Junior forward Alex Harrison is having a good season.

Historically good.

Through 12 matches, Harrison has already recorded nine assists, which is currently the third highest per game in the country.

He is one assist behind Andrew Hoxie of William & Mary and Austin de Luz of Wake Forest for overall assists this season. He is tied with nine overall with Levi Houapeu of Maryland-Baltimore County.

If Harrison continues at this pace, he could rewrite the Eastern record books. He is currently tied for fifth overall in all-time season assists and is tied for second in the Missouri Valley Conference era.

“In my opinion, he is turning out to be the leader we always thought he would be,” assistant coach Dino Raso said. “I think he is taking the weight of the team on his shoulders and even though he is not scoring as many goals as he has in the past, he is making sure the team is still scoring.”

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said he is working hard and doing a great job getting the ball into scoring positions.

Harrison has notched an assist in six matches so far this season, including an assist in Eastern’s 1-0 victory Sunday against Bradley.

Philpott calls his shot

Senior midfielder Evan Philpott scored the lone goal against Bradley this weekend. After the match, Philpott said he called the goal before the match, but had a different goal celebration planned.

After the goal, the senior ripped off his shirt and ran toward the stands before being dog-piled by his teammates.

“Before the match, I told (Harrison) and (senior defender Chris Pearson) that I was going to go to the flag and kiss it,” Philpott said. “But it is one of those things where you get so excited you don’t know what you are going to do. The first thing I thought of was just take my shirt off and run to the crowd.”

Howarth said Philpott played a fantastic match and lately has been a super sub for the team.

Child misses first match of season

Sophomore midfielder Ryan Child missed his first game of the season in the match against Bradley. Howarth said he had a small injury and the team kept him out for precautionary reasons.

Howarth said he should be ready to play against Drake Wednesday, but he is not sure at this time whether he will start.

Molony ties Panther record

Junior goalkeeper Sean Molony recorded his fifth shutout this season in the match against the Braves. The shutout now ties him for first in individual shutout record in the MVC era with current assistant coach Mark Hansen.

Molony may have recorded the shutout, but he had a lot of help from his defense this weekend. Eastern only allowed two shots on goal for the Braves.

Howarth said Molony will be the first one to admit how well the defense had played so far this season.

“He has got to do his job too and make sure no balls get through,” Howarth said. “He has been solid. I have been happy with how he is playing and he has definitely brought a good presence to the team. That makes the back four play a little bit better, too.”

Following the match Sunday, Howarth praised his defense.

“I thought (Pearson) was fantastic,” Howarth said. “I think he won every single header today. (Molony) was solid in goal and we were solid all the way through the middle.”

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