Women’s Soccer: Soccer battling for position
Saturday will be a big day for the women’s soccer team, as it plays Tennessee-Martin (8-6, 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference) and jockey for a higher position in the conference.
With a win or tie, Eastern (7-6-5, 3-2-2 OVC) can move into fourth place in the conference standings.
“The better we do in this game, the higher the seed and bigger the advantage we’ll have as to who we get to play,” head coach Summer Perala said.
If the Panthers pick up the win or tie, they would play Tennessee Tech (5-10-3, 3-3-2 OVC), whom the Panthers tied 2-2 on Oct. 16, in the first round of the OVC tournament.
For now, Eastern is focused on the Skyhawks whom, according to Perala, are a dynamic team.
“They have a midfielder who is a good, strong possession player,” Perala said. “They’re going to look to knock the ball around and stretch the field.”
Perala noted the Skyhawks have two dangerous, dynamic forwards that are both in the top 10 in shots per match in the OVC.
“It’s a good team to play in our last game,” Perala said. “It will definitely get us thinking faster and working harder.”
Senior midfielder Alexis Miller says that the game is an important game for many reasons.
“(Winning) could give us a better seed in the tournament and playing well this weekend will hopefully lead in to a good postseason,” Miller said.
Miller said the match could be big for the team’s confidence, that playing well will mean that it can play with anyone considering that UT Martin is near the top of the conference.
Red-shirt freshman forward Ashley Streid agrees with Miller and thinks a win could mean a potential game later in the OVC Tournament.
“We could play Morehead State again (having lost to them 1-0 in overtime Sunday) and beat them at their home field,” Streid said.
The Skyhawks lead the OVC in shutouts with seven this season, but Perala said she hopes the team will be able to score after working on midfield play in practice, this week.
“We’ve worked on a lot of midfield flow and trying to create some combination in possession play with our midfield because that’s where we have trouble,” Perala said.
She said she hopes to see her team compete and get back to playing the way that they have in past weeks because she thinks that this weekend’s game is a huge one.
“This is a really good opportunity for the program to finish higher than anyone expected,” Perala said. “So, it’s kind of like playing with a chip on your shoulder.”
The Panthers were expected to finish second to last in the OVC by the conference’s preseason standings. Defeating the Skyhawks would prevent them from moving into second place in the OVC and taking a share of the regular season title.
The match is scheduled to begin at noon Saturday at Lakeside Field and will wrap up the regular seasons for each team.
Alex McNamee can be reached 581-7944
Women’s Soccer: Soccer battling for position
Red-shirt freshman forward Ashley Streid keeps the ball inbounds during the Oct. 16 match against Tennessee Tech at Lakeside Field. (Amir Prellberg/The Daily Eastern News)
