The Eastern men’s soccer program finished its season Nov. 16 with a 2-0 loss to Bradley in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The 12 wins for the Panthers tied the program high since the team joined the MVC in 1996.

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said he was happy with the season, but wishes it could have been extended.

“I’m pretty happy with how we played,” Howarth said. “We won more games than we lost, which is always good. I’m disappointed we didn’t get farther in the MVC Tournament.”

The season started off strong for the Panthers, as the team began the season 4-0 with championships at the Holiday Inn Bradley Classic in Peoria and the University of Missouri Kansas-City Invitational.

The Panthers finished non-conference play with an 8-2-2 record.

MVC conference play was filled with close matches and disappointing loses. The team finished MVC play with a 2-2-1 record with close losses against Creighton and Bradley.

The Panthers allowed a goal in the final second of the second overtime in a dramatic loss against Creighton in the second game of MVC play. The Panthers also allowed a late goal against Bradley, which prevented them from a third conference victory.

The 2-2-1 conference record placed the Panthers fifth of seven teams in the conference.

The team rebounded and won in the first round of the MVC tournament against Drake, and reached the semifinals for the second straight season. Drake and Eastern had tied at two earlier in the season.

The team’s strength was a balance of a stifling defense and a potent offense.

The Panthers finished the season with an average of 1.62 goals per match, while only allowing opponents 1.16 goals per match.

The Panthers shut out eight opponents and only failed to score in 3 of 21 matches.

Two Panthers dominated individual offensive statistics. Senior midfielder Mick Galeski and junior forward Brad Peters led in points, goals, and assists in the conference.

Galeski and Peters tied with 28 points to lead the MVC.

Peters’ 11 goals topped the conference, and Galeski’s eight goals was the second most.

Galeski’s 12 assists led the conference with teammate junior defender Adam Gartner tied for second with nine helpers.

The Panthers gained with contributions by a number of players. Ten players on the roster scored goals this season, while 12 players notched assists.

“We had a bunch of people that did a great job this season,” Howarth said. “Mick and Brad had great years, but a lot of people on our team had major contributions.”

Galeski said the team reached his expectations, but he wished they could have reached the MVC Championship.

“Coming in we had some high expectations and we had a good year,” he said. “We had some huge wins, like the one versus Kentucky, but I’m sad about not reaching the championship. I think we gained a lot of respect with how well we played this year.”

The team only had three seniors Galeski, senior midfielder Brad Earl, and senior defender Jeremy Maubach, but all three had major contributions to the program.

The three had started for the Panthers since their freshman year, when the team only had five wins. They helped lead the program to back-to-back, double-digit win seasons.

“We are not solely the reason, but I think we played a big part,” Earl said. “I hope we helped show the guys on the team to be hungry and show them what it takes to win.”

Maubauch agreed.

“Each year, we improved, and we helped to turn the program around,” Maubach said.

The team should have high expectations with a number of contributors coming back next season, including eight starters and 20 letter-winners.

“We have high expectations for next season,” Howarth said. “We have a big senior class coming back next year, and hopefully, they can take the program to a championship and an NCAA Tournament.”