SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – On opening night for Division II athletics, the #6 Mercyhurst men's soccer team had a difficult opponent awaiting as they had to travel to Notre Dame College (Ohio).

These two colleges met twice last season. The first meeting was the home opener for the Lakers, and they also met in the playoffs resulting in an exciting 1-0 Mercyhurst victory in double overtime.

This season, the two teams came into the year with aspirations of a national championship. Both are preseason ranked in the BennetRank poll, with Mercyhurst eighth and Notre Dame College (NDC) tenth. On Thursday night, the Lakers came away with a key 4-1 victory at Notre Dame.

Despite an early NDC goal in the 21st minute by Adam Mitchell, the Lakers surged back to tie the game two minutes later. Danny Deakin corralled a pass off his body from teammate Sam Dorf and then beat the keeper to the bottom right of the net. That was just the beginning of a busy night for Deakin.

As the score remained tied at the end of the first half, Deakin would strike again in the 58th minute shooting a laser from the top of the box into the back of the net making the score 2-1.

The Lakers would not lose the lead after that. They continued to ride the Deakin wave as he would assist Richard Vanhorne in the 73rd minute to make it 3-1. Then, he scored his third goal of the evening minutes later.

Deakin finished with a hat trick and an assist. Ryan Arvin, making his first career start as a Laker, recorded eight saves in goal. Mercyhurst outshot NDC, 19-10. 

The Lakers' next game will take place September 7 at the University of Charleston. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m.