PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's soccer team hosted the Ohio Dominican Panthers today for their home opener. The Storm cruised to a 3-1 victory and improve their overall record to 3-1 and their G-MAC record to 2-0.

Game Recap

It was perfect weather for the Storm's home opener today in Painesville. Tomas Fernandez found Aaron Garrote in just the 7th minute to put the Storm on top early. With that assist, Fernandez is now just one assist shy of tying the program's career record, behind Joe Starvaggi (2005-07) and Teddy Baker (2021-22).

Just nine minutes later though, the Panthers found a weak spot in the Storm defense and tied things up.

In the 28th minute, Kacy Parish took a corner shot and placed it perfectly to a leaping Luke Peperak who headed the ball to Oliver Lancaster who then headed it into the back of the net and give the Storm a 2-1 lead.

Lake Erie rode this lead into the half and came out swinging in the second, scoring in just six minutes on a Peperak goal, assisted by Parish.

Despite the lopsided final score, the two sides kept pace with each other for most of the contest. The Panthers outshot the Storm 14-9 with seven on goal compared to Lake Erie's four. As always though, the matchup between them was very physical. Four total yellow cards were issued in the game in addition to 26 combined fouls.

Peperak and Parish led the team with two shots each, while Jasper Rump impressed once again in goal, racking up six saves. He currently has 19 on the year which leads the G-MAC.


The Matchup

These two programs continue to build upon their small rivalry. Matchups between the two sides have always been very physical, with every game usually ending in an above average number of yellow cards and fouls dished out. The Panthers still have the edge on the Storm when it comes to all-time record (11-17-2), but in the last 10 meetings, Lake Erie is 6-3-1, including a G-MAC championship victory in 2021. The two will meet at least one more time when they both conclude their regular seasons on November 6th in Columbus.

Looking Ahead

The Storm are back in action on Sunday, September 22 on the road against the Davenport Panthers. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Davenport is off to a 2-1-1 start with a 2-1 loss to Cedarville, a 3-3 tie with Northwood, and wins against Thomas More, and Tiffin.