If fate was kinder to Eastern’s men’s soccer team, it could have gone undefeated in the Missouri Valley Conference and been the top seed in the tournament.

Unfortunately, fate did not work out in the Panthers’ (6-10, 2-7) favor. In nine MVC games, the Panthers only won two, but lost five by just one goal. After two heart-stopping wins in the final weekend that kept their tournament dream flickering, the Panthers’ hopes were extinguished by Vanderbilt’s (6-9-1, 3-6) upset win over Bradley (11-6-1, 6-3).

“It was an up and down season,” Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said. “It was one of those learning experience years.”

The Panthers got the year off to a good start with four wins in their first six games, including a second place tie at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Invitational. In their game prior to the start of the MVC play, Eastern suffered their worst loss of the year. The University of Illinois Chicago defeated the Panthers 7-2.

Little did they know at the time, but their first MVC game this year foreshadowed how their season turned out. Eastern tied the game with less then 13 minutes to play only to lose on a last-second goal by Creighton (9-7-1, 6-3).

The Panthers went into an eight game funk. They gave Drake (6-10-1, 1-8) its only MVC win in a 4-0 loss. They lost in overtime twice – 3-2 to Bradley and 1-0 to Tulsa. During the streak, Eastern dropped back-to-back games by a 2-1 score against Evansville (7-9-1, 4-5) and Southwest Missouri State (9-8-1, 7-2). It was not until they were on the edge of elimination that the Panthers finally picked up their first MVC wins of the season.

“Word around the conference was that we were a better team than our record suggested,” Howarth said. “The record doesn’t always tell the whole story.”

The Panthers did have a pair of seniors that posted career years in their final season in Eastern uniforms. Forward Derrick Perry more than doubled his career total in goals with 14 this year. Midfielder Tim Fredin finished the year in a three-way tie for most assists this season with five.

“All I can expect from seniors is for them to have career years,” Howarth said, “And that’s what Tim and Derrick did.”

The Panthers also had a group of freshmen that made an impact in their first season.

Defender Lee Burke and Midfielder Kurt Krupa played in all 16 of Eastern’s games this year. Defender Ryan Luckett played in all but one game for the Panthers this year. This season, Eastern’s freshmen accounted for two goals and one assist.

“For a freshman, Lee had as good a year as any one,” Howarth said. “I think he’s only going to get better. Ryan was able to do a great job this year and Kurt was one of our more consistent players.”

The most notable freshman was goalie Jacob Billingsley, who took over the starting job for the injured Justin Bennett in the fifth game of the season. Billingsley won his first two collegiate games along with the last two this year. He collected 50 saves, including a season high 10 against No. 1 Southern Methodist (16-0, 9-0).

“Jake did real well,” Howarth said. “I was real happy with his improvement this year.”

The Panthers look to be competitive in the coming years. With only three starters departing, Fredin, Perry and captain Ben Cox, the Panthers have a solid foundation in place.

Besides this year’s freshmen class, the Panthers also have eight sophomores and seven juniors returning.

Headlining the group is All-American sophomore forward Jason Thompson. Thompson followed up his 21-goal freshman year with a modest five goals.

“Other coaches respect what Jason can do,” Howarth said. “He will definitely be a thorn in other teams side for a couple of more years.”

Sophomore Julian Chang will also have a big part in Eastern’s plans for the future. The midfielder scored six goals and tied the team lead with five assists.

Midfielder Abraham Martinez had little chance to show what he could do this after he sat out the first of the season with an injury. His only assist came on the game-winning goal of Eastern’s last game.

The Panthers will also anticipate the return of midfielder Aaron Aguirre, who sat out the last three games with a torn Anterior Crucial Ligament in his left knee. Prior to his injury, Aguirre had had three goals and two assists.

After a tough year with luck seeming to be against them, the Panthers will be older and wiser next year.

“Only thing you can do is hope you get a little luck, and hope things work out for you,” Howarth said.