The Eastern men’s soccer team has a couple days off before heading out on the road to start a three-game road trip with Western on Saturday.

The Panthers was able to hold No. 23 Omaha holding scoreless Saturday. The defense had been a struggle for Eastern during their three-game losing streak, allowing seven goals.

With the draw to Omaha, Eastern still has not scored a goal in four matches.

Fortunes could be in play when Eastern continues conference play, dating back to last year, the Panthers had a similar four-game drought without scoring a goal, and came out with a win against Northern Illinois 1-0 in their next game.

Sophomore midfielder Johnny Huerta says it is fun to play against top talent.

“It’s fun to play against one of the better teams in the nation and come out with a good result especially with it being conference play,” Huerta said.

With a good result in hand, Eastern also received good news on the defensive side of the ball, as senior goalkeeper Mike Novonty earned his second defensive player of the week this season.

Novotny ranks 12th in the NCAA in save percentage. Currently, he holds a save percentage of .871. With 61 total saves to his name, he has also logged 1,000 minutes in the net for the Panthers this year.

He has been the Panthers’ starting goalkeeper since his freshman year and is posting some of his best stats this season.

Novotny has some familiar company as he shares the defensive player of the week honor with Omaha’s goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis.

Novotny credits his teammates and mentioning the defense is one of the best in the NCAA

“We have one of the top defenses in the NCAA so they make it easier for me as a goalie,” he said “Erik and Corti have been huge for us this year in the back line. A lot of credit goes out to them keeping everything composed in front of me.”

With a crucial three-game road trip, in which two of those matches will be conferences games, Eastern beat Western last season at Lakeside Field 2-0 after sophomores Alex Castaneda and Marcus Menniti had a goal each.

Before the win last season, the last time Eastern beat Western was back in 2010, snapping a five-game losing streak coming out victorious 1-0.

Huerta also said for the upcoming game Saturday, the team needs to keep grinding.

“We got to keep working hard and learning everyday leading up to Saturday,” he said.

The Panthers take the field in Macomb to take on the Leathernecks at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Eastern is close to turning its five draws into wins and on the bright side for the Panthers, they are not losses.

Vince Lovergine can be reached at

 581-2812 or [email protected]