They say the third time’s a charm.

The Eastern women’s soccer team was about to enter its third overtime match of the season on Sunday at Lakeside Field, tied 2-2 with Cleveland State. Just one day before, the Panthers found themselves in the same situation against Northern Iowa, but came up short, falling in double overtime, handing the team its third straight loss.

On a team with only a handful of seniors, team captain Kristin Germann had been having a relatively quiet start to her final season as a Panther. Germann had only registered three shots, one per match, in each of the Panther’s previous losses against Iowa, Purdue, and Northern Iowa.

That all changed Sunday when Germann exploded with seven shots, three of which found the back of the net, giving her the hat trick, and the game-winning goal for the Panthers, and finally giving the team something to cheer about for its first win of the season.

Germann, known around Lakeside Field simply as ‘KG’, saw her first goal of the match come 30 minutes into the first half. Teammate Caitlin Greene was ripped down by a Cleveland State player, setting the Panthers up for the penalty kick, which Germann made look easy.

After Cleveland State added two goals in the second half to take the lead, Germann responded immediately, scoring her second goal of the match less than a minute after Cleveland State’s second goal. Germann’s goal would tie the match, sending it into overtime.

“(Samantha Roumayah) got the ball wide, and I was running in the middle and she crossed it, and I think it might have deflected off someone, and I just headed it in,” Germann said.

Three minutes into the overtime period, Germann secured the hat trick, along with an assist from fellow senior Jessie Morgan.

“Jessie was taking the ball down the side, cut it back in, and the goalie bobbled it, and then I was just right there to kick it in,” she said.

The hat trick was Germann’s first as a Panther, and now puts her as the team’s leading scorer. Germann was also named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for the first time in her career after her performance against Cleveland State.

Head coach Summer Perala said she and Germann had talked hat tricks before the match.

“KG and I actually talked about it (the day before the match),” Perala said. “We were like, ‘Oh, you need to go, you need a hat trick tomorrow, you’re going to shine up that golden boot,’ and today she did it, so we’re talking about hat tricks every game now.”

Germann will get a chance to shine up her golden boot on Friday when the Panthers travel to Indiana State for a non-conference match.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.