The women’s soccer team accomplished its biggest margin victory Sunday against Jacksonville State (6-9, 0-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference), winning 3-0 on Senior Day.

Eastern (6-5-5, 2-1-2 OVC) got off to an early start when red-shirt freshman Ashley Streid connected on a ball from point blank range to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

“Rachel Hamilton (senior forward) took the ball down the line and sent me a pass,” Streid said, “I kind of blocked the defender and kicked it in front and over.”

Hamilton notched her fifth assist of the season on the play, in helping to create what head coach Summer Perala described as a huge goal.

“We know how great of a team Jacksonville State is, even though their record doesn’t show it,” Perala said, “The longer they’re in the game the more confidence they’re going to gain.”

The Panthers tacked on two more goals in the first half. The first coming off the foot of senior midfielder Laura Ridolfi who received the ball at her feet, got around her defender and touched it past the goalkeeper.

Junior forward Kaitlin Sullivan scored her second goal of the season after receiving a lead pass from senior midfielder Sam Kohen inside the box.

“We worked the ball really well today and had a lot of opportunities to score,” Ridolfi said.

Kohen contributed two assists on Ridolfi and Sullivan’s goals – her second and third assists of the season. Kohen came off the bench to contribute 38 minutes.

The Panthers’ defense didn’t allow any goals, despite a couple early second half opportunities by the Gamecocks. Perala credits much better organization and communication to the shutout.

“Jenny Williams (senior goalkeeper) opened her mouth a lot more and was able to direct her backline,” Perala said, “The one-on-one defending was much sharper.”

With the 3-0 win, Hamilton thinks that the team will be able to take the momentum and run with it – especially since they’ll be continuing conference play.

After the game, Eastern’s six seniors were honored for their accomplishments on the women’s soccer team. Hamilton said it felt great to win on Senior Day and said it seemed like everything just came together. Senior midfielder Alexis Miller was pumped to get the win, not only for the occasion, but also for the season.

“It’s exciting because every one’s families are here and to play well in front of them is great,” Miller said.

Eastern played on a muddy field against Tennessee Tech Friday. The match was a double overtime draw, 2-2.

Kohen and junior midfielder Sarah Rusk scored their first goals of the season in helping the Panthers come back from two deficits. Kohen’s goal tied the game 2-2 at the 66-minute mark.

Perala said the team picked up its physical play, just like she wanted them to – recording 17 fouls in the game.

“All around people were playing hard for each other,” Perala said, “There was great work ethic from everyone – even from the bench.”

The team will hit the road this weekend, beginning on Friday when it plays Eastern Kentucky at 3 p.m. in Richmond, Ky.

Alex Mc/Volumes/Photo/Usuable Stuff/1018WSoc-AS.tifNamee can be reached at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu.

Freshman midfielder/forward Jessie Morgan goes to defend the ball from Jacksonville State’s Eli Arthur during the game on Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field. (Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Eastern News)

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