Eastern’s men’s soccer team had a golden opportunity to make the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, but it did not work as the Panthers lost 3-0 to Evansville.

Despite the loss, the Panthers still have a slight chance to make the tournament. They need to win against Drake and Evansville needs to lose to Central Arkansas.

Drake is 7-7-2 on the season and 3-2-1 in the MVC, while Central Arkansas is 3-12 on the year and 0-6 in the MVC.

Head coach Adam Howarth said the team is desperate and it needs to win, and hopes that everything else goes their way.

“We are in a must win situation,” Howarth said.

The only other team that could possibly let the Panthers into the tournament is Bradley. The Braves currently have seven points and the Panthers have four. With a win and a Bradley loss the teams would tie.

Since Bradley and Eastern tied in their only head-to-head match-up this season, the tiebreaker would be which team has the higher rating percentage index. The latest rankings have not been released yet.

Howarth said the Panthers are going to focus hard in practice and they will be well prepared for their final two games of the season.

Molony and Picinich both out after collision

One reason the Panthers struggled Friday was because they lost senior goalkeeper Sean Molony and junior midfielder Mike Picinich to injury.

The two players collided when an Evansville forward committed a foul. Both players fell to the ground bleeding.Howarth said the team was scared when the two were being looked at by trainers.

Molony and Picinch needed stitches after the collision. Molony received eight and Picinich received five. Both players were unable to come back in the game. Molony was replaced by red-shirt freshman Tyler Kelly and Picinich was replaced by a number of players throughout the game.

Howarth said he is unsure of either players’ status for the game Wednesday against Valparaiso.

“We are not sure right now if they will be able to play,” Howarth said.

Around the MVC

The regular season MVC championship is still up for grabs as three teams are tied for the lead with 13 points.

Creighton, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Missouri State are all tied for the lead and each team has a chance at the regular season championship and top seed in the tournament.

Creighton needs to win at least one of its remaining two conference games this week. With one win they are guaranteed at least second place and a first round bye in the tournament.

MSU also has two matches left depending on what it does in those matches they can finish as high as number one of as low as number three.

SIU-E has just one chance at the top spot. With a win against MSU and two losses from Creighton it will earn the regular season title.

Drake has secured a spot in the tournament but cannot finish better than fourth. The only teams still fighting for a spot are Evansville and Eastern.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or at [email protected].