Most of the players on the field thought that the ball was going to trickle behind the end line for a goal kick.
Senior midfielder Kate Germano thought otherwise.
In the 87th minute of Eastern’s home opener against IU Indy, Germano ran past a defender and saved the ball from going out of play by crossing it to junior forward Alex Tetteh, who scored the game-winning goal in the Panthers’ 1-0 win Thursday at Lakeside Field.
“I saw that I could press the ball,” Germano said. “When I realized I was going to get there, I looked up and saw my girl Alex [Tetteh], and I knew she was going to finish it.”
Tetteh’s goal is the first goal of the season for the Panthers (1-2) after they were outscored 5-0 in the first two games last week.
“It means a lot, I feel like we’ve been building up to this moment,” said Tetteh. “We had some games where it feels like we should have had that goal. It feels good. Hopefully we can build from it.”
Eastern began the game on a two-game losing streak and hadn’t scored a goal yet until Tetteh’s winner. The game was balanced in possession, with Eastern enjoying 52 percent of the ball. The Panthers lost in the shot battle, conceding 16 shots to the Jaguars’ 10.
“IU Indy is a very tricky team.” head coach Dirk Bennett said. “There’s a lot going into this game, and the girls stepped up in a big way.”
Bennett highlighted that they have been trying to work on being a team that can make it through 90 minutes without losing focus and switching off.
“That was one of our goals, a full 90 minutes,” Bennett said. “There was a lot of tactical information we were giving them, and they honestly didn’t let us down there. That’s the bounce back we needed.”
A few newcomers played a big part today with midfielder Resse Woelfel, midfielder Camylle Graves and defender Adison Welch. In her first start of the season, Welch was the only outfield player who played all 90. Woelfel and Graves both added a noticeable amount of energy off the bench, helping dictate the midfield and create space.
“They were very dynamic,” Bennett said. “[Welch] stepped up against Akron and showed a lot of poise and maturity, and we looked for that today. She found a lot of that again”
Today marked a good performance for junior goalkeeper Ella Kratochvil, who made five saves. She put herself into some good positions, denying a header from point blank range in the second half.
Eastern’s next game will be against Ball State at Lakeside Field.
Kickoff for the game against Ball State is 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Emerson Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
