Red-shirt senior forward Ashley Streid is no stranger to being a difference maker, so it is no surprise she tallied the game-winning goal against Southeastern Missouri on Sunday at Lakeside Field. The golden goal was on her fourth shot of the game and came near the end of the second overtime.

She posted a team-high in goals in her red-shirt freshman season, the first Panther to do so since 2004. Over the course of her four years as a starter, she has accumulated six game-winning goals, including the score on Sunday.

“I feel like I just get lucky sometimes,” Streid said. “I work really hard, and if you work really hard in the game you get rewarded sometimes.”

Sunday’s boot helped Eastern split its weekend games and improve to 4-10 on the season. Streid’s play this year has also caught the eye of head coach Summer Perala, who said she believes she has come a long way this season.

“She is absolutely fantastic,” Perala said. “The past three years she has been a forward, but because of personnel issues we asked her to play defense. She grabbed a hold of it with both hands and has been our little soldier.”

The drop in production can be attributed to her moving to a different position. Streid, who is normally a forward, was playing as a defender for the majority of the season until Eastern head coach Summer Perala called her number.

“This was the first time I got to play forward again,” Streid said. “I’m really glad I got the goal.”

Another play worth noting was her assist on the second goal of the game in Sunday’s win. She sent in a cross that sophomore midfielder Brooke Sill put a head on and converted the score.

Streid’s multi-point performance was the first for an Eastern player since Kristin Germann’s hat-trick against Cleveland State back in August. The assist was her second on the season and the goal was her first in 2012.

“Personally I think I’ve done OK,” Streid said. “I’m definitely looking forward to winning, and playing well the rest of the season.”

Ashley Streid and the rest of the women’s soccer team will look to continue their momentum against Austin Peay on Friday and Murray State on Sunday. Both games begin at 1 p.m and both will be played at Lakeside Field.

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