men’s soccer team has remained relatively injury free.

Senior defender Chris Pearson missed the match against Central Arkansas after suffering a groin injury in the 2-0 loss to Memphis Sept. 6. Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said Pearson went back to his hometown Newcastle, England, for a funeral, but expects him to be able to play after he is evaluated.

Howarth said he is glad no one has gotten severely hurt, except for a couple of players with colds, because of only having 22 players on the roster.

“I am not really worried, though, because we have enough guys that can play with the depth we have,” Howarth said.

Captain

Junior forward Alex Harrison was named captain for this year’s team.

Howarth said there were a number of factors that went into making Harrison the choice.

“He has a lot of leadership and he does a good job playing on the field,” Howarth said. “He also plays a lot of minutes so he is always out there. We wanted someone who is a leader both on and off the field and I think we got that with him.”

Around the MVC

The Missouri Valley Conference went 6-1-1 last weekend in the second week of its non-conference schedule.

Creighton, which is ranked No. 6 in the nation by both National Soccer Coaches Association of America and College Soccer News, moved back one spot in the poll after not playing this weekend.

Bradley, which is currently the top team record-wise in the conference with a 4-0-1 record, picked up wins against Western Michigan and Xavier at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Bradley Soccer Classic.

Braves sophomore defender Bryan Gaul was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week. Gaul was part of a backline that limited Western Michigan to six shots, and then he scored a game-winning goal against Xavier.

Eastern defender Kyle Zumski earned an honorable mention in the category.

Drake is in third place early in this 2009 season with a 3-2 record after splitting weekend matches at the UAB Soccer for a Cure Tournament. The Bulldogs defeated host Alabama Birmingham 3-1 Friday, but fell to Memphis 4-3 Sunday. Eastern lost to Memphis 2-0 on Sept. 6.

The Bulldogs were ranked No. 23 in the country by College Soccer News, but slipped out after splitting matches this weekend.

Missouri State has started its season 1-1-1, while Evansville is 3-2. Evansville won the Hotels at Grand Prairie Bradley Soccer Classic with victories against Xavier and Western Michigan.

Evansville junior forward Tom Irvin was named most valuable player of the tournament as well as MVC Player of the Week. Irvin scored twice and added an assist in the win against Xavier. He followed that performance with an assist against Western Michigan.

Dan Cusack can be reached at 581-7944 or dscusack@eiu.edu.

Freshman midfielder Jerry Maddi kicks the ball away during the Sept. 1 match against Valparaiso at Lakeside Field.(Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News)

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