Red-shirt forward Grey Genenbacher put it best after Eastern’s 4-0 win against Asbury (Ky)., Monday at Lakeside Field.

“We played well, but there is still areas where we can improve,” he said.

But for the Panthers right now, it describes where they are at in the season.

Eastern is 2-1-1 in its last four matches and looked impressive in every match except a 3-0 loss Wednesday against Drake.

The Panthers defeated Bradley for the first time in 10 matches on Oct. 18. Bradley has yet to win in the conference, but the Eastern defense dominated the match as the Panthers recorded their fifth shutout of the season.

In a match that came down to whichever team could strike first, senior midfielder Evan Philpott scored a second-half goal to down the Braves.

The match Sunday against Creighton, one could argue, was one of Eastern’s finest of the season. In a seesaw battle against a team that is consistently on the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, Eastern scratched, clawed and worked its way to a scoreless tie.

The team the Panthers tied was the same team that beat them 5-1 Oct. 11 in Omaha, Neb.

Eastern has not beat Creighton since joining the MVC, and recorded only its second point against the Bluejays since 1984.

It was apparent from the start of the match that win, lose or draw, Creighton knew it was going to have a slugfest on its hands.

Eastern won convincingly Monday, defeating Asbury 4-0. Although the Eagles are an NAIA school, plenty of Panthers got involved in the scoring. Four players, Genenbacher, red-shirt defender Austin Andrekus, red-shirt freshman midfielder Ian McCausland and senior defender Jeff Kupiec all scored their first goals of the season.

Eastern got off to a slow start, but paced itself and scored three goals in the final 18 minutes.

Going into the final three matches of the season, Eastern is in fifth place, five points behind Drake.

In the final stretch, Eastern plays three more conference matches against two teams it has already beaten, and Drake at home. One of the wins includes a Missouri State team Eastern beat on the road 3-0 Oct. 4, the Bears’ only loss in the conference.

With only the top four teams making the MVC Conference Championship, Eastern still has a shot but must continue to play great soccer if it wants to play for the championship.

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