The Eastern men’s soccer team will hit the road to play one of the top two teams in the Summit League, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis on Saturday.

IUPUI boasts a 3-6-1 record, being one of two teams in the conference with three wins this season.

The Jaguars have the top goalkeeper in the conference and two of the top five goal scorers.

Goalkeeper Eduardo Cortez leads the conference in saves, 59, and is second in save percentage, stopping 80.8 percent of opponents’ shots.

On the offensive end, Jaguar defender Kyle Hyland leads the league in goals with six, while teammate Ian Block is fourth with two goals; however, there are multiple league players with two goals, including three Eastern players.

Hyland and Block also lead the league in shots taken with 23 and 18, respectively.

IUPUI defenders Michael Sass and Sean McGrath are among the league leaders in assists with three apiece.

The Jaguars’ three wins have come against Detroit, 2-0, Northern Kentucky, 1-0, and Valparaiso, 1-0. The Jaguars have played more games, 10, than any team in the Summit League this season.

Eastern will be heading into an environment that has recorded the league’s top attendance average at 562 fans per game.

But the Panthers are used to large crowds. In their season opener, a road game against Bradley, 1,259 fans showed up. Against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Panthers were in front of over 1,600 fans.

Freshman goalkeeper Garrett Creasor has lead the Panthers this season when he’s been in net, posting the team’s only two wins.

Creasor is second in the league in goals against with six and fourth in the league in save percentage, stopping 72.7 percent of shots.

Eastern sophomore forward Tayron Martin is coming off the best game of his career, scoring each of the Panthers’ two goals on Tuesday against Loyola.

He is one of three Panthers with two goals this season. Only one other Panthers has scored this season – sophomore midfielder Jake Brillhart, who has one goal.

The Jaguars also have four players responsible for the team’s 10 goals, but only five players have competed in all 10 of the team’s games. Ten of Eastern’s players have played in all seven of its games.

Three other conference games will be played Saturday. Omaha plays Western Illinois, Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne plays Missouri-Kansas City, and Oakland plays Oral Roberts all opening in-conference play this season.

Eastern’s game against IUPUI kicks of at 6 p.m. Saturday in Indianapolis. The two teams played in a scoreless draw last season at Lakeside Field.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-2812 or admcnamee@eiu.edu.