MENTOR, Ohio – Lakeland men's soccer had a 2-1 lead late slip away after Mercyhurst North East scored in the 82nd minute to force a 2-2 tie to close out the Lakeland Invitational played at Mentor High School.
With the tie, the Lakeland's overall record moves to 1-2-1 while its Region XII record stays at 1-1.
Williams Batres (Cleveland) and Josue Gomez-Villegas (Perry) each scored for the Lakers while Hans-Conny Chery (Toronto, Ontario) added an assist in the tie.
Lakeland could have asked for a better start as Batres took a lead pass from Chery and put himself in a position to score and he buried the ball into the net in the 12th minute to take a 1-0 lead that would hold up until halftime. The opening goal for Batres was his second on the season.
Mercyhurst opened up the second half with a bit more energy and leveled the game at 1-1 in the 54th minute. The game didn't stay tied for long as Kobie Gooding-Meade (Toronto, Ontario) drew a foul in the box and Gomez-Villegas placed the penalty kick in the lower right corner of the goal for a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute. This was the first goal of the season for Gomez-Villegas.
The lead wouldn't hold as Mercyhurst tied the game in the 82nd minute and 2-2 ended up being the final score.
Lakeland will be back home on Wednesday, Sept. 12 against Cuyahoga Community College at 4 p.m. Cuyahoga is tied with Lakeland in Region XII with a 1-1 record.
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.