KIRTLAND, Ohio – Lakeland Community College used three goals in the second half to cruise to a 5-1 victory over Muskegon Community College Wednesday afternoon in the NJCAA Region XII quarterfinal game.

With the win, the Lakers (14-5-1) move on to face Schoolcraft College in the NJCAA Region XII semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 28 at noon in Livonia, Mich.

Carlos Pesso came up big for Lakeland in the playoff opener with a hat trick (three goals) to run his scoring tally to 28 goals on the season. Joel Razo Bermudez added a goal while Olivier Fevrier Sildor scored a goal and assisted on two others. Uri-Malcolm Young picked up two assists in the win.

Lakeland couldn't have asked for a better start as Pesso marched down the field and took a pass from Sildor to score in the first 28 seconds of the game for a 1-0 lead. The momentum didn't stay with the Lakers for the entire first half as Muskegon was able to score on a free kick in the 12^th minute to knot the game up at 1-1.

Lakeland was able to head into halftime with a lead thanks to a goal by Bermudez that floated into the corner of the goal perfectly in the 37^th minute for a 2-1 lead.

The Lakers loosened up in the second half and started playing with the wind at their backs. Pesso got the scoring going in the 52^nd minute after taking a pass from Sildor for a goal and a 3-1 lead.

Sildor took it upon himself to score in the 72^nd minute as he took a pass from Young for a goal and a 4-1 lead. Pesso padded the lead two minutes later after taking a pass from Young to make the final score 5-1.

For more information about Lakeland athletics, visit www.athletics.lakelandcc.edu.

About Lakeland Community College

Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to our mission, Lakeland provides quality learning opportunities to meet the social and economic needs of the community.

Offering day, evening, weekend and online classes, the college serves more than 10,800 credit and 2,800 noncredit students (2016). For more information about the College, visit www.lakelandcc.edu.