Eastern will search for its first win of the season against IUPUI Friday at Lakeside Field in the team’s first matchup of Summit League play.

The Panthers come off of a 4-1 defeat on the road to DePaul in the midweek.

Senior Jake Plant netted a goal for Eastern to level the score at one goal apiece in the first half, but the Blue Demons came storming back to take the match with three unanswered goals.

Eastern is now 0-6-1 as it approaches the halfway mark of the season.

Through non-conference play, the Panthers were ranked sixth out of the seven teams in the league.

There is a full slate of Summit League action scheduled for the next month and all that will start against the IUPUI Jaguars.

Head coach Adam Howarth said the team has returned its players from injury, but now it is just looking to improve on their match fitness.

“You can be fit, but not necessarily soccer-fit,” Howarth said. “They’re still finding their feet in terms of their fitness on the soccer field but we’re getting closer for sure.”

Additionally, the goalkeeper position is up for grabs as red-shirt sophomore goalkeeper Ben Feltes comes off his fourth consecutive start after replacing sophomore Garrett Creasor as the Panthers number one.

Feltes has overseen a defense that has let in 16 goals during his time between the posts.

Assistant coach Mark Hansen said the team needs a goalkeeper that will be a consistent and solid force at the back.

“I think who ever steps in there has to be confident,” Hansen said.

After drawing its first two matches of the season, IUPUI has dropped its last seven games to fall to 0-7-2.

Not only that, but the Jaguars have been blanked in their last three matches, scoring last when on the road at Valparaiso.

Only one IUPUI player has scored more than once, and that is 6-foot-7 sophomore defender Michael Sass.

Sass has scored twice, something he is known to do after finishing in the top five on the Summit League leader board for game winning goals in 2012.

Additionally, he finished eighth in the league in assists last year.

Head coach Isang Jacob has used Sass in a striker position throughout the season.

He did that in the match against Valparaiso, when Sass scored his second goal of the season.

Whether he is playing up front or in the backline, Eastern will have to deal with Sass on corner kicks, which will mean one of the Panther’s defenders will have the mark him.

Of Eastern’s starting defenders, the tallest is freshman Tim Pieper who stands at 6-foot 2-inches.

Michael Spencer can be reached at 581-2812 or at tmspencer2@eiu.edu.