Eastern men’s soccer suffered an overtime loss Tuesday night to Milwaukee by a score of 2-1. 

A red card to senior Toby Andrews in the 81st minute of the game caused Eastern to play down a man into the overtime period, finally getting capped off by a header from Milwaukee sophomore Suad Suljic. 

Eastern head coach Kiki Lara said the card made it tough, but he was pleased with the play he saw in response. 

“We are always going to compete regardless of the situation,” Lara said. “For that, we are very proud of the performance tonight…and for the most part, we battled and worked smart to get us through the overtime. Unfortunate way to lose in the end off a good play from them.” 

Milwaukee outshot Eastern 18-3, including posting seven more shots on goal than Eastern, but despite fewer chances around the net, senior Kris Luke capitalized on one of the few. 

Luke played a header off junior Alex Castaneda’s free kick right past sophomore goalkeeper Freddy Lorenzen. 

Milwaukee created a lot of action towards the net, but Eastern’s defense stayed sound, and sophomore goalkeeper Jonathan Burke recorded seven saves in the match.

Eastern has just two more regular season games left on the schedule after his non-conference matchup, and the team is primed for a Summit League Tournament spot as they sit in third place. 

The Panthers face the team sitting directly behind them in the playoff hunt, Fort Wayne, on Saturday, but Lara said his team needs to simply focus on that contest and not the postseason implications.

“Conference play has been the main focus all year,” Lara said. “We will be ready to put up a performance Saturday against [Fort Wayne]. That is all we’re concerned about. Nothing before and nothing after.”

Eastern finishes the regular season on November 3 in a slate against Omaha to help determine the Panthers tournament hopes.

Oscar Rzodkiewicz can be reached at 581-2812 or orrzodkiewicz@eiu.edu.