Box Score LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY MEN'S SOCCER PAGE
THE TURNING POINT: An Ashland defensive miscue led to the Lake Erie corner kick which led to the game's lone goal by the Storm in the 21st minute.
STAT OF THE GAME: Seven of Ashland's nine shots came in the second half as the Eagles were trying to erase the one-goal deficit.
In the eyes of Ashland University men's soccer head coach Oliver Slawson, there is no shame in his Eagles suffering their first loss of 2016 to one of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's top teams of 2015.
Ashland dropped to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC following a 1-0 loss to the Storm (4-1, 2-1) on Wednesday (Sept. 14) night at Ferguson Field. Lake Erie played in the GLIAC Tournament championship game a fall ago.
"I think it says a little bit of how far we've come in such a short space of time that a team that made the conference tournament final last year…beat us by one goal on a set piece," Slawson said. "We are disappointed. We didn't start the game well. Fair play to them.
"In the second half, we responded. We had our opportunities. They're upset that we lost to a team that was a game away from making the NCAA Tournament (last year), and we've been together for four weeks."
Lake Erie's goal came in the 21st minute on a header off a corner kick, the Storm's third to start the game.
"They're an experienced team. We had six freshmen out there, seven at times, and they had two," Slawson said. "We played six freshmen against their eight upperclassmen."
The Storm outshot the Eagles, 12-9. Senior goalkeeper Nick Ciraldo made four saves in the loss.
UP NEXT: The Eagles' first GLIAC road trip of 2016, starting on Friday (Sept. 16) at 4 p.m. at Northwood (2-1, 1-1), picked second in the GLIAC preseason poll. "I wouldn't want it any other way. We're going to go there and find out exactly where we are," said Slawson.
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