Easterns women’s soccer team could not build on the momentum from last Sunday’s road win over Jacksonville State.

They dropped a pair of games over the weekend to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri State.

Although, the Panthers overall record of 4-8-2 does not show quality play from Eastern head coach Summer Perala’s squad.

I am confident that having four of their final five matches at Lakeside Field will put the Panthers within reaching distance of the Ohio Valley Conference championship.

The Panthers have recorded three of their four wins at home this season, posting an overall record of 3-2 while playing at Lakeside Field.

The Panthers turned in one of their most dominating displays of the season at Lakeside Field when they knocked off IUPUI 2-0 in the season opener.

The Panthers also had the advantage in every statistical category when they played the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos.

Although, Perala’s squad did not get the desired result against UMKC, the level of play when the Panthers are at home leads me to expect a quality finish for the Panthers.

“We tend to play better at home and get better result,” said junior midfielder Ashley Eck.

Returning from their six game road trip with a 1-4-1 record may be a bit disheartening.

Only Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee Tech can match the home heavy schedule of the Panthers.

Having four of the last five games at home will be a definite advantage for the final stretch of the season.

Although scoring continues to be a problem, I look for the comfort of playing at home to provide more goals for the Panthers as they look to compete for the conference championship.

“If we work on finishing our chances and use the home field advantage in our favor we should do pretty well,” Eck said.

The Panthers will be entering the third weekend of conference play with a record of 1-2.

Eastern’s home heavy schedule should get them back within distance of first in conference, which is lead by Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

Unfortunately, the Panthers homecoming will not be the easiest battle, as they will welcome both Morehead and Eastern Kentucky this weekend.

The defensive core must continue their strong play.

The Panthers offensive attack must provide multiple goals this weekend if the Panthers plan to win either game.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at

581-7944 or jbpottoroff@eiu.edu.