HAMMOND, Ind. - Your Panther men's soccer team are Co-GLIAC Champions for the first time! Davenport and Parkside shared the conference regular season crown with 31 points and a 10-3-1 record. The Panthers will be the two-seed in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament based on a second tiebreaker which was goal differential in conference games. Parkside will host the tournament and the Panthers will play in the semifinals avoiding the quarterfinals as the two-seed. That match will be Friday, Nov. 12 at a time to be determined against the winner of the Saginaw Valley State and Northern Michigan quarterfinal on Monday, Nov. 8. 

"What a special day it is!," said head coach Chris Hughes. "The boys fought like warriors today and found a way to beat a well-coached Purdue Northwest squad. Our staff couldn't be more proud of their efforts. The GLIAC has been quite a challenge, in that, any team could beat any team on any day. We made some tweaks and adjustments and found ourselves in a position, prior to this game, to challenge for one of the top spots. The team came through and sit atop the league. Today we celebrate! Tomorrow we prep for the GLIAC Tournament."

The Panthers set a new mark with their 10th conference win and improved to 10-6-1 overall with today's 3-1 win over the Pride. This match was much different than the previous one in which the Pride won 2-1 in Caledonia. Davenport was on a mission to get this victory and controlled the match throughout.

The Panthers finished with 18 shots including nine shots on goal. Shane Marinkovich made four saves as the Pride had nine shots including five shots on net.

Justice Sikkema scored in the 22nd minute for his eighth goal of the campaign. Daire O'Riordan took a free kick from 25 yards on the left wing and Sikkema ran around the defensive line and flicked the ball into the goal on a quick exchange.

Evan Marquess made it 2-0 in the 58th minute for his third goal of the season. He was the beneficiary of two good passes. Tyler Welch had the first one to Sikkema who then had a quick touch pass into space as Marquess buried the shot top left corner from 10 yards.

The Panthers increased their lead to 3-0 in the 76th minute as Matt Whelan set a new season-high with his ninth goal of the season. Welch had the assist and patiently waited with the ball inside the 18-yard box. He dropped a small pass to Whelan who scored lower left corner from 15 yards. The Pride scored their goal in the 81st minute on a penalty kick by Isaiah Nieves.