After getting its first conference point of the season Sunday, the Eastern women’s soccer team is still in search of its first conference win.

The Panthers tied with Tennessee Tech 0-0 in double overtime Sunday on senior day for the Panthers. Head Coach Kiki Lara said getting the conference point was important for the team going forward because it keeps the team in the hunt for a conference tournament berth.

Eastern is currently last in the OVC, five points behind the next-closest teams, Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State. Jacksonville State beat Eastern Friday 1-0.

With only three conference matches left in the season, Eastern needs a win to help itself get in the hunt for a conference berth because the top eight teams make the conference tournament.

And Eastern’s first opponent this weekend is Southeast Missouri.

The Redhawks have a 4-7-3 overall season record, with a 1-3-3 conference record.

The lone conference victory for the Redhawks came against Tennessee Tech in a 1-0 overtime win at Southeast Missouri’s home field on Sept. 15.

Like Eastern, Southeast Missouri has been looking for a win since then. The last time Eastern won was on Sept. 10 in a 2-1 non-conference victory over Western Illinois.

Since Southeast Missouri’s conference win, the team continued to grab a few OVC points through 1-1 double overtime ties with Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky and Austin Peay, all three of which defeated Eastern.

Eastern does not have any remaining home matches, so it will travel to Cape Girardeau Friday for the match at 6:30 p.m. Southeast Missouri is an even 3-3 on its home field, while Eastern has a 1-4-1 road record.

Sunday, the Panthers will travel to Tennessee to face the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks.

The Skyhawks have a 2-4-1 OVC record, with an overall 4-9-3 season record. As it stands right now, Tennessee-Martin is eighth in the OVC standings with seven conference points, meaning it would be the last team to make it to the OVC tournament if it kept that spot.

Like both Southeast Missouri and Eastern, the Skyhawks have not had a win for about a month. Their last win came Sept. 17 against Southeast Missouri. Tennesse-Martin got its first conference points in its other win against Jacksonville State, two days before the Southeast Missouri victory.

Also like Southeast Missouri and Eastern, Tennessee-Martin has gotten its other conference point with a tie, which came against Austin Peay, 2-2 in double overtime.

Sunday’s match against Tennessee-Martin is set for 1 p.m. for the Panthers.

The matchups this weekend will have more riding on them and will be tough because Eastern, Southeast Missouri and Tennesse-Martin, though Tennessee-Martin is the only of the three currently in postseason position, are fighting for OVC tournament bids.

Dillan Schorfheide can be reached at581-2812 or dtschorfheide@eiu.edu