The Eastern men’s soccer team suffered its sixth straight shutout at the hands of Denver on Saturday in a 1-0 contest.

Eastern produced just three shots in the game.

The Panthers had a shot from sophomore Johnny Huerta at the 4:34 mark in the first period, and did not have a shot until the second period at 59:58 from Yann Nsoga.

It was the Panthers second straight loss and they have not scored or won a game since September 10^th against St. Francis.

The three shots by Eastern in the game were not on goal, while Pioneers had 14 shots, with five of them on goal.

Senior goalkeeper Mike Novotny had four saves in the contest, all in the first period. Novotny now 69 saves on the season.

The lone goal in the game was a 16-yarder from Eric Kronenberg, his second of the season.

With the loss, Eastern dropped to 2-5-5 on the season, 0-2-1 in the Summit League, while Denver is now 6-5-0 and 1-0 in the Summit League.

Senior Defensemen Zach Medawattage said Eastern knew it would be a tough match-up

“Denver is one of the best teams in the country,” he said “We knew it would be tough. But we really just have to do a better job of finishing our chances when we have them.”

He also said he does not think communication is an issue, they just need to find ways to score.

Eastern has struggled on the road this season, as they have 1-4-2, and still have one more game remaining on this three-game road trip.

Even though Eastern had 11 shots against Western Illinois, tying its season high, the offense just hasn’t been there during this scoreless drought.

Sophomore Johnny Huerta saw some positive things in the game against Denver

“Commitment to defending well and staying focused throughout the whole game,” he said

Huerta also has been one of the main focal points on offense for the Panthers, and he’s worked on being a leader through this season.

“It’s been something I’ve been trying to work on,” he said. “Becoming more of a vocal leader on the offensive side is what I’m working on.”

Eastern closes out its three game road trip on Tuesday as they travel to Bradley University.

Vince Lovergine can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].