Western Illinois Continues Summit League Play at Eastern Illinois

Thursday, October 04, 2018 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks battle their directional rival on Saturday, Oct. 6.

MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois men's soccer returns to Summit League play on the road against Eastern Illinois at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Western Illinois men's soccer team (2-6-3) fell 1-0 to Missouri State (6-0-3) on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

Off a corner kick in the seventh minute by Jake Buckle, the ball deflected to Nicole Mulatero for the header into the back of the net. The Bears kept firing with shots in the 14th minute and 18th minute, but Tim Trilk made a pair of saves. Down 1-0, the Leathernecks recorded their only shot on goal of the first half in the 21st minute on a header shot by Gimale Essacu that the Missouri State goalkeeper kept in front of him. Western Illinois trailed 1-0 at halftime.

Arian Mehrang provided the other Leatherneck shot on goal in the 70th minute. The Western Illinois defense limited the number of shots by the Bears in the second half but one that was left off in the 89th minute was collected by Trilk for his fourth save of the match. Missouri State outshot Western Illinois 18-2 in the 1-0 decision.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS:
Eastern Illinois is currently 2-6-3 overall following a 3-0 loss at Northern Kentucky on Tuesday (Oct. 2) and a 0-0 draw against fourth ranked Denver on Saturday (Sept. 29). The Leathernecks shutout the Panthers 2-0 after Armel Kouassi scored in the first minute and Drew Whalen scored in the 34th minute off an assist by Paul Kirdrof.

Kiki Lara enters his fourth season in charge of Eastern Illinois men's soccer and owns a 14-41-10 record including back-to-back Summit League Tournament appearances. Junior midfielder Christian Sosnowski leads the Panthers with a pair of goals and sophomore goalkeeper Jonathan Burke has 39 saves so far.

COACH JOHNSON'S THOUGHTS:
"Critical road game for the Leathernecks," Director of Soccer Dr. Eric Johnson said. "Both teams are sitting on one point so this is a real swing game for the standings. Eastern Illinois drew Denver at home with a great defensive effort and shutout so we will have to be sharp and on our game to get the win."

LOOKING AHEAD:
The Leathernecks play host to Summit League foe Omaha on Saturday, Oct. 13 for their next match.

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The Leathernecks battle their directional rival on Saturday, Oct. 6.

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