The last week in October is synonymous with the World Series. It’s arguably the third best championship in sports, behind the Super Bowl and the NCAA men’s basketball title game.

Some 20 million viewers will glue their eyes to their televisions to watch the Fall Classic but if you miss one or two games, it wouldn’t be such a big loss because there is more to see this weekend.

Halloween weekend has more at stake than a world title or having the best costume. It’s crucial to the fate of a few women’s soccer teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The March Madness train has made a stop in late-October, as it will visit the OVC this weekend where a collection of meaningful games is on tap. These six teams’ fates will be decided:

Tennessee Martin at Eastern

UT Martin (8-6, 5-2 OVC) controls its own destiny. It is currently in second place with 15 points, three behind Morehead State (8-6-4, 5-0-3 OVC). With a victory against Eastern, the Skyhawks can enter into a tie with idle Morehead State at the top of the conference. Eastern (7-6-5, 3-2-2 OVC), on the other hand, can jump to third place at best. If the Panthers defeat UT Martin, it will tally 14 points this season and will hope that Murray State loses its match against SEMO, in order to jump in front of them. If Eastern loses, it will hope for a Murray State win, so it doesn’t fall to sixth in the conference.

Southeast Missouri at Murray State

Eastern Kentucky (5-10-2, 2-3-3 OVC) is without a game this weekend, so its postseason hopes lie on the shoulders of Murray State (7-7-2, 4-2-1 OVC). EKU and SEMO (7-6-3, 2-2-3 OVC) are tied for the sixth and final spot to get into the tournament, with nine points. However, with EKU defeating SEMO 1-0 last weekend, the Colonels hold a tiebreaker over SEMO. If Murray State can defeat SEMO, the Colonels can punch their ticket to the post-season. Also, if Murray State wins, it can catapult itself into second place in the conference. It will stay at that position if UT Martin loses its lone weekend match.

Austin Peay at Jacksonville State

This is a game with a little different implication than the first two. Austin Peay (1-12-4, 0-5-2 OVC) will be fighting to keep itself from finishing dead last in the conference. Jacksonville State (6-9, 1-6 OVC) is second to last. The two teams are separated by one point – JSU having three points to Austin Peay’s two. No team wants to be called “the worst,” and for Austin Peay, this is its last, best chance for an OVC victory.

By the end of these three OVC games – the latest game being Eastern’s on Saturday at noon – the World Series will just be starting Game 3, on Saturday at 6:57 p.m.

So, breathe a sigh of relief because the first two games don’t matter, anyway.

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

A dorm room burning event in the South Quad last Friday drew a large crowd of people, eager to see how fast a fire can destroy a room and how quickly sprinkler systems can save a room.

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