A pair of 1-0 games this weekend for the Eastern women’s soccer team has put the team in position to make yet another serious run at winning the Ohio Valley Conference and hosting the conference tournament at the end of the year.

The Panthers opened the weekend with a 1-0 loss at Jacksonville State on the same day that conference leading Samford defeated Southeast Missouri by the same score.

The two top teams then met on Sunday afternoon and provided the same score, but a different result for each team when compared to Friday’s results.

The Panthers knew, especially after losing to Jacksonville State earlier, that the match up against Samford was probably the most important game of the year for the team.

And on Trisha Walter’s team leading seventh goal of the season, which came off of a penalty kick, the Panthers snuck up a little closer to Samford in the overall OVC standings.

“The play that Trisha (Walter) got a penalty kick on was a simple play we usually design to get a midfielder a chance at getting to a ball in the air,” Eastern coach Steve Ballard said. “Kim (Garkie) was in position and would have had it, but was pushed down, and Trisha capitalized on it.”

The team, which is now only two points back of Samford in the OVC, has found a renewed confidence and drive that they are hoping will fuel themselves the rest of the way through the season.

“We found a new source of confidence, a rededicated sense of purpose in the Samford game,” Ballard said. “I was really proud of all the girls and the way they played today in getting this victory.”

The players felt along the same lines as their coach, but pointed to the game against Jacksonville State as the real turning point of the weekend.

“It had been so long since we had lost a game in the OVC; I think it had been 21 straight games without a loss, which is a streak that has lasted since my freshman year,” junior defender LeeAnne Langsfeld said. “That was a real eye-opener for us and I think it sparked us for the game against Samford because we realized we aren’t an indestructible team– that we can be beaten.”

While the Panthers played with the competitive spirit that Ballard looks for out of his team, the the loss to Jacksonville State was something the coaches chalked up to the long bus ride.

Eastern remained scoreless against the Gamecocks, but recovered and showed the offensive spark they needed to defeat Samford.

“I think you can look to bus-lag a little bit for the loss to Jacksonville State,” Ballard said. “We played very flat in the second half and I think, not to use excuses, that was a reason.”

But whatever hangover might have been expected against Samford, which was the next stop on the road trip, it didn’t show.

“We may have been a little too slow against Jacksonville State, but we played sharp, and the offensive really controlled the game against Samford,” Langsfeld said. “The offense made it a lot easier on us to get a shutout because they played so hard and kept control of the ball so much.

“They really forced the tempo and kept the ball on the offensive side of the field, which always makes our job easier as defenders.”