The Lakeland men's soccer team played host to the Cuyahoga Triceratops and dropped a 2-1 decision at Laker Field. The Lakers came out to play in this match and dominated play throughout the first half. There passing was crisp and they created several scoring chances. The Lakers peppered the goal as they forced the Tri-c netminder to make several big saves. Despite controlling play, the Lakers fell behind 1-0. The Cuyahoga goal was scored when they received a throw in and sent a cross at about the 35 yard line. The Tri-C forward was able to elude the Laker defender, pick up the ball, and then score into the low corner on a breakaway with the keeper. Lakeland continued to pour it on offensively though as they had several outstanding chances off of crosses, corners, and terrific passing. Finally, with just over 5 minutes to play in the first half. Elijah Livingstone fed Omar Inga on the wing. Inga was able to speed by a Tri-C defender before shooting the ball into the upper right hand corner of the net to knot the score at 1. The score would remain tied at 1 going into the break.
In the second half, again the Lakers controlled play early. The tide turned when Cuyahoga chipped a ball from mid-field into the Laker box. As Lakeland goalie, Till Oppermann, charged out to pick up the loose ball, a Cuyahoga forward also charged at the ball. There was a collision on the field and both players went down. The referee called a foul on Oppermann and awarded a penalty kick to Cuyahoga. Tri-C converted the kick to take the lead and the eventual game. As the game wore on, the Lakers were forced to change up their strategy to take more chances offensively. In doing so, this led to more opportunities for the visitors, but neither team broke through again.
Lakeland outshot Cuyahoga 20-15. Michal Klein and Apollo Percic led the team with 4 shots each. Till Oppermann was credited with 6 saves in the match.
Next Up: The Lakers have a difficult weekend coming up as they play two games in three days. On Friday, they travel to Schoolcraft College for a 3:00 pm match before playing host to Jackson Community College on Sunday at noon on Laker Field.
