MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Lake Erie College men's soccer team made the long trek north to Northern Michigan University on Thursday afternoon, falling on the wrong end of a hard-fought 3-2 battle against the Wildcats.
Two early goals from Northern Michigan had the Storm playing from behind for much of the match, but Lake Erie showed its resilience, battling until the final whistle and nearly completing the comeback.
Lake Erie cut the deficit in half in the 28th minute when Veljko Radovanovic deposited his second goal of the season, with Alex Banjac providing the assist.
The score remained 2-1 heading into halftime, but less than 10 minutes into the second half, Northern Michigan restored its two-goal advantage when Luca Rosen netted his third tally of the season off an assist from Sergio Cano Castro.
The Storm, which outshot NMU 10-5 in the second half, continued to pressure the Wildcats' back line and broke through again in the 78th minute. Senior Dario Stadler opened his 2026 account with his fifth career goal in Storm green, with redshirt freshman Piet Mertens setting him up on the play.
Lake Erie continued to push for an equalizer down the stretch, firing off four additional shots following Stadler's goal. Radovanovic put one attempt on frame, while William Hjelte's effort in the final minute was also turned away by Wildcats goalkeeper Asaf Kristal.
The teams finished even at 17 shots apiece, while Northern Michigan held a slight 10-9 advantage in shots on goal. Lake Erie, however, doubled up NMU in corner kicks, 6-3.
David Ruiz Ospina made a season-high seven saves, bringing his season total to 14 through the first three matches.
Lake Erie (1-2-0) will return home to Campus Field for the first time this season on Saturday when Roosevelt comes to town for a noon kickoff.
