The Eastern women’s soccer team has a bitter taste left in its mouth. At the beginning of the season, the Panthers had a goal to get to the NCAA tournament for a third straight year.

They achieved that, but that was only part of the goal. Eastern wanted to go there and win. Friday’s 1-0 loss to Missouri in the first round of the Women’s College Cup may be the worst loss Eastern coach Steve Ballard has suffered since the program began in 1995.

“I think there was genuine disappointment in that loss and it was a great effort against a great team,” Ballard said.

The loss to Missouri wasn’t like the previous two years because Ballard strongly feels his team had every chance of winning that game.

“We matched up against them well athletically, and I think we had a good chance to win,” Ballard said. “Against Notre Dame (two years ago), we did not match up so well.”

Also on the downside, Eastern will be losing three seniors whom Ballard has grown fond of in their four years. Forwards Beth Liesen and Teri LaRoche and midfielder Lori Stutzman will all be missed.

“As a group, they have stuck with our program for four years,” Ballard said. “They have given blood, sweat and tears and they had what it takes to make our team a championship program.”

While starting all 84 of her collegiate games, Liesen scored a school and Ohio Valley Conference record with 62 goals and 149 points. She was on the First Team All-OVC for four years and was named OVC Player of the Year this season.

LaRoche is known mostly for her clutch performances in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournaments. Two years in a row, LaRoche was in position to win the game for her team on a final penalty kick, and both times she came through. She had five goals and four assists for the Panthers this season.

Stutzman played in 75 games for the Panthers in her four years scoring two goals and assisting on eight. She played in all 22 games this season, starting in six.

The Panthers had an up and down season at the start suffering through injuries and having a youthful team. Ballard said that early adversity made them the team he saw play its way into the NCAAs.

If there was one game that woke the Panthers up early in the season, it was a 3-2 overtime loss to Valparaiso on Sept. 28. That loss dropped them to 4-4-2 and scared them a little before conference play started.

“That gave us a strong wake up call that if we did not play to our level, any team can beat us,” Ballard said. “From that game on, we only lost once.”

From there, the Panthers went 7-1-2, and won the OVC tournament with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks against tournament host Samford.

In the game against Missouri, Eastern was two posts away from victory as two shots hit off a post and the cross bar, giving Missouri a 1-0 advantage.

Despite the disappointment, Ballard said the team will go on with strong young talent.

“Beth, Teri and Lori are going to be missed, but I think this program has a bright future,” Ballard said. “We have some young players who are going to make an impact.”

They return experienced goalkeepers, four returning starters in the defense, and even in Liesen’s absence, players who can put the ball in the back of the net.

Ballard also praised the help of his assistant coach Kristen Boeker for her help with the team the past two years.

“We are fortunate to have one of the top assistant coaches,” Ballard said. “On the field she is a motivator. She’s an outstanding assistant coach who has a great relationship with the players.”