Eastern conceded two goals in seven minutes in a 2-0 loss to Lindenwood Thursday afternoon at Lakeside Field.
The game was scoreless for the first 72 minutes, with Eastern (2-11-2, 1-7-1) weathering a storm of Lindenwood (9-5-3, 5-2-2) chances. The Lions finished the game with almost double the number of shots the Panthers had, outshooting Eastern 15-8.
Lindenwood also enjoyed 60 percent of the total possession, but Eastern hit the target with five of its eight shots compared to just four shots on target for Lindenwood.
Despite the loss, head coach Josh Oakley was happy with the performance considering Eastern lost 6-0 to Lindenwood earlier this season, and passed that message along to the team after the game.
“I’m pretty proud of some of the efforts for sure,” Oakley said. “This is a good Lindenwood team. They got good in a hurry because they got funding, but they also have a good coach.”
Another round of injuries plagued the Panthers, with captain and grad forward Sam Eccles being scratched from the starting lineup with groin tightness. His backup, freshman forward Nolan Getzinger, went down holding the back of his knee 35 minutes into the game. Freshman defender David Brown broke his finger late in the first half after getting stepped on and played the second half through the injury.
“It’s just been that type of year,” Oakley said.
Lindenwood’s breakthrough goal came in the 73rd minute, when senior forward Issac Johnson pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and perfectly split his shot between multiple Eastern players. Lindenwood added its insurance goal from the penalty spot.
Senior forward Ethan Blake closed his eyes before taking the penalty and thundered it past senior goalkeeper Chad Smith.
“I think it woke us up a little bit when they scored,” Oakley said. “We were good to start the game.”
The Panthers’ best chance came two mins after Johnson’s goal, with freshman forward Adam Boykin making a run in behind the defense. Boykin chipped the ball over the goalkeeper, but his shot didn’t have enough power to make it across the goal line before it was cleared.
Eastern’s Achillies heel defensively has been conceding goals from practiced dead ball plays, or set pieces. Oakley says he’s happy with how the Panthers performed on both sides of a set piece.
“I think our set piece defending has gotten better,” Oakley said. “We confused them with a few set pieces of our own.”
Eastern remains in last place in the Ohio Valley Conference heading into the final matchday of the regular season. To qualify for the OVC tournament, the Panthers must beat Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville on Sunday and get a little help. However, If SIUE loses to Southern Indiana later Thursday, then Eastern is eliminated.
Eastern’s final game against SIUE is on Sunday. Oakley was adamant to the players about taking recovery seriously with a short turnaround.
“That was 90 minutes for some guys on some slippery [grass],” Oakley said. “It’ll be important to take care of ourselves, get our bodies right.
Kickoff on Sunday is set for 1 p.m.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
