OWENSBORO, Kentucky -- The Lake Erie women's soccer team faced off in another G-MAC match on Thursday, falling at the hands of Kentucky Wesleyan 1-0. The Storm move to 2-9-1 overall and 0-7-1 in conference games. 

Game Recap

Lake Erie nearly took an immediate lead, as junior transfer Abby Piks had a shot saved less than two minutes into the game. Seven minutes later, the same story and result would be said for Storm attacker Leonie Witt, who has been riding hot off of a two-goal performance in the previous match, along with four goals in the last four games. Missing on these two opportunities, the Storm would attempt just two more shots in the period, failing to convert either. On the other side, the Panthers had a similarly difficult time finding quality attacking looks, matching the Storm's four shots in the period, however, were able to strike gold in the 40th minute, taking a 1-0 lead as the teams entered the half. 

The first period was a great indicator of what was to come, as the Storm began the second on the aggression. Witt would fire a shot 47 seconds out of the break, followed by one from Alyvia Sanom not even three minutes later, both being saved by the Panthers goalie. After this hot start straight out of the locker room, the Storm were fairly contained the rest of the game, finding only three more shots in the remaining 42 minutes. 

The Storm were very evenly-matched with the Panthers in every aspect and had great chances to tie or even win the game. On the defensive side, the women bottled up the Panthers well, allowing just 11 shots all game, tying the Storm's defensive low for the season. However, as we all know, just one play can be the determining factor, and in this case, it led to a Storm defeat. 

The Matchup

Thursday's loss moves Lake Erie's all-time record against the Panthers to 1-5-1. The team's consistently find themselves in close games against each other, yet Kentucky Wesleyan seems to always sneak out an edge.

Looking Ahead

The Storm will look to get back in the win column as they enter a four-game home-stand, beginning with Cedarville this Saturday at 1pm and Northwood next Thursday at 1pm, both hosted at Mentor High School. Cedarville boasts a 6-2-1 record in G-MAC play, good for second-place in conference standings. Currently on a three-game winning streak, their last loss came against Ashland, who was ranked eighth nationally but has since moved up to #4 in all of Division II. As for Northwood, they sit right behind Cedarville at third in the G-MAC standings and are still undefeated on the year (7-0-5).