The Eastern rugby team won its second straight game, beating Notre Dame 37-0 on Saturday in South Bend, Ind., as the Panthers collected their first shutout victory since recording two against Illinois State on Nov. 17, 2013, at Lakeside Field.

Eastern coach Frank Graziano said that at halftime, when the Panthers were winning 17-0, the biggest thing was to keep the zero on the scoreboard against Notre Dame.

“That was important for us, to keep the zero there,” he said. “It was a little windy. We always play against the wind in the first half, so you have to play defense and the opposition can keep you pinned down because of the wind. We did a great job in the first half by not allowing them to score.”

Graziano said from start to finish, the game, as a whole was much better than previous games for Eastern, which entered Notre Dame with a 2-4 record.

“I think the things we have been working on are starting to show up,” he said. “Were there a lot of mistakes made? Yes, but, we played better defense. Some of the offensive things we were working on happened. If you put all those parts together it produces a better result.”

The Panthers got another offensive show from Breanna Young in the game on Saturday, when she scored four more tries. She has scored 11 tries in Eastern’s current two-game winning streak.

Graziano said the Panthers are starting to figure out how to get the ball to Young.

“That is half the battle,” he said. “She has been our scorer since the start of camp, but it took us two months to figure out how to get her the ball in space where she can do some things. Plus, she was able to pick up some loose balls and make a 20-yard run simply because she out ran them.  If you play good defense and create turnovers, the ball just materializes in the fast people’s hands.”

Junior Jasmine Garner added two scores and Sara Fisher added one as well for Eastern.

The last time the Panthers shut out a team was last season, when they shutout Illinois State 46-0 and 48-0 in a matchup where they played 7’s instead of 15’s, which they normally play.

The last time the Panthers shutout their opponent playing 15’s was when they defeated Kansas State 121-0 in Manhattan, Kan., during the 2012 season, when Eastern last had a winning record at 6-2.

From the start of the season up until now, Graziano said everything has been just simply better.

“The tackling has been getting a little bit better,” he said. “Their positional defense has been getting better. Again, if we can’t get them in the right spots, it doesn’t matter how well they tackle. So they are getting better spreading out across the field. But, every time we do something right, I find four things wrong. There is always cause to be optimistic.”

As for Saturday’s scheduled home game at Lakeside Field, Graziano said he has to find an opponent to fill in for Life University.

The Panthers were scheduled to play Life University, but that game has been canceled.

Graziano is trying to find an opponent to play at home, and is hoping to find one, so his team can have a Senior Day for the three graduating seniors.

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