Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Sports

Eastern freshman midfielder/forward Ashley Eck dribbles the ball down the field on Sept. 28 against Murray State at Lakeside Field. Eck has played 572 minutes in the Panthers' 12 matches this season, and she has started four matches as a true freshman. She scored Eastern's lone goal this season against then No. 25 Purdue on Aug. 26. Eck was a four-year letter winner at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield and earned IHSA Coaches Association All-State honors during her senior season.(Amir Prellberg|Daily Eastern News)

Eastern freshman forward Ashley Eck has soccer in her blood. Her father coaches a college team, and her uncle, Ted, played for the U.S. National Team in the 1990s and for the MLS Dallas Burn - now FC Dallas. Eck, the only women's soccer player to score a goal so far this season, sat down with Staff Reporter Richard Morse to discuss how she came to Eastern, playing on collegiate level and her favorite place to eat on campus.


Quick Facts

• Parents: Joe and
Marie Eck
• Major: Pre-Med
• Hometown: Springfield
• High School: Sacred
Heart-Griffin
• Position: Midfielder/
Forward
• High School Fact: Scored 27
goals as a senior and 19 goals as
a junior

What is your favorite thing about Eastern soccer?
All the friendships I've made with the team. It's a big learning experience with the transition from high school soccer to the college level. I've really been enjoying it.

What first got you into playing soccer?
I come from a really big soccer family. My dad coaches a college team back home and my uncle played professionally and on the U.S. National Team. I was raised in soccer.

What pressures come from having a family like that?
I don't feel like there's a lot of pressure on me. My dad always said do what you want to do. He didn't want to force me into anything, so it was always my decision.

What made you choose Eastern to play soccer?
I already knew a couple of the girls on the team from back home, so it was an easier transition and it's not that far from my hometown.

What do you like most about college soccer?
It's nice to enjoy the college experience, but also do something I love in playing soccer. It's great to live on my own and meet new people.

What's your favorite food here at Eastern?
I really like to eat at the (Martin Luther King Jr. University) Union.

What do you miss most about being home?
My friends and my family.

What music is playing on your iPod right now?
I like a lot of different types of music - I have some country and some rap. I have a bunch of different people on there. I really like Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts a lot.

What is your favorite soccer memory?
It would have to be my senior year of high school. On senior night I scored a hat trick against Alton. We usually had a tough time beating them, so that combined with it being senior night was pretty great.

What's your favorite sports team?
The Chicago Cubs. I don't want to say I expected the loss, but it's definitely disappointing.


Richard Morse can be reached at 581-7944 or at rjmorse@eiu.edu.

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