PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The No. 4 Lake Erie men's soccer team hosted the No. 5 Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers tonight in the 2024 Great Midwest Quarterfinals. The Storm played a heck of game but fell in PKs, 5-4.
Game Recap
The Storm showed early on that, when healthy, they could be the better team. For the first 15 minutes or so, the ball was heavily controlled by Lake Erie in the Panther's territory. Finally, the KWC defense gave out, and the Storm grabbed a 1-0 lead on an Aaron Garrote goal in the 27th minute.
The second half saw the Panthers show some signs of life. They made the Storm work and saw a lot of time in Storm territory. In the half, they finally got their first shot on goal, but goalkeeper Jason LaVacca was there to make an impressive save.
Kentucky Wesleyan would get a few good looks towards the end of the game, and in the 87th minute, chaos in the box ensued, the Panthers tied up the match at 1-1 and sent the Storm to their first overtime game since last year's G-MAC semifinals match against Thomas More.
In overtime, the Panthers kept bringing pressure, but the Storm continued to have answers. LaVacca made two more impressive saves in the process to keep Lake Erie's season alive, including one in the 99th minute. In OT2, as time expired, the Panthers got one more shot off which ricocheted off the crossbar and gave the Storm a sigh of relief as they headed to PKs.
Both sides made their first three shots easily in PKs. On the Storm's fourth kick, Kentucky Wesleyan made a save. On the Panther's next kick, LaVacca made a fantastic save but it was called back by the refs because he left early and on the rekick, the Panther's made it. Oliver Lancaster came up next for Lake Erie and successfully made his shot to give the Storm a shot at extending the game. With the fate of their season on the next shot, LaVacca clutched up and made a huge save, sending PKs to one-and-one.
Lake Erie had their next shot saved but LaVacca came up big again with a follow-up save. Finally, the Storm missed their next shot and the Panthers made theirs to end the game in heartbreaking fashion.
The Matchup
With the game technically going down as a tie, the Storm still hold the advantage over Kentucky Wesleyan with a 5-2-2 all-time record with both ties coming within their last four meetings.
Season Wrap Up
Lake Erie ends their season with a record of 9-7-3 and 8-5-1 in G-MAC play. Overall, it was another good season for the Storm as they made the G-MAC Tournament for the seventh year in a row and continue to be a consistent staple for LEC Athletics.
