(PAINESVILLE, Ohio) — On the first game of their conference-only, spring 2020-21 regular season, the Lake Erie men's soccer team showed why they were ranked 11th nationally in a recent coaches poll, defeating Ohio Dominican, 2-1.

The name that must be mentioned before any other is Ayden Von Essen, the sophomore Storm forward whose two goals scored proved to be the difference in the game. Von Essen picked up two goals within the first 10 minutes of the contest, giving the Storm a 2-0 advantage before the Panthers even knew what hit them.

In the 34th minute of the first period, Ohio Dominican finally answered back, with forward Khalif Hassan's goal cutting the Storm lead in half. But that momentum didn't seem to translate into the second half, as the two sides found themselves in a stalemate for the entire period, resulting in a Storm victory.

Both teams found themselves with comparable stats in several different categories, including saves, fouls, and corner kicks. But where Lake Erie reigned supreme was in shots, of which they had more than double that of Ohio Dominican, 11-5.

"It was a great win to start the season!" said head coach Louie Rolko. "It's been a very long time since we had the opportunity to compete against someone else. There is a lot we need to work on and continue to improve on, but for our first game, I am happy with the effort."

"I think it was great to see Ayden score early and Tom John came up big for us."

Next up for the Storm is a road trip to Malone to take on the Pioneers on Thursday. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.