It may sound crazy. Heck, it might be crazy.

But the Eastern women’s soccer team, complete with its 1-12-1 overall record, still has a shot at making it to postseason play.

After Sunday’s 1-0 win over Morehead State, the Panthers improved to 1-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. With the toughest portion of their schedule out of the way, it’s legitimately possible for this team to squeak their way into the OVC Tournament as the No. 6 seed.

Unlikely? Yes.

But possible? Absolutely.

The Panthers’ remaining three OVC matches are against teams ranked in the bottom half of the standings, and all three of them have worse records than the Morehead State team the Panthers took down Sunday at Lakeside Field.

Among those games is a Senior Day home finale against Southeast Missouri, a team that has struggled comparably to the Panthers this season and has produced only two goals on offense all year.

So while the Panthers currently sit in eighth place in the OVC, they’re only a mere one and a half games from securing the last tournament spot, which is currently owned by Jacksonville State with a 2-3-1 record.

The combined record of the Panthers’ last three opponents is 3-6-4, but the key match in this sequence will be Friday’s match against Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn.

The Golden Eagles currently boast the best record of the Panthers’ remaining opponents at 2-1-1, and a victory against Tennessee Tech could put Eastern in the driver’s seat for its final two OVC matches.

Momentum can go a long way in sports, and the Panthers certainly have it right now.

It’s strange to think that a team with only one win all season can carry momentum, but if the Panthers can take advantage of it, they could be a dangerous team going forward to end their season.

Eastern head coach Tim Nowak has said all season long he sees his team improving with each match.

The Panthers’ victory against Morehead State might have put them over the hump.

After more than a month-long scoring drought, the Panthers scored goals in back-to-back games – one in their 2-1 loss to Eastern Kentucky and another in the win against Morehead State.

Morehead State came into Sunday’s match 2-0-2 in OVC play (third in the conference) on the season, and the Panthers’ defense was able to control the match and stop the Eagles’ offense from scoring.

It was only the second time all season Eastern shut out a team. The other was in the Panthers’ scoreless tie against Northern Iowa on Aug. 31.

So, who knows? Maybe the Panthers will fall into old habits and drop their weekend contests against Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay to effectively end their chances at postseason play.

But the team has clearly not given up on its season yet, and that might just be enough to succeed.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at [email protected].