The Eastern rugby team has lost four games in a row for the first time since Frank Graziano has been the Panthers’ coach.

Senior Shelby Pilch said she knows how frustrating the losing streak is to her and her team but said her team is going to remain positive.

“It is part of the process; it is who we are, and we are going to have to accept that,” she said. “We know things will turn around for us, we are just unsure when. There is no room for negativity on the team.”

With the Panthers having five games left, there is still a chance for them to have a winning record.

Coach Graziano said he knows that the next game is the most important.

“We have got two weeks before the Davenport game, and if you get your win, you still have a shot at winning out,” he said. “If you lose, you have a losing season staring you in the face.”

Graziano added that he is going to emphasize to the team that this is a critical part of the season and for the next two weeks the Panthers have to turn it around now.

He told the team that they are going to go all-out in practice the next couple weeks to get things back on track.

With the fourth loss in a row, Graziano said he is not going to give up on the girls.

“I respect them too much for trying to do all this,” he said. “I always owe them my best every day in practice. If this makes me a better coach and I can continue to remain positive and continue to teach, it has a lot of value to me. It certainly has value to the girls.”

Pilch said the veterans on her team have to keep a positive attitude all the time and let the newcomers know it is OK to get frustrated, and it is ok to make mistakes.

“Failure creates success,” she said. “The key is to keep constantly working on the things holding us back. It is our job as veterans to lead them in the right directions through our actions and our words.”

The Panthers have four tries all season and have an average losing margin of 35 points per game.

Pilch said the team has to focus on winning like they know how.

“It’s never an easy thing to go through a losing streak, especially when you know you have the ability and the talent to win,” Pilch said. “We all know that soon enough we will not have to deal with what we are dealing with right now. We have to show up at practice, and we have to show up on Saturday’s. It is that simple.”

Bob Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or rjreynolds@eiu.edu.