Junior midfielder Shion Hayashi and senior midfielder Casey Welage both scored goals for the EIU men’s soccer team in a 2-2 draw against Liberty Thursday afternoon at Lakeside Field.  

Liberty (7-3-4, 3-1-2) and Eastern (2-7-3, 1-3-2) played a much more even game than many would have anticipated considering the Flames were tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference and Eastern was seventh going into the game. 

Senior midfielder Manuel Cordeiro kicked off the match for the Panthers, who invited pressure early, with Liberty’s Elijah John forcing a save from redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Ortiz inside two minutes with a dangerous pass to forward Dylan Swineheart. 

Welage soon had the first significant touch inside the visitors’ box around six minutes in but was quickly crowded out by a physical Liberty back line.  

Physicality was key throughout the game, with a total 24 fouls between the sides. Eastern committed 16 fouls to Liberty’s eight. 

Head coach Ruy Vaz said that while conceding fouls is not part of the game plan, physical presence is an important aspect of the team’s competitiveness. 

“It’s part of us being aggressive without trying to hurt the opponent,” Vaz said. “We try to go with everything, but some fouls we don’t agree with.” 

The Flames found themselves behind within 18 minutes of the first half. Defender Noah Daniels conceded a penalty during a corner kick and Hayashi made no mistake from the spot, sending Liberty goalkeeper Tyler Beck the wrong way. 

The Panthers held out this lead with a much more confident press, including an acrobatic shot on target from senior forward Fabricio Roberti, until just before halftime when Liberty headed in a free kick at the back post to even the game at 1-1. 

The equalizer came on a set piece from just left of the Panthers’ penalty box. John’s cross found midfielder Spencer Moler who got ahead of his defender to tip it across the goalkeeper and into the net. 

Just seconds after the restart, Eastern had its own free kick which junior forward Gui Gragnano nearly tucked away on the rebound, but Beck managed to put the ball out for a corner just before halftime. 

The second half started dominantly for the Flames.  

Zach Lifferth made it a combined 10 goals and assists for himself on the season as he tapped the ball into the net in to finish a scramble in the EIU box following a corner kick. 

Eastern didn’t wait long to return fire, however, with Welage capitalizing on a slip made by Liberty’s Casey McCarthy in the defensive line, taking the ball down and calmly dispatching it across the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner. 

“It’s a great goal. He took a slip there and I managed to take advantage of it,” said Welage. “It’s very important to finish your run, and it was a perfect opportunity and a perfect picture of that.” 

This back-and-forth play continued for much of the match. Welage, who is now the team’s leading goalscorer this season, found the net again by chipping the goalkeeper, but it was disallowed for offside. 

Ortiz was forced into some big saves toward the dying minutes of the match, but his defense stayed resolute, and the team made it to a hard-earned 2-2 draw at the final whistle. 

“I think it was a fair result,” said Vaz. “Liberty is such a tough team to play against. They’re very organized, they have a solid identity and very good individual players. For us to concede two goals and still have that mental strength was very good. I’m very proud of the boys for the result.” 

Vaz noted that Welage’s leadership contributions are just as essential to the team’s progress as his attacking prowess. 

“When you have a new team, you have to have someone they look up to,” he said. “So, I’m very happy with the captains I have, the leadership we have right now.” 

Eastern’s next game is against Southern Indiana, with Vaz saying that the resilience his team showed today will be essential to getting a result against the fifth-placed Screaming Eagles on Sunday. 

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. following the EIU women’s soccer team’s game against Little Rock. 

Ethan Vine can be reached at 581-2812 or ejvine@eiu.edu.