After dominating Western Illinois 6-0 at home Friday, the Eastern women’s soccer team had to meet a team who would not sit down that easily.

Going into the game both head coach Steve Ballard and his players knew exactly what they were in for when they were matched up against Missouri Valley Conference powerhouse Illinois State.

The Panthers (1-1) got what they expected and more. The Redbirds (2-0) brought all they had Tuesday keeping the Eastern offense off track and managing to put a shot by Panther goalkeeper Lindsay Dechert.

A Diana Puckett goal in the 66th minute would be all the offense Illinois State would need to knock off the Panthers for a third straight year.

Eastern could only muster four shots off a tough Redbird defense while Illinois State posted 21.

Illinois State coach Pete Kowall was pleased with his team’s performance, but said it needed to capitalize on its opportunities.

“We definitely had some missed opportunities on offense and we need to shore some things up in the back,” Kowall said on the Illinois State Web site. “Our kids played hard and it was a physical game but we still have some work to do before Sunday.”

Dechert made 11 saves for Eastern while freshman Andrea Shaw had her first career shutout with two saves for the Redbirds. Illinois State had 10 corner kicks compared to Eastern’s three.

Tuesday’s game was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday.

The contest was moved back to Tuesday because of inclement weather in Charleston and poor field conditions.

The game was then moved to Normal because Eastern athletic administrators did not want to ruin the Panther’s home field.

Eastern next plays at Bowling Green at 1 p.m. Friday.