Sometimes a stat box or a final score doesn’t tell the whole story. That was the case this weekend for the women’s soccer team, especially in their second game of the weekend, which was Sunday at Tennessee Tech.

The Panthers came out of their game against the Golden Eagles, after salvaging a 2-2 tie, a little disappointed with the effort they displayed.

“We were fortunate to come out with a tie,” Eastern head coach Steve Ballard said. “There were four halves of soccer this weekend, and we were outplayed in three of them.

“Really, we had one fantastic half against Austin Peay, but were outplayed the rest of the weekend.”

One facet of the game versus Tennessee Tech that Ballard thought was especially telling was one of the simplest stats in soccer.

“We were outshot 27-13 and 15-7 in the second half, and that is unacceptable,” Ballard said. “Throw in overtime, and we were outshot 21-7 after the first half.

“I don’t know what exactly it was, but it was disappointing to come out so flat against a conference opponent.”

The Panthers scored both of their goals against the Golden Eagles in the first half. The two teams traded goals as the Panthers took the lead on a goal from senior forward Audra Frericks, only to have the Golden Eagles come back and tie it.

The same thing happened after sophomore forward Sharyne Connell’s goal, but it took Tennessee Tech until the second half to answer Connell and tie the game in the process.

“They were stronger all over the field against us today,” Ballard said. “They led 9-3 on corner kicks and just seemed to beat us to positions all day.”

Some of the players also felt that there was a little bit of a let down even though the team was able to come out of the game with a tie.

“We definitely came out and played flat-footed and without much passion,” Connell said. “There were three or four opportunities for them to score in overtime and we could have lost that game.

“I think we just need to refocus our energy right now, and I’m sure it will be a long week of practice ahead of us right now.”

The result of the Tennessee Tech game was nearly the opposite of the match against Austin Peay, when the Panthers shut out the Governors 2-0 on the road Friday.

The Panthers were boosted offensively from goals turned in by freshmen forward Michelle Steinhaus and Frericks, the latter scored in both games this weekend.

Eastern was then bolstered by the defense which played the way Ballard hoped it would all weekend.

The back three for Eastern held the Governors scoreless and limited their shots on goal to 11 all game, while the Panthers were able to put up 19 shots.

“The defense played extremely well, and Tiffany (Groene) had some great saves for us, not just against Austin Peay either,” Ballard said. “But everyone else kind of followed the defender’s lead and decided to play, and we don’t really fear our opponents right now.

“We need to understand that any team can beat us at any time.”