The margin was only one goal in Eastern men’s soccer first game. And that one goal, at times, looked like it was going to be matched by Butler.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Eastern’s coaching staff must have taken a collective sigh of relief as their 1-0 lead had been enough to knock off a tough opponent in Butler.

Both teams had multiple chances to put up another goal or two, but couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities.

“We always work on getting ahead early, but what we need to do a better job of is finding a way to finish the game off,” junior forward Jimmy Klatter said. “We need to be able to find that dagger, that goal that just ends the game.”

The Panthers did have multiple chances. A flurry of activity lasted on both ends of the field from the beginning of the game on.

On one of the Panther’s earlier possessions, midfielder Brad Earl came upon a great opportunity. But his shot grazed the left goal post and spelled out the rest of the game.

From then on, the Panthers and the Bulldogs traded shots and runs that made each team look like they were going to take control of the game. But the chances didn’t materialize into actual goals, and the 1-0 score was how the game ended.

“That is just the way certain games take shape sometimes,” Klatter said. “You can flip a coin when these teams are so competitive. Either one could have come out with the win today, and it will be the same way in the future.”

The play that developed into the game-winning goal was put in the net by freshman forward Joel Del Toro.

The Panthers leader on offense, Klatter, was the reason the play expanded into a scoring opportunity.

Because of his ability to go one-on-one with defenders and turn the corner on them, Klatter was able to get to the sideline and allow people in the center of the field to have a chance to finish.

Klatter drove hard down the left side of the field and was able to play the ball into the middle, where one of the shorter players on the team took a chance on the header and put it in the back of the net.

“Part of our strategy is to isolate me on the sidelines to see if I can make a play down the field,” Klatter said. “On the goal, and other plays this year, I will have more of a role in assisting in goals just as well as scoring them.”

Del Toro, who scored his first collegiate goal of his career, was happy to be in the right spot at the right time.

“Being the shortest player on the field, I didn’t think I was going to get to it,” Del Toro said with a chuckle. “But for the team’s sake, I was just happy to be in the right spot at the right time.”

That one goal, which is the most important and only goal of Del Toro’s career up to this point, ended up icing the first game of the season for the Panthers.

“For the first game, I thought this was as good as it gets,” Howarth said. “Fair play goes to Butler. We had to grind it out for the victory, and I was proud of the way we were able to hold onto that lead.”