JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State and Eastern Illinois played to a scoreless draw on Friday night at JSU Soccer Field.

The Gamecocks gained a point with the draw and moved to 3-11-3 overall and 1-7-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference while EIU enters the final regular season match at 5-7-5 on the season and 3-3-3 in league play.  Jax State will finish up the season on Sunday, hosting SIU Edwardsville.  Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the JSU Soccer Field.  Admission is free.

Jax State celebrated senior night on Friday and it was the two seniors that showed their leadership as they have done for their entire careers at JSU.  The program honored seniors Madison Carruthers and Claire Petersen prior to the match.  Carruthers, who needed four more shots to reach the 100 career shots milestone, dwindled that number down to two shots as the four-year member of the program finished with two of JSU's seven shots.

The duo each had an injury scare in the match as both went down, but stayed in the contest.  Petersen played all 110 minutes and will enter her final match in Red and White on Sunday with 6,157 career minutes-played, ranking her in the top-five all-time in the program.  Carruthers played all but 10 minutes of the Friday night affair.

"It takes a lot to put those two down and they are really strong mentally and I cannot say enough about those two," said head coach Neil Macdonald.  "When you have people who approach the game with that much enthusiasm and that much competitive spirit, that is what Maddie and Claire are all about.  We are going to miss them next year."

The Panthers, who are still fighting for postseason action, finished with a 17-7 advantage in total shots, including three in each of the two extra sessions.  EIU's Lexi Ketterhagen turned in a match-high five shots in the draw.

Juniors Emma Meadows, Rachel Blanding and Cheyenne Carden each toed a shot, while freshman Julia Papa added one from the starting line up.  Sophomore Chloe Doherty added a shot as a reserve.

"I am proud of the kids because they have never stopped and given up, despite all the adversity we have had, especially with all the injuries we have had," added Macdonald.  "They came out tonight with nothing to play for except their pride and they had a great attitude.  I think we created a lot of opportunities tonight and overall I am pleased with our girls and how they have stayed together and kept working."

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Morgan Lerch posted five saves, while EIU's Sara Teteak had one stop on the night.

"SIUE will be a tough team to face because they are direct and very physical, so we are going to have to have the correct mentality and stay together," continued Macdonald.

The Cougars dropped a 2-0 decision to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee on Friday.