PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Lake Erie College men's soccer team battled Cedarville on Thursday evening but came up just short, falling 2-1 at home. The loss moves the Storm to 5-4-2 overall and 4-2-1 in G-MAC play, while Cedarville improves to 5-5-1 overall and 5-2-0 in conference action.
The two sides played through a scoreless opening 45 minutes. Lake Erie generated a pair of early opportunities from
Veljko Radovanovic and
Nicolas Vagujhelyi, while the Storm defense kept Cedarville off the scoreboard despite four first-half shots.
The match opened up in the second half. Cedarville struck first in the 59th minute when Eddie Merck finished a chance following a throw-in to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 advantage.
Lake Erie responded quickly. Just over four minutes later,
Lucas Howe delivered a service to
Vagujhelyi, who headed it home on the run in the 63rd minute to even the match at 1-1. The goal was
Vagujhelyi's first of the season.
The tie lasted just over a minute, however, as Cedarville regained the lead at 64:24. Landon Nates scored off an assist from Andrew Boythe to put the Yellow Jackets ahead 2-1.
The Storm continued to push for an equalizer over the final 25 minutes.
Radovanovic forced a save immediately after Cedarville's second goal, while
Cal Babiash put another effort on target in the 85th minute.
Luka Bekovic had one of Lake Erie's final chances in the 89th minute, but his shot went high.
Lake Erie finished the night with a 9-7 advantage in total shots and placed four attempts on goal compared to Cedarville's two. The Yellow Jackets held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Cedarville goalkeeper Eben Dewhurst recorded three saves, while
Patrick Bassett played all 90 minutes in goal for the Storm.
Vagujhelyi led the Storm offensively with two shots, one on goal and the team's lone goal.
Radovanovic also recorded two shots with one on target, while
Howe picked up the assist.
The Storm are back in action Saturday Oct. 3rd as they travel to Tiffin, OH to take on the #16 Dragons at 2pm.
