There was a special feeling in the air  for the Eastern women’s soccer team as they honored their seniors before the game.

In what was already a special day for seniors Molly Hawkins and Hannah Miller, they made it even sweeter by scoring two goals each to lead their team to a 4-1 victory over Chicago State Sunday at Lakeside Field.

“I’m really happy for the seniors to be able to have a big day like this, and I’m happy we got the win for them,” Eastern coach Jason Cherry said. “It was a great team effort led by our seniors making it a phenomenal day.”

The Panthers got off to a slow start as they gave up the first goal of the game in the 35^th minute, but were quick to bounce back as they tied the game with a goal one minute later by Miller.

After going into the half tied at one, the team came out with an aggressive attitude which led to three unanswered goals, and their first four goal game since Sept. 29, 2013.

The only downside of the game was Hawkins and Miller being one goal away from a hat trick, but there was still little to be upset about for those two and the rest of the team.

“It was really cool for myself and Hannah to get some goals on a special day like this,” Hawkins said.

A special day for the seniors was also a special day for freshman Kaci Schonert who provided a solid performance.

Schonert was substituted in during the first half and played a big role by assisting on two of the four goals.

“Assisting to two of the seniors was cool, and it really boosts my confidence to have a game like this,” Schonert said.

Cherry had high expectations for Schonert ever since he recruited her because of her ability to find her teammates.

“Kaci is the type of kid who would rather have an assist over a goal and that’s why I recruited her,” Cherry said. “Great performance from her today.”

Former Rugby player and senior Hannah Veith got the start in goal in an honorary move by Cherry.

Veith gave up one goal and made one save before being substituted at the half.

The Panthers will hope to continue their success as they head into conference play and will continue to lean on their seniors to lead the team.

On Friday, Eastern was defeated by the University of Missouri-Kansas City 1-0 in overtime after Lexie Howard scored just about two minutes into overtime.

The team begins their conference slate with a road game against UT-Martin on Sep. 25 at 7 p.m.

Maher Kawash can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]