The men's soccer team finished the regular season with a 2-1 victory at Mercyhurst NE. With the victory, the Lakers, under first year coach Amir Kettani, finished the regular season with a 10-3 record and 7-3 in the conference. The Lakers played with a field player in net, Eni Veljak this time, for the third game in row. Lakeland had 14 shots on net and 9 corners in total. It was a difficult first half for the Lakers as they battled extreme wind conditions. In the second half, they sorted it out and really picked up their play. The first goal was an own goal by the Saints that was created by Lakeland's pressure. The eventual game winning goal came on a penalty kick from Tom Worm with about 12 minutes to play.  Worm was very aggressive and kept attacking before being taken down in the box. He calmly put it away on the PK. 

 

Kettani Quotes: "It was a tough game and the team fought hard with not having a goalkeeper for the third game. Playing with Eni in net, who is a central defender, was not easy but the team really rallied together and got the win. We will back to full strength at Regionals and will have Jake back between the pipes. We are looking forward to the opportunity of playing in Regionals."

 

Next up: The Lakers will travel to Muskegon, MI on November 2 to participate in Regional play as the second seed. They will play Jackson CC at Grand Haven HS at 5:30 pm. Lakeland swept the season series this year winning by the scores of 2-1 and 5-2. The winner will play the winner of the Ancilla College/Muskegon CC game at 2:30pm on November 3.