Things started as they should have.

A 2-0 win that was compiled in dominating fashion for the women’s soccer team against Evansville.

The players who were expected to hold things down both offensively and defensively provided the performances their coach and the fans who came to Lakeside Field were expecting.

The defense is bolstered this year by three veterans and played nearly flawless soccer against the overmatched Purple Aces.

One of the senior leaders for the offense, forward Audra Frericks, came through with the first goal of the season, which paved the way for the first goal of freshman Michelle Steinhaus’ career.

Nothing had really gone wrong, barring the mid-game injury to Frericks, and the idea that the team would be able to go to Notre Dame and compete was still a possibility.

By no means was the fact that the team went to South Bend and came back with a 3-0 loss on the scoreboard, a reflection of anything besides how good Notre Dame really is though.

The Fighting Irish came into the game ranked number two in the entire nation, and apparently they lived up to their billing.

The Panthers could only manage two shots against the Irish’s stingy defense, but also gave up 37 shots to Notre Dame. The balance of the game heavily leaned towards Notre Dame, but according to Ballard that was somewhat expected and really shouldn’t affect the status of the team and their expectations.

So, for all the confidence that the Panthers went up north with, they still should come back with.

The fact that they lost to one of the absolute best teams in the nation is nothing to be ashamed about, and the game should be used more as a gauge of their own play than taken as tough loss.

Eastern head coach Steve Ballard was sure to point out that a lesson was learned from the game, and that the loss will be used in a constructive manner.

“This was a great experience, regardless what the score or result was,” Ballard said. “This is the kind of game that will pay off once conference play comes around and even later when tournament play begins.”

That experience may pay off the most with the younger players who haven’t played in such a pressure-filled game as this last one.

In the difficult situations they will no doubt encounter further down the road when they play in the close race that the Ohio Valley Conference is bound to become, the Panthers may be able to look back at the Notre Dame game an remember how to best handle a certain situation.

The Panthers were only picked second in the conference after losing forward Beth Liesen to graduation and the regular season OVC title last year to Samford.

But those facts seem to be motivating the team, and as they go through the bumps in the road (like the Notre Dame game was on Sunday) they still are building towards something more.

Notre Dame really doesn’t matter to this team. The next game Nebraska won’t really make a huge impact on the rest of the season.

But once OVC play again commences this season the Panthers will embark on what really motivates them this year; one more OVC title and a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.