The Eastern women’s soccer team will open its Ohio Valley Conference schedule this weekend against in-state rival Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m., Sunday in Edwardsville.

The Panthers enter the match on a three game losing streak, while also being shutout in their last three matches. The team is 2-7 on the season so far, and 1-5 on the road.

The Panthers lost to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville last season in the regular season finale at Lakeside Field by a score of 1-0.

The Cougars are currently 3-3-1, coming off a 1-0 loss to St. Louis. The team has seen a number of the same opponents the Panthers have, with the Cougars losing to Northern Illinois 1-0, but beating Drake 1-0. Eastern lost to both teams. Both Eastern and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville have beaten Northern Iowa, with the Cougars winning 2-0 on Sept. 2.

Sophomore midfielder Michelle Auer leads the Cougars with two goals and one assist. Auer has taken a team-high 18 shots as well. The St. Louis native was named to the OVC All-Newcomer team in 2011 and was tied for a team best nine points last season.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville was No. 7 in the OVC preseason poll, while the Panthers were No. 9.

The Panthers are entering the third of a five-match road trip that started with Butler on Sept. 14. Eastern head coach Summer Perala said the Panthers need to be able to compete whether home or away.

“At this point, we’re looking for the team to be able to put on a solid and consistent performance regardless if home or away,” she said. “We need to learn to control the most basic element for our success, and that is how we show up each game to out-work and out-battle our opponents.”

Along with the Panthers and the Cougars, a number of other OVC teams open their conference schedules this weekend. Southeast Missouri opens at home against the defending OVC champions, Tennessee-Martin in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Friday. On Sunday, Morehead State travels to Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State travels to Tennessee Tech, and Austin Peay will host Murray State.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].