After a three-week break from competition, the Eastern women’s rugby team will look to improve on a winless season Thursday afternoon against Lindenwood. Eastern head coach Frank Graziano said he believes in moving on.

“I think it is important to treat it like a fresh start,” Graziano said. “We are not playing the same game plan, so the ladies have been working on it for the past couple of weeks and we are going to treat it like a separate season now.”

Contrary to the previous match against the Wisconsin All-Stars, this match will be played in rugby fifteens format, albeit with 10 players. This will bring some of the players back into their original positions during a game, including the underclassmen on the team.

Graziano said he expects the younger players to play well because of their return to familiar positions.

“I think that’s going to be good for Madison (Kissner) and Nia (Williams) because they will be playing in the back positions, which is most comfortable,” Graziano said. “Carissa (Burge) is a little bit out of position in that she is going to be playing part of the backs and part of the forwards… but she is getting a feel for doing both simultaneously.”

Senior flanker Stefanie Mahan, who missed the first two games with a facial injury, returns to the field against Lindenwood after participating in practice the past three weeks. Returning off a season in which she led the team in tackles, coach Graziano said he thinks it can only improve his team.

“Stefanie (Mahan) will add a lot to our energy and momentum,” Graziano said. “In fact, if we get the kickoff she should make the first tackle of the game.”

In addition to all of this, Graziano said he is looking forward to added confidence and a strong showing from his team. He said he expects them to score early and build momentum throughout the game.

“They need to be able to develop some confidence in the first 10 minutes, Graziano said. “If we can get a score in the first five minutes of the game, then I think we will be in good shape the rest of the way.”

The Panthers will take the field at 4 p.m. Thursday at Lakeside Field., where they will try to avoid falling to 0-3 for the first time in program history.

Nicholas Ruffolo can be reached at 581-2812 or nfruffolo@eiu.edu.