The Eastern’s women’s soccer team will face off against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Thursday afternoon in the opening match of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The Panthers are one of the hottest teams going into the tournament, and Coach Perala’s squad should put together a quality, if not shocking, tournament run.

The OVC tournament will feature six teams in a three-day tournament. Morehead State earned the No. 1 seed and a first round bye, the early favorites to capture of the OVC crown.

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks battled for the No. 2 seed, and will join the Eagles with the favorable first round bye.

The No.4 seed, Eastern and the No. 5 seed, Eastern Kentucky will take the field in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday, Nov 4 at 5 p.m.

I look for the Panthers dominating defensive play to lock down the Colonels offensive attack and send themselves into the second round of the OVC tournament with a 1-0 victory.

In the Thursday night game the No. 3 seed, Austin Peay and the No. 6 seed, Murray State will play each other. In a close game I expect the strong offensive play from the Governors to propel them past the Racers with a 2-0 victory.

With the highest seed winning each of the two games on Thursday afternoon, I look for an upset to unfold on Friday evening.

Eastern will face a stiff test as they will face the No. 1 seed in the OVC tournament on Friday evening. The Panthers and Morehead State played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 8, at Lakeside Field.

The Panthers started their run of five consecutive matches without a loss against Morehead State, and I expect the trend to continue, as the Panthers will knock off the Eagles in a thrilling 2-1 victory.

In Friday’s night game the No. 2 and 3 seeds will meet on the pitch at 8 p.m. Southeast Missouri State and Austin Peay will play for the chance of representing their school in the OVC Championship game.

In an offensive battle I expect the Redhawks to outscore the Governors and walk off the field with a 3-2 victory.

In the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game I project Southeast Missouri State to face off against Eastern. The Redhawks got the best of the Panthers in the regular season match at Cape Girardeau, Mis. when they knocked off the Panthers in 1-0 fashion.

I project an early goal for the Panthers to give them the edge, and the suffocating defense to keep the Redhawks off the scoreboard in the finale of the OVC tournament.

With the Panthers running on the momentum of near flawless play to round out the regular season, and posting back to back wins in the tournament; I look for the Panthers to end the season with a 1-0 victory over Southeast Missouri State, and wear the OVC crown in 2010.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-7944

or jbpottorff@eiu.edu