The Lakers men's soccer team played host to the Terra State Titans today at Laker Field and completed an impressive second half comeback to earn a 4-3 win over the Titans. Coach Mayer commented, "We knew it was going to be a difficult game. Playing the same twice in 3 days is always a challenge. Credit Terra for playing hard, but I'm also pleased with the way we continued to work throughout the match." The first half was a difficult one for the Lakers as they made a couple of mistakes in their own end and got burned by them. Lakeland controlled the time of possession and played a large portion of the half in the Terra end, but the Titans made the most of their opportunities. After surrendering an early goal, the Lakers knotted it at 1-1 as Alex Webster-Gutierrez got through a clogged middle to beat the Terra netminder. Terra continued to play hard and scored two more goals to take a 3-1 lead 25 minutes into the game. Four minutes later, Omar Inga would score on a shot from about 18 yards out to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Lakers started to pick up their play and took many shots - but they were mostly off frame. With 4 minutes to go in the half, the Lakers were taken down from behind in the penalty box. Unfortunately, Lakeland missed the penalty kick and went into the break still trailing 3-2.

In the second half, the Lakers came out with a lot of energy and effort. Almost the entire half was played in the Titan end as Lakeland continued to put pressure on Terra State. The Lakers again took many shots that were just off target. Finally, with a scrum going on in front of the Terra goal, Byron Perez netted the tying goal at the 57 minute mark as he shot the ball from about 6 yards out off the left post and into the net. The two teams continued to battle with Lakeland carrying much of the play. After several more scoring chances, Perez netted his second goal of the game with under 2 minutes remaining. Perez scored when he ripped a shot into the lower left hand corner of the net off of a pass from Alex Webster-Gutierrez.

Till Oppermann commented,"It was a tough first half. We didn't have the fight that we needed to have to win. I'm so proud of everyone though as no one quit. We came out in the second half and showed a lot of heart and fight."

Byron Perez led the Lakers with two goals including the game winner. Alex Webster-Gutierrez had a goal and an assist while Omar Inga also tallied a goal for the Lakers. Diego Garcia picked up the complete game win and was credited with 11 saves. 

Next Up: The Lakers will get a bit of a break to reset themselves as their next game is scheduled for Wednesday (10/9) at Owens Community College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm.