Moving to the Summit League was a great move for Eastern’s men’s soccer team.

The Panthers struggled for years to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, but this year they have a real chance at winning a championship.

There is no dominant team in the Summit League, leaving the tournament pretty much up for grabs. Right now the Panthers are tied for the final tournament spot and trail the leaders by just two points.

Eastern has two Summit League matches left, so one win will give it more points than the leaders.

I don’t think it is likely that the Panthers will enter the tournament as the number one seed; however, I believe they will make the tournament and once they’re in, anything can happen.

All the teams match up pretty evenly, so if the Panthers get hot at the right time they could ride their momentum toward a championship.

As I have said all season, Eastern has a young, exciting group of men that is very fun to watch.

Head coach Adam Howarth did a fantastic job of bringing in new recruits that could make an impact right way.

The new players have basically been the Panthers entire offensive attack.

Freshman midfielder Will Butler and Jake Brillhart lead the team with eight points and freshman forward Jake Irwin is second in the Summit League with five assists.

Don’t get me wrong, the Panthers’ veterans contribute loads to this team.

They are the heart and soul senior defenseman Graham Lynch and Mike Picinich are co-captain and anchor the team on the defensive side of the ball, so they don’t often show up in the box score statistically.

But just because they aren’t putting up big stats doesn’t mean they are key contributors for the Panthers.

Without Lynch, Picinich and senior forward Ryan Child, the team would severely lack leadership.

It is this balance that gives Eastern a serious chance at winning a Summit League championship.

However, it is this young recruiting class that gives the Panthers hope for many seasons to come.

But, for now, they will focus on the task at hand and should make a serious post-season run.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7942 or rdmortell@eiu.edu.