CALEDONIA, Mich. - The Davenport men's soccer team battled and clawed all game in their home opener against Lake Erie. The Panthers were the first team to score against the Storm (4-0) this season, but could not prevail in the 2-1 setback. The Panthers had several chances to tie the match in the second half, but Storm goalkeeper Tom John made a few fine saves to keep his team in the lead until the end.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- All three of the goals were scored in the first half. Ayden Von Essen scored in the ninth minute for Lake Erie. The Storm had the numbers on a rush and Tom Akinola dropped a pass into an open area where Von Essen finished from around 13 yards into the lower right of the goal.
- Davenport tied the game in the 18th minute as
Jake Van Schie played a long ball from around 40 yards into the box.
Lasse Pico Kjeldsen tried to get a head on the ball but could not.
Justice Sikkema was behind the play a bit and rushed the net to score his second goal of the season. He scored from around 15 yards to the lower left of the goal.
- Lake Erie scored the game-winner in a frantic fashion in the 32nd minute. Akinola found himself inside the box and fired a shot that was initially saved. The rebound was played again and DU defenders were on the turf making a sweeping motion to get the ball off the goal line. It appeared that Lake Erie got a break as no Panther could clear the ball.
- Davenport played a very aggressive style in the second half in particular. DU outshot Lake Erie 16-10 and both teams had nine shots on goal.
-
Joshua Doupe got his first start of the season in goal for the Panthers and settled down after giving up a pair of goals. He finished with seven saves.
- Davenport held a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Panthers (0-3) will have a week off before traveling to Saginaw Valley State next Friday (Sept. 20) to begin conference action against the Cardinals. The match will kickoff at 3 p.m. in University Center. SVSU is currently 1-1-1 this season and tied Tiffin, 0-0, on Friday. They will also host Alderson Broaddus on Sunday in non-conference action.