PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's soccer team hosted the Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers tonight for their G-MAC opener and a rematch of the 2024 G-MAC tournament game. The Storm played strong and came away with a convincing 2-0 victory. The win gives Lake Erie their first of the season and they now improve to 1-0-4.

Game Recap

The Storm and Panthers who both entered the game 0-0-4, were eager to earn their first season win during their G-MAC opener. The Storm stayed strong on the offensive end early and it paid off in the 20th minute when a boot from Veljko Radovanovic was landed by Nicolas Vagujhelyi and quickly fired into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. 

In the 26th minute, Dario Stadler entered into the game and became an immediate threat. He got a shot off in the 32nd minute which was blocked but quickly rebounded and shot one in for the Storm's second goal of the game. 

In the second half, the Panthers came out with a lot more aggressive offensive play and threatened to score a few times. With fantastic play in goal from David Ruiz Ospina, who gathered two saves in the half, the Storm were able to secure a 2-0 victory.

Radovanovic and Stadler led the team with three shots apiece to account for six of the Storm's 13 shots. The Panthers were only able to get off six total shots as a team.

The Matchup

The win returns the Storm to dominance over Kentucky Wesleyan and they now have a 6-2-2 record all-time. They will meet at least once more this season with their next matchup scheduled for Thursday, October 9th in Owensboro.

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie will be back in action on Saturday, September 20th on the road to face the Ohio Dominican Panthers at 8 p.m.