Owensboro, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's soccer team continued their strong recent stretch with a 2-1 triumph over Lake Erie at Panther Field Thursday evening.
The first half was a defensive battle, with neither team able to take advantage of their opportunities. Wesleyan had seven shots in the first compared to just two for the Storm, but the match remained scoreless headed into the break.
It didn't take long for that to change in the second half. Late in the 52nd minute, Haakon Torvbraaten attempted a shot that was saved, Jhaeem Bryan shot the reflection off the top post, and Cameron Bell was right there to kick that rebound past the goalkeeper for his second score of the season to give the Panthers the advantage.
The match would get chippy in the 77th minute, resulting in a red card on Lake Erie that forced the road team to play a man down the rest of the way.
Not even four minutes later, the Storm used an impressive header off a corner kick to tie the match at 1-1 in the 80th minute.
The Panthers responded quickly. Nicklas Henriksen took possession near midfield and got into striking distance himself before netting a left foot goal in the 82nd minute, giving Wesleyan the lead right back.
KWC wouldn't relinquish that advantage, recording their fourth win in their last five matches with the other being a draw.
Wesleyan led the way in shots (18-11) and shots on goal (8-2), but Lake Erie did earn more corner kick opportunities (6-1).
The Panthers spread the shot chances around, with ten different players logging at least one shot. Mattie McNally and Jersey Lopez each had three, including one each on goal, and Nicklas Henriksen, Elias Jonsson, Braden Myers-Curry, and Hamish Strong each had two shots.
Wesleyan next heads to Tiffin, Ohio, for a matchup against the Dragons on October 16th. Kickoff is set for 2:30 PM and the match will be streamed live on FloCollege.
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