MenS Soccer Set For Final Regular Season Weekend
Eastern Illinois men’s soccer prepares to close out the regular season with matches against Lindenwood adn SIUE. The Panthers are navigating a season marked by significant roster turnover,featuring 24 new players – nine freshmen,six junior college transfers,and nine four-year transfers – alongside eight returning players. This influx of talent includes international players from Brazil, Japan, Portugal, Spain, and Uruguay.
The team recently saw Adam Boykin score his second career goal, finding the back of the net at Milwaukee. His first career goal was a game-winner against Western Illinois last season. Veteran Casey Welage is the most experienced player on the roster, having appeared in 38 matches over three seasons with the Panthers, including ten matches last season. The remaining seven returning players are sophomores or redshirt sophomores, collectively boasting 69 appearances for EIU.
midfielder Yukia Nakamura was named the Ohio Valley Conference preseason player to watch. Nakamura joined EIU after two seasons at Cowley college and one season at Georgia State,where he started 17 matches in 2024 and recorded an assist against Marshall.He is familiar to head coach Ruy Vaz, having played for him at Cowley College.
Historically, Eastern Illinois has faced challenges against this weekend’s opponents. Lindenwood holds a 4-1-1 all-time lead in their six meetings, though EIU secured a victory in their inaugural OVC contest in 2023. The series with SIUE is even more lopsided, with the Cougars leading 22-8-4 over 34 meetings. SIUE has won the last seven contests, with EIU’s last win dating back to September 1997 when SIUE was a NCAA Division II program. All seven Division I meetings between the two programs have been won by SIUE.
Notably, the last time EIU scored three or more goals against a Division I opponent was in 2019, a 3-2 overtime victory against Belmont.
Head Coach Ruy Vaz was hired in February 2025, becoming the 12th head coach in program history. He brings a accomplished track record from his seven seasons at Cowley College, where he amassed a 110-21-6 record, made six NJCAA National Tournament appearances (including two final four appearances and one championship game appearance), and coached over ten JUCO all-Americans. Vaz secured his first win as EIU’s head coach on September 16th with a 3-2 victory at Northern Illinois.
