Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Men's soccer team was at home on Tuesday afternoon to close out their non-conference schedule. After falling behind early the Lakers defeated the Le Moyne Dolphins 4-1.
How it Happened
In just the 13th minute the Dolphins struck first to take the 1-0 lead. After Le Moyne took the lead the game was back and forth with neither team being able to convert on their chances.
In the 41st minute the Lakers were awarded a penalty kick after Tom Barry drew the foul inside the box. Sidney Warden placed the ball on the spot and stuttered as he approached the ball and waited for the keeper to move, Warden placed it into the right side of the net to knot the game at one.
At the half the Lakers generated four shots while goalkeeper Jonathan Gomes made four saves to keep the game tied at one.
In the second half the game started to get more physical after each team received a yellow card and committed seven fouls apiece in the first 45. In the 50th minute Le Moyne received their first of two red cards in the half. The second red came in the 70th minute with the game still tied at one.
In the 83rd minute the Lakers took the lead. Salvador Rang was the beneficiary of a beautiful one touch no-look pass from Tom Barry. Rang made no mistake and blasted it to the top right corner of the net.
The Lakers had the lead with under seven minutes remaining, but they weren't done yet. In the 86th minute Warden was fouled inside the box to give the Lakers their second penalty kick of the match. Warden once again stepped to the spot, did his signature stutter-step and beat the keeper who chose to dive to his left, Warden beat him to the other side of the goal.
Mercyhurst had one more goal in them, Carlos Cueva scored his first career goal in the 90th minute to close out the game. Cueva took the short pass from Julius Becker and Cueva took a shot at the net. The keeper who was sliding at Cueva got a piece of it, but it found its way into the goal to make it 4-1.
That's a Wrap
After facing Le Moyne this afternoon, the Lakers have played all of their scheduled non-conference games. In seven games, Mercyhurst finished 5-2 with their lone losses coming at the start of the season. The Lakers outscored their opponents 23-9 in the seven non-conference games.
The Lakers have seven PSAC West games remaining in the regular season.
S2, Thoughts?
Hear from Salvador Rang (1g) and Sidney Warden (2g) after the 4-1 win.
Coach's Corner
Head Coach Ryan Osborne was proud of his team against a Le Moyne team who came into the game after a 5-0 win over Assumption. "That was a very good Le Moyne team that we beat today. We had to dig deep and work extremely hard to come away with the win. We battled hard and showed some good quality especially in the second half." Osborne knows how important Saturday's game against Gannon is, "we are proud of the effort and execution today and now all focus has shifted to Saturday."
Up Next
The Lakers host Gannon on Saturday who is currently first in the PSAC West standings. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
