Panthers searching for victory
The Panther women’s soccer team will hit the road for the first of six consecutive games away from Lakeside Field this weekend.
The Panthers are sitting at 3-4-1 this season, and are looking for this final week of non-conference play to boost them back over the .500 mark, going into Ohio Valley Conference regular season play.
“The goal this weekend is to bring home two victories and get ourselves back over the .500 mark,” said junior defender Erika Prazma.
The Panthers will face off against Miami (Ohio) Friday in Oxford, Ohio, and finish the weekend against Western Illinois Sunday in Macomb.
The Panthers were kept off the scoreboard Sunday and managed just one goal in the pair of games against Belmont and
Missouri-Kansas City.
The late game heroics of sophomore forward Kristin Germann gave the Panthers the victory over the Belmont Bruins on Friday.
However, the offensive attack must deliver goals in both games this weekend for the Panthers to vault themselves back over the .500 mark for the first time since Aug. 29.
Eastern has yet to put together a complete weekend of games since the opening weekend of the season when they defeated Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Evansville at Lakeside Field.
The Panthers are hungry to get back in the win column and look to gain momentum that will propel them through conference play.
The Panthers are coming off of a tough loss on Sunday against Missouri-Kansas City that has left the team determined to prove themselves in the pair of games this weekend. “This weekend is the end of non-conference play and we need to come out on a good note with a pair of wins this weekend,” junior defender Hillary Blake said.
The Miami (Ohio) Redhawks currently have a record of 5-2-1 and have yet to be defeated on their home field.
Perala’s squad will look to deliver the Redhawks their first home loss of the season, as well as notching their first road victory of 2010.
“They are a physical team and we have to be ready to fight and compete for a full 90 minutes,” Prazma said.
The Panthers know the importance of this road trip and how crucial it is to put together a complete weekend to round out the non-conference portion of their schedule.
“We have to come out ready to play in both of the games this weekend if we expect to win,” senior goalkeeper Kaylin Lorbert said.
The Panthers will end the weekend road trip with in-state rival Western Illinois on Sunday.
“Western Illinois is one of our biggest rivals and I know we will be ready to play on Sunday,” junior defender Sam Balek said.
The Panthers got the best of the Leathernecks in 2009 with a 1-0 victory in overtime. The Panthers will look to make it two in a row over their rivals on Sunday.
Panthers searching for victory
Junior defender/midfielder Lauren Hoppensteadt and Belmont sophomore forward chase down the ball as Belmont senior forward and Eastern junior defender Erika Prazma follow them Friday at Lakeside Field. (Audrey Sawyer
