Summit League men’s soccer teams open conference play
Ashanti Thomas | The Daily Eastern News
Eastern midfielder Chad Hamler races a pair of opponents to the ball in a match against Purdue Fort Wayne on hjttytytttt rr5rrr554er Sept. 7 at Lakeside Field. Hamler had a shot in the game, which Eastern lost 1-0.
September 27, 2021
The Eastern men’s soccer team is one of just two teams in the Summit League to win its conference opener over the weekend.
The Panthers beat St. Thomas 1-0 to get the win, with sophomore defender Brennan Rzewuski netting the game winning goal and goalkeeper Jonathan Burke recording the shutout.
They were named Summit League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week respectively for their efforts.
Also starting 1-0 was Denver, beating Western Illinois 2-1.
Denver got goals from Stefan DeLeone and Jake Mecham while goalkeeper while outshooting Western 14 to 7 as a team.
Oral Roberts and Kansas City played to a 1-1 tie in their opener against each other. Oral Roberts’ goal came from Dante Brigida and Kansas City’s came from Vlad Jokic.
Brigida leads the conference with 5 goals.
Western and St. Thomas, as previously mentioned, each start the conference season winless.
The Leathernecks got a goal from Arian Mehrang in the loss.
St. Thomas was shut out by Eastern, but goalkeeper Tucker Mann made 5 saves in the match. It was the first ever Summit League match for the Tommies, who are new to the conference after jumping from Division III.
Omaha is the only team that has not yet played a conference match. They will on Oct. 2 against Kansas City.
Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or ajtumino@eiu.edu.
