NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's soccer team traveled to Walsh University tonight to begin G-MAC play. It was a neck-in-neck game the entire way, but a late goal pushed the Storm past the Cavaliers to bring their record over .500 at 2-1 and start conference competition undefeated.
Game Recap
The Cavaliers held an early offensive edge over the Storm, with all four of their first-half shots coming within the first 22 minutes of play while the Storm managed just one in that timeframe. During this surge, goalkeeper
Jasper Rump gathered two saves to keep the game tied at zero.
During the 25th minute, the Storm rattled off three straight shots courtesy of
Harry Furlong,
Tomas Fernandez, and
Aaron Garrote but none were on goal.
In the second half, tensions broke and penalty cards were dished out.
Oliver Lancaster earned himself a yellow card in the 57th minute and in the 64th, Walsh's Antonio Paganelli got himself one as well. Just five minutes later, Elis Williams earned his first red card of the season for Walsh. In the 76th,
Linus Oestlund joined the club with a yellow card of his own.
In the heat of everything though,
Harry Furlong broke open the scoreless tie in the 80th minute with a beautiful line drive shot into the upper left-hand corner. This goal would be all the Storm needed as they finished with a 1-0 victory.
Garrote led the team with four total shots and Rump finished with three saves in the shutout.
The Matchup
The two teams have enjoyed their share of tough battles in recent years. After losing their lone matchup early in the season last year to the Cavaliers, the Storm are now back on track with today's win. Prior to last season's game though, Lake Erie had won eight straight, including four on the road. They now boast a 18-4-1 record all-time against Walsh and continue to dominate on the road with an even more impressive 12-1 record.
Looking Ahead
The Storm will be back in action on Thursday, September 19th for their home opener against the Ohio Dominican Panthers. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m.
