Fans are in for a chaotic final day of women’s soccer in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Eastern (5-7-5, 3-2-2) wrapped up a three-game home-stand Sunday at Lakeside Field with a 1-0 loss against UT Martin. The game came down to the final seconds with an effort by sophomore forward Alex Tetteh cleared off the goal line as time expired.
The Panthers won the other two games of the home-stand 4-0 vs Western Illinois and 2-1 vs Tennessee Tech.
The six points earned in those three games have clinched a spot in the OVC tournament for Eastern. Going into Sunday’s game, Eastern sat in fourth place in the OVC. However, with the Panther’s loss combined with Southern Indiana’s 1-1 draw against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Morehead State’s 1-0 win over Southeast Missouri State, the Panthers now sit in sixth place.
Eastern’s head coach Dirk Bennett from the beginning of the season has said that hosting a tournament game, which would require a top four finish, is a goal for the team.
“It’s massive,” Bennett said. “If we end up in that top four, we haven’t hosted out here on this field ever, but not since 2018 [on the old Lakeside Field]. So we could make a little bit of history.”
A top four finish is important because teams that finish fifth through eighth play in the first round. The third and fourth place teams earn a bye and host the winners of round one in the quarterfinals. The top two seeds receive a double bye week until the semifinals, which are played at the campus of the regular season champion.
It would also be important for Eastern to finish fourth because the Panthers have yet to win away from Lakeside Field this season (0-4-3).
The difference between fourth and fifth place is getting a home game in round two of the tournament rather than having to travel to play in the first round.
Now, for Eastern to finish in the top four, not only do the Panthers need to win their first road game of the season at Little Rock, a team that is challenging for the regular season OVC title, but Eastern also needs two results elsewhere: SIUE needs to win its first road game of the season and beat Morehead State, and Southern Indiana needs to lose or draw at home against Western Illinois.
Eastern will also have an impact on the regular season title. The Panthers play Little Rock, who can win the regular season title if the game between Lindenwood and Tennessee Tech ends in a draw. If the result of the Lindenwood-Tennessee Tech game ends in a win for either team, then that team will be regular season champions.
As things stand, SEMO and Western Illinois would miss the tournament. SIUE currently sits in the last tournament spot.
Eastern will face Little Rock on Sunday, with kickoff set for noon.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
