OK I apologize. I gave them no chance.

I didn’t think Adam Howarth had the personnel to come close to being competitive. I didn’t think Jimmy Klatter could replace Jason Thompson as the team’s feature forward. I didn’t think a defense that graduated the majority of its starters would be able to minimize mistakes in the backfield.

I just plain didn’t believe in the men’s soccer team. Period.

I have been proven wrong, and in a big way. Eastern has not only figured out ways to win, but it also is currently 5-3-1 going into Missouri Valley Conference play. If the Panthers had been anywhere close to .500 at this point, I would have been surprised.

Howarth was correct when he kept telling me at the beginning of the season his team could be successful if it could find ways to play together.

Togetherness is exactly what has gotten the Panthers wins over a few quality non-conference teams thus far and has me a believing they can make a return trip to the MVC Tournament.

Last year, you might as well count out a victory if Thompson didn’t put a shot in the back of the net. This year, Eastern has had nine different players score goals in its nine games, and yes, Klatter is the leader.

My thoughts on Klatter were, he would find difficulty getting open shots with defenses now keying on him. This still may be the case, but he is finding ways to score with five goals early on.

Team togetherness also doesn’t come without at least one senior leader who has been there before. Senior Abraham Martinez has shown early on he can be effective as a starter or coming off the bench to assist Klatter up top.

Martinez’s four goals this season already surpass his previous three years combined.

My other area of concern for this team was how they were going to replace Ryan Hunt, Ben York and Bobby Ewan in the backfield.

The answer to that question – talented young players and a returning starter in junior Ryan Luckett. Oh yeah, goalkeeper Casey DeCaluwe has a big part in this too.

All this defensive group has done is go on the road to shut down Butler, who hadn’t lost all season at home and a neutral site shutout against a then undefeated Lafayette team.

So now as Eastern heads into the dreaded waters known as the MVC, can the team continue to impress, or will it go back to the team that was picked to finish last in the conference?

Right now, I’m leaning toward impress.

This is a young team with a lot of good tools that will only continue to get sharper.

A team thought to not even have a chance to make the MVC Tournament now looks like a team that could cause a little trouble for its bigger, and may I add, ranked conference opponents.