Eastern Illinois University lost to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons 3-0 at Lakeside Field Thursday.

The game was scoreless for over 70 minutes until the Mastodons took advantage of a mistake by senior goalkeeper Chad Smith to score the games first goal.

Smith was handcuffed by a back pass 12 minutes later, and after taking possession back Purdue Fort Wayne took advantage of another mistake to double their lead and put the game away for good.

Before conceding for the first time, Eastern matched the Mastodons intensity for most of the opening 70 minutes. Both teams had decent chances and it was end to end action for most of the game.

Head coach Josh Oakley had a long talk after the game with his team. He was especially frustrated on the number of mistakes the team made that ended up costing them.

“The game is 90 [minutes long] not 70,” Oakley said. “I think overall the team came out and competed a little bit better.”

Three Eastern players plus Oakley himself were shown a yellow card, adding on to the five yellow cards earned in the last game. Oakley voiced his displeasure with the recent officiating, specifically in their decisions to book players for their first foul.

“In a variety of games, no matter who the ref is, they’re really quick to go to the yellow card,” Oakley said. “Last year we had the fewest yellow cards in the OVC by a lot.”

Oakley went on, saying that in six different instances so far, an Eastern player was booked for their first foul. Oakley questioned the thought process behind it, suggesting referees talk to a player first before immediately going to the yellow card.

It reached a boiling point between Oakley and the referee when Oakley was shown a yellow card late in the game. Oakley said it was nothing more than a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the call that had been made.

Freshman forward Jackson Liley, who had scored in his first two collegiate games, was unable to keep the scoring streak going today. Liley ended up scoring a goal, but it was disallowed as he was offside.

Smith made four saves for Eastern, with a couple of them being impressive-looking stops. His effort kept the Panthers in the game for a long time.

The game would’ve ended with a score of 2-0, but a third goal for Purdue Fort Wayne crossed the goal line with 1.4 seconds remaining.

This game marks the last time Eastern will play at Lakeside field until Oct. 10. The team’s next game is on Wednesday against Evansville. That game will kickoff at 7 p.m.

Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.