COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican men's soccer team earned a 2-0 victory over fourth-seeded Lake Erie in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Friday night at Panther Field.

With the victory, the Panthers (11-2-4) will play for the GLIAC Tournament championship for the second time in four years when they meet Saginaw Valley, which defeated Tiffin 1-0 in the first semifinal of the day. The final on Sunday will begin at 1 p.m. on Panther Field. The win also extended ODU's unbeaten streak to 11.

After falling short in last year's GLIAC Tournament semifinals, the Panthers made sure history would not repeat itself Friday night as they out-shot the Storm 16-6 overall, including a 7-3 margin on-goal, and earned six corner kicks to Lake Erie's two.

Ohio Dominican, which outshot Lake Erie 8-4 in the first half, drew first blood late in the first half, thanks to a highlight-reel worthy strike by freshman Andrew Schwall (Gahanna, Ohio).

Schwall was led up the field by a great pass from junior Jakob Szabo (Worthington, Ohio), who set Schwall up around the top of the box. Schwall took the perfect opportunity to strike for his fourth goal of the season, giving the Panthers the 1-0 lead in the 34th minute.

ODU added to the lead with in the 88th minute, after Szabo once again played a perfect ball in front of the net, this time to freshman Jacob Atkinson (Hilliard, Ohio). Szabo played a cross to the left side of the box and Atkinson knocked in his third goal of the year.

That was all the offense the Panthers would need as they limited the Falcons to just two shots in the second half. In doing so, ODU posted its sixth shutout of the season.

Ohio Dominican now faces Saginaw Valley, with whom they went 1-1 with during the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. in the finale.

Contact: Sarah Twiggs
twiggss@ohiodominican.edu