Kansas City Heads to Eastern Illinois for Conference Showdown
9/29/2012 9:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Kansas City Kangaroos (3-4-2, 1-0 SL)
at Eastern Illinois Panthers (2-7, 0-1 SL)
Sunday, Sept. 30 - 1:00 pm
Charleston, Ill. * Lakeside Field
Live Stats: EIUPanthers.com
The Game:
The 'Roos head back out on the road and into conference play on Sunday when they travel to Charleston for a battle with Eastern Illinois at 1:00 p.m. The 'Roos are unbeaten in their last four games, and come off a perfect two-game home stand. The Panthers dropped their conference opener last weekend at IUPUI by a 2-1 score.
The Coaches
In his 15th season at UMKC, Rick Benben is the winningest coach in school history, posting a 108-131-29 record. Under his guidance, UMKC has captured four Summit League regular season titles and has made three appearances in the NCAA College Cup with the most recent appearance coming in 2008. Benben, the fourth head coach in the Division I era, was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame this past year.
Adam Howarth is in his 13th season with Eastern Illinois, and has an 88-120-21 overall record there. He led the Panthers to a 7-9-1 overall record last year, and has several double-digit win seasons under his belt, including back-to-back in 2006-07.
The Series
This is the 14th meeting between Kansas City and Eastern Illinois. Last year the 'Roos defeated the Panthers by a 3-1 score in KC. EIU leads the all-time series 8-5, but the 'Roos have won the last two meetings.
The Panthers have a 4-2 record at home against the 'Roos, scoring a 3-2 win in 2008 the last time they played in Charleston. Benben is 2-4 against EIU, while Howarth is 3-2 vs. UMKC.
Scouting the Competition
The Panthers of Eastern Illinois come in with a 2-7 overall record after dropping its Summit League opener against IUPUI last weekend by a 2-1 score. They have wins over Loyola and Lipscomb.
The Panthers have seen at least two goals scored in every game they have played, scoring 10 on the season. They are led by Jake Brillhart with 19 shots, along with a goal and an assist, while Tayron Martin, Chris Boswell and Jordan Collins each have two goals. Defensively EIU has a goals against average of 1.96, with two keepers splitting time. The Panthers have been out-shot 162-123 on the season.
A Win vs EIU Means...
- Kansas City would have beaten the Panthers for the third straight year.
- The 'Roos would have snapped a two-game skid on the road to EIU, winning for the first time in Charleston since 1997.
- UMKC would have extended its unbeaten streak to five games, and be 2-0 in Summit League play for the first time since 2010.
Summit League Starts
The 'Roos have been good to start Summit League play during the Benben era, with a streak of six straight years being unbeaten (10-3-1 under Benben).
The last time UMKC was 2-0 to start league play was in 2010. It has started 2-0 only four times under Benben (2000, 2001, 2008, 2010), winning two regular season titles and making two NCAA Tournaments during those years.
Defensive Turnaround
The 'Roos defense had a rough start to the season, giving up 10 goals in its first three games (3.33 GAA), but in the six contests since then, UMKC has allowed only six (1.00 GAA), posting a 3-1-2 mark in those games.
Up Next
The 'Roos continue Summit League play on Homecoming Saturday, October 6 against Oral Roberts at 7 p.m.
It will be the 27th meeting between the two schools with a dead even 11-11-4 overall series record. Last season the teams tied 1-1 in a weather-shortened affair. The 'Roos have won three straight at home against the Golden Eagles.
