PAINESVILLE-It could have been said that it was a bitter sweet end for the Lake Erie College Storm women's soccer team on Monday afternoon.
The Storm capped of the season with a 3-1 victory over Thiel College, and they ended the season on a two-game winning streak, which was a season high for the team this year. However, after the final whistle sounded to end the contest, that same whistle ended the four-year careers of six Storm seniors. The senior class brought the Storm soccer program to a respectable level, and they will definitely be missed next season.
There may not have been a senior who bowed out with a bigger bang that forward Katie Jayne. Jayne scored all three of the Storm goals in the second half to complete the victory and put an exclamation point on her brilliant career at Lake Erie College. Jayne leaves Lake Erie holding the school records for points (134), goals (56), and assists (22). Senior Annick Toulouse posted two assists in the game, and she is now third all-time in assists with 19.
It looked like the Storm may be in some trouble on senior night as Thiel scored the first goal of the game late in the first half when Amanda Devore blasted a shot past senior goalkeeper Tracy Dolence. Devore's goal came off a short corner kick pass from Michele Blasko. That lead would hold up to the half before the Storm started to brew in the second half.
Jayne scored the first goal early in the first half off a Mandi Stachon pass to tie the game at 1-1. Toulouse then hit a perfect cross through the box, in which Jayne delieverd a perfect header past Thiel keeper Kristen Benjamin to give Lake Erie a 2-1 lead with about 15 minutes left. Jayne capped the scoring about three minutes later when she got a through pass from Toulouse and cashed in the one-on-one opportunity as she sealed the game with a blast past Benjamin to give Lake Erie a 3-1 lead.
In addition to Jayne, Toulouse, and Dolence, there were three other Storm players who played their final game in a Storm uniform. Kristin Antonchak finished her career by ranking second in goals scored (25), second in assists (20), and second in points scored with 67. Defender Lisa Gonzalez also finished her career, and she scored two goals in her career along with an assist. Senior Laurie Baker also finished her senior year, and this was her first year on the Storm squad.
Tracy Dolence made four saves in the winning effort and allowed just one goal in her 90 minutes of action. The Storm improve to 4-15-1 overall, while Thiel drops to 6-9-4 on the season.
