The Eastern women’s soccer team split two Ohio Valley Conference matches this weekend at Lakeside Field.

The Panthers dropped Friday’s match to Austin Peay by a score of 6-1, but rebounded on Sunday to take down Murray State 1-0.

After the two matches, the Panthers record is now 5-11 overall, while also posting a 3-4 conference record.

The match against Austin Peay saw the Panthers give up six goals, the most in a game by the team this season.

Junior forward Andy Quiceno of Austin Peay led the attack with three of the team’s goals.

Junior midfielder Tatiana Ariza scored two goals, while her twin sister Natalia Ariza scored one. Senior forward Emily Perkins also added one goal for the Governors.

The lone goal for the Panthers came in the 87th minute when freshman Hannah Miller scored off an assist from freshman Molly Hawkins.

The Panthers would bounce back on Sunday, however, with sophomore Megan Radloff scoring her first career goal in what would be the only goal of the match against the Racers.

After being tied for nearly the entire match, Radloff scored in the 81st minute after a shot deflected off a Murray State player following an Eastern corner kick, allowing Radloff to score.

The Panthers will head back on the road this weekend to take on Morehead State at 7 p.m. on Friday and Eastern Kentucky at 1 p.m. on Sunday. These will be the final two regular season road matches for the Panthers.

The Panthers’ final home match will be at 3 p.m. on Oct. 26 as the Panthers take on Belmont in what will be the first time the two teams meet as OVC opponents.

Around the OVC

The OVC tournament begins on Nov. 4, with the top six finishing teams in the regular season advancing to the tournament.

The top two seeds in the tournament each receive byes in the first round. The site of the tournament is determined by the winner of the regular season championship, who hosts the tournament.

Tennessee-Martin is currently in first place in the OVC with a conference record of 5-1-1. The Skyhawks are coming off their first ever OVC title last season and were picked as early favorites this season, having been the No. 1 team in the preseason polls.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville is currently in second place in the OVC with a conference record of 4-2-1. Despite this, the Cougars have yet to win a match on the road, posting a 0-3-1 road record.

The next four spots are held by Austin Peay, Belmont, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State, all of which have a 3-2-1 record.

The bottom five are rounded out by Southeast Missouri, Eastern, Tennessee Tech, Morehead State and Murray State.

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