Senior midfielder Sam Kohen and junior midfielder Sarah Rusk both got out of a long scoring rut in Friday’s tie against Tennessee Tech.

The duo put in their first goals of the season.

Down 1-0 at halftime, Eastern came out pushing forward, resulting in Rusk’s goal.

Following back-to-back headers off a throw-in by senior forward Rachel Hamilton, the ball dropped to Rusk’s feet and she kicked it in from short distance in front of the goal.

This goal came three minutes after the Golden Eagles scored right before the end of the first half. Rusk was so excited to score that after putting the ball in the net, she picked it up and sprinted back to midfield, placing it on the center line and ready for play.

Rusk ended a streak of 37 games without a goal, having not scored since Oct. 19, 2007, of her freshman year.

Kohen entered into the game off the bench after the Golden Eagles regained the lead 2-1.

She contributed 40 minutes and one goal.

Her goal came in the 66th minute, among many defenders when she punched it in to tie the game. This would be the last goal of the game.

Kohen has scored two career goals. This one tied the game, while her first goal came on Oct. 26, 2008, against Southeast Missouri – a game-winning goal that helped earn the Panthers a playoff berth.

Team scores early, often against OVC foe

For the second time this season, Eastern scored all of its goals in the first half in a winning effort Sunday. The only other time the Panthers have done it this season was against Austin Peay, when the team won 1-0.

The Panthers also matched their biggest win margin, defeating Jacksonville State by three goals, in a 3-0 win.

Red-shirt freshman forward Ashley Streid kicked things off with a goal in the 13th minute following a cross by Hamilton. This was Streid’s second chance at a goal after hitting one off the cross bar earlier in the game.

Senior midfielder Laura Ridolfi scored her third goal of the season in the 33rd minute, following a through-pass from Kohen.

Ridolfi was being pulled down by the Gamecocks’ last defender, but still managed to put the ball out of the reach of the goalie.

Junior forward Kaitlin Sullivan punched in the final goal of the game for either team with just seconds left in the first half, placing the ball in the center of the net and past the goalie.

Around the OVC

The new Ohio Valley Conference standings have been released following last weekend’s action, and Morehead State is in first with 14 points.

With a win and a tie, Eastern has moved into fifth place, with a conference record of 2-1-2, and an overall record of 6-5-5.

Winners from this weekend’s action include Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, UT Martin, Austin Peay and Eastern.

Eastern’s next game is on the road Friday, against Eastern Kentucky – the sixth place team – at 3 p.m. in Richmond, Ky.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu.

Freshman midfielder Jessie Morgan passes the ball at the soccer match against Tennessee Tech Friday at Lakeside Field. The Panthers tied the Golden Eagles 2-2.(Samantha Bilharz/The Daily Eastern News)

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