CHARLESTON, Ill. -- A late season change has been made to the Eastern Illinois women's rugby schedule, as announced by head coach Frank Graziano today. Both the originally scheduled games with Appalachian State and Tennessee have been cancelled, but two additional opponents have been added to the lineup for both this Saturday and next weekend.

Instead of traveling to Appalachian State this coming Saturday, the Panthers will instead stay a bit closer to home and head to Carbondale to face Southern Illinois, with a 1 pm start time.

Then, on either Saturday, Nov. 7 or Sunday, Nov. 8, the Panthers will host either Purdue or Michigan State in EIU's home and season finale. Exact game date and time for that matchup is still being worked out at this time.

“We are excited to be able to fill-in our schedule on such a short notice,” said long-time skipper Frank Graziano. “Luckily SIU had an opening in their schedule and were willing to host us. It's a close opponent so it will be just a day trip, plus it is always nice to play an instate squad. Actually it is our hope to be able to compete against more Illinois schools in the future.”

The Salukis and Panthers have met three times previously, with EIU having won all three meetings. The last time the two rivals faced one another on the rugby field was back in 2002, when EIU won on the road, 19-12.

“The last game against SIU was fairly close,” said Graziano. “And as far as I can tell they have a young squad, yet they are still willing to play us, which will help keep our current season momentum going and will give Southern an extra game on their side, too.”

Meanwhile, the new home and season finale against either Purdue or Michigan State will feature a pregame ceremony to honor five departing players from the 2009 squad. Those players include seniors Chase Cain, Ashley Jenkins, Crystal Jones, and Stephanie Militello. Junior Tiffany Kennedy,meanwhile, will also be honored alongside the seniors prior to kickoff as she is set to graduate early from EIU and plans on student teaching next fall.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID