Marshall got three goals from three different players and outshot Eastern 27-1 as it handed the Eastern men’s soccer team its first loss of the young season.

The one shot Eastern had is their lowest total of the season and lowest in a game since Oct. 1 of last year.

“Not enough urgency in attack and get the ball out of pressure,” Eastern head coach Kiki Lara said of his offense. “Not enough desire to get into the attack at times and not enough quality in set pieces and opportunities to deliver the ball into the box.”

Marshall got its first goal less than two minutes into the game when Marshall leading scorer Lewis Knight tallied his sixth goal of the season with 43:26 left to play in the first half. Knight was assisted by Dion Stergiotis.

Thirteen minutes after the goal by Knight, Marshall extended its lead to 2-0 when Pedro Dolabella found the back of the net on an assist Brayan Lopez-Mendez.

The Panthers’ first and only shot of the game came with 13:38 to play in the first half when Edgar Mesa headed a ball that was blocked by a Marshall defender.

“Offensively we created a couple chances to score but we didn’t capitalize on those opportunities,” Eastern goalkeeper Mike Novotny said.

Adi Dakwar gave the Thundering Herd their third and final goal of the game with 20 minutes to play in the game. The goal was unassisted and was his first of the season.

Marshall outshot Eastern 10-1 in the first half and 17-0 in the second half. The 27 shots are the second most Eastern has given up this year.

“All their passes were on and plain and simple they took shots from the dangerous areas,” Novotny said. “When you take at least 12 shots on goal you are bound to have good chances to put it in the net.”

The loss is Eastern’s first of the season and drops their record to 2-1-4 on the season.

“We learn from everything and then move on quick and focus on improving from our last outing,” Lara said. “(We) need to get healthy and need to gain some rhythm in possession and back to the habits that make us successful both sides of the ball.”

Marshall improves to 4-2-0 on the year.

Eastern’s next game is Sunday on the road against Evansville.

JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]