Summit League men’s soccer kicked off Friday, and Eastern watched its league rivals flash their talent before the Panthers’ first match at Cincinnati.

The Summit League preseason favorite Denver posted a commanding 4-0 victory against Monmouth on Friday.

Senior forward Andre Shinyashiki provided three of Denver’s four goals in the contest and will likely continue to be a force into conference play.

Denver boasts both the 2017 Summit League Offensive Player of the Year in Shinyashiki after a nine-goal year, as well as the 2017 Summit League Defensive Player of the Year, senior defender Scott DeVoss.

Shinyashiki and DeVoss were named First Team All-Summit League during their junior year campaigns.

The second-ranked preseason contender in the Summit League, Omaha, dropped its first two games to UC-Davis and Clemson. Both games ended with a 1-0 score.

Omaha’s defense allowed more than one goal in just four games en route to a 10-6-3 record last year, and the two-time First Team All-Summit junior defenseman Seth Rinderknecht returns this season to try and maintain that defensive intensity.

Despite being ranked last in the preseason poll prior to the season, Fort Wayne delivered a beat down with a 5-0 victory against Marian on Friday night.

Senior midfielder Matthew Lieshout provided a hat trick in 51 minutes of time on the field to lift the Mastodons past Marian in Fort Wayne’s first game of the season.

Freshman forward Ryan Bernt and senior Blake Cearns provided a goal apiece to cap off Fort Wayne’s opener.

The third-ranked preseason Western Illinois forced a draw in their first game Friday at Oakland University and fell 4-0 to Milwaukee on Sunday night.

Western Illinois’ starting junior goalkeeper Tim Trilk recorded 7 saves to his 5 goals allowed last season, though he saw a heavy 21 shots in the team’s opener against Oakland.

Freshman midfielder Xavier Brown tallied Western Illinois’ lone goal over its first two matches in 75 minutes of field time against Oakland.

Oral Roberts sits at a 1-1 record after losing at Drake on Friday 1-0 in overtime and rebounding with a win Monday against Bradley 2-1.

The Golden Eagles’ freshman goalkeeper Miles Motakef leads the Summit League early with 11 saves in 190 minutes.

Oral Roberts’ standout junior forward Junior Chavez was held scoreless despite recording three shots in both games. Chavez scored in 12 of the 15 matches he played in last season and was awarded Second Team All-Summit League honors in 2017.

No Summit League team will play again until Thursday night when Denver takes on Washington, and the rest of the conference will play Friday evening.

Eastern faces Evansville at 4 p.m. at Lakeside Field on Friday night.

Oscar Rzodkiewicz can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].