With two exhibitions and the season opener behind them, the women’s soccer team is looking ahead toward the rest of the 2018 season. 

The Panthers dropped both exhibitions with scores of 1-0 and played to a scoreless, double-overtime draw against Valparaiso to open the regular season.  

“Our strength is that we possessed the ball 75% of the first half and created opportunities from that,” said Kate Olson, a senior defensive midfielder. She noted a change in that trend during the second half of both matches.

“In both games the opponents had higher pressure in the second half and we started to go more direct, forcing the ball up the line, which wasn’t very successful.”

Olson was tied for the team lead with three goals last season. She did not register a shot in the regular season opener.

The Panthers got off seven shots, three of which came during the two overtimes. 

Goalkeeper Sara Teteak managed to save all six shots on goal from Valparaiso players. All of her saves came in the second half as she earned the eighth shutout of her career. 

No freshmen played in the opener, but there are four on the roster. 

Daniela Bermeo comes to Eastern from Willow Glen High School in California, but she is from Barcelona, Spain. She is one five players from Spain on the team. 

Amanda Poulsen is also a freshman. She is from Gilleleje, Denmark, where she played on a club team that finish second at Danish Nationals. 

Joining Bermeo and Poulsen are fellow freshman Leizl Chavez from Iowa and Bridget Amos from Florida. 

The roster is not the only place for new additions. 

On the sidelines, Jake Plant has taken over as head coach after being hired to the position in February. 

He is not a new face, however, having been an assistant coach for the men’s team since 2014 and the women’s team since 2016. 

After playing two seasons at community college, Plant registered six goals and four assists as a member of the Eastern men’s soccer team in 2012 and 2013. 

A native of Birmingham, England, Plant is tasked with preparing the Panthers for conference play. 

The team has six games before traveling to Morehead State in Kentucky on Sept. 14 to open the conference season. 

Of those six games, four are on the road. Last season, the Panthers won only one road game and had a 1-7-1 record away from Lakeside Field. 

Also last season, the Panthers were winless in conference. They scored only two goals in ten conference games, leading to a 0-9-1 record. 

A majority of the roster is now upperclassmen, so their experience may be beneficial once conference play starts this year.

The Panthers play next on Aug. 24 in Milwaukee and on Aug. 26 in Green Bay. 

The next home game is Aug. 31 against IUPUI at 1:00 p.m.

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]