CANTON, Ohio – Men's soccer action is coming to Canton for the first time in 2020-21 when the Malone University men's soccer team holds their home opener on Thursday against the #11 ranked team in NCAA DII, Lake Erie College. Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) action will take place from GlenOak High School with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 pm.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (0-1-0) vs #11 Lake Erie Storm (1-0-0)
GlenOak HS – Canton, OH (7 pm)
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
MEN'S SOCCER SERIES HISTORY:
Malone is 6-10-2 all-time versus the Lake Erie Storm. Malone traveled to Painesville, Ohio twice in 2019, losing the regular season game 5-1 with Lake Erie as the ninth ranked team in NCAA DII, and in the G-MAC Quarterfinals 3-0 when the Storm were number four in the country. The Pioneers swept the season series in 2018 with a win at Lake Erie 3-2 and a 2-1 overtime win on senior day.
 
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Malone dropped their first match of the season 1-0 at the University of Findlay last weekend. The Oilers were able to net a penalty kick goal in the 39th minute to seal the victory. In the contest, Patrick Brightbill and Antoine Leheron put shots on goal, but the Pioneers were limited to just four total attempts.
 
Nathan McFeaters netted the only goal versus Lake Erie in 2019 in the 89th minute of the regular season game. It was his third goal of a 10-goal season for the now senior forward.
 
As a team in 2019, the Pioneers scored on nearly 10% of their shot attempts, and the same can be true for their opponents. Malone held a shot percentage of 9.9% and opposition 9.8%. The Pioneers bested their opponents in shot on goal percentage 47.6% to 45.5%. Malone has taken advantage of the opportunity to score when they get it, but creating the scoring opportunity has been difficult so far this season.
 
The defensive unit of Patrick Alvarez, Oriol Roset and Joseph Arciniegas did a good job of limiting Oiler scoring threats in game one of the 2020-21 season. They only allowed one goal off of a penalty kick, when a season ago, Findlay held the second-highest scoring average in the G-MAC.
 
#11 LAKE ERIE STORM TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The 11th ranked Lake Erie Storm won their first match of the season over Ohio Dominican 2-1.
 
Ayden Von Essen scored back-to-back goals in the 4th and 10th minutes of the game to lead the Storm. Von Essen scored seven goals and recorded six assists in 2019 to accumulate 20 total points. He put 20 of his 28 shots on goal, a shot on goal percentage of 71.4% as a freshman.
 
Lake Erie swept the G-MAC awards last season with their 18-1-0 regular season record, with head coach Louie Rolko winning Coach of the Year. The Storm are the defending regular season G-MAC champions and qualified with an at-large bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships, where they were ousted in the Second Round by UINDY. The Storm had the highest scoring offense in the conference in 2019 at 2.2 goals per match.
 
G-MAC First Team All-Conference goalkeeper Tom John returns as a senior in net for the Storm in 2020-21. John made four saves in the season-opening match.