PAINESVILLE-The injury-riddled season for the Lake Erie Storm women's soccer tam turned over another chapter on Saturday afternoon against Pitt-Bradford in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference match-up.
Freshman Keri Cameron, who leads Lake Erie with five goals this season, was injured in the 55th minute on a break-away that saw her collide with Panther keeper Hope Fry. Both players remained down for a few minutes, but Fry was able to walk off her injury, while Cameron was carted off via an ambulance. The injury is unknown at this time, but she was taken to the hospital just as a precautionary measure.
Freshman defender Jen McKay left about 10 minutes later with an injury, and she did not return to the game. After all was said and done, Lake Erie played with just seven players and still only lost by a 2-0 margin.
The game was much in doubt until Deanna Canary knocked home a penalty kick in the 85th minute to seal the win for the Panthers. The loss put Lake Erie at 0-17 for the season, and 0-5 in the AMCC, while Bradford upped their mark to 5-9 and 1-5 in conference play.
Lake Erie has been a magnet for injuries this season as Cameron and McKay are the fifth and sixth major injuries for the squad this year. If they don't return this season, it will make the list grow to five players who have been sidelined with season-ending injuries. Besides the injuries, Lake Erie played a respectable game considering they started the game with just nine players. Bradford opened the scoring at the nine-minute mark when Kelly Parkhill scored off a Megan Gearhart assist to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. That would be the margin as the two teams parted for intermission, but Lake Erie would get some chances in the second half.
The best opportunity for the Storm came when Cameron dribbled through two Bradford defenders to set up a one-on-one situation with Fry. After Cameron's last touch slid just a little in front of her, Fry came out and Cameron ran head on into the Panther keeper. With both players down in the box, Bradford fought off two Lake Erie scoring chances to hold their lead.
The 2-0 loss may be in the back of all the Storm players as they shift their attention to the health of McKay and Cameron. Lake Erie will hope to see both players return to action when Lake Erie takes the field on Tuesday afternoon when they will travel to Ursuline College for a non-conference game. That match is set to begin at 4:00.
