(NORTH CANTON, Ohio) — Lake Erie's men's soccer team proved it had the ability to battle back from adversity Thursday, defeating Walsh, 2-1.

After a close loss at home Saturday to conference rival Ohio Valley, their first of the year, the Storm got back on track against Walsh Thursday, winning and improving their record to 3-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers fall to 1-2-1.

The game was a back-and-forth battle early on, with no one getting the ball past the goalkeeper in the first 20-plus minutes. The most notable event that happened during that period of time was a red card given out to Storm sophomore defender Ben Wiemann. With the Freiburg, Germany native being ejected only 11 minutes in, Lake Erie was forced to play a man down for the rest of the contest.

But that did not faze the Storm, who came back and scored in the 25th minute on a goal by sophomore forward Ayden Von Essen, assisted by junior midfielder Arthur Lucas. That gave Lake Erie a 1-0 lead, but they would only be able to hold onto that lead for a few minutes. In the 31st minute, Walsh's Harry Gardner scored to tie things up, with the assist going to Adam Wood.

So things were even at one heading into halftime, but that wouldn't remain the case for much longer. Only a minute after play resumed for the second half, the previous Storm scoring combo flipped roles, with Lucas scoring the goal this time and Von Essen doing the assisting. That put Lake Erie back in front, 2-1, and they would never relinquish that lead for the rest of the game.

The second half was littered with Walsh yellow cards, as three Cavaliers players were given one between the 54th and 80th minutes: Dominic O'Connor, Jake Cunningham, and Daniel Price. In the game as a whole, Walsh would end up with 10 more fouls than Lake Erie, 14-4. Additionally, the Storm saw more saves come from their goalkeeper than Walsh did, as Lake Erie's Tom John saved nine balls compared to Ethan Burawa's three.

Next up for the Storm is a Saturday morning game against Trevecca Nazarene at Jack Britt Stadium in Painesville. That contest will begin at 11 a.m. EST.