The Lakers finished out their home slate in 2024 by playing host to the Lorain County Commodores today at Laker Field. Lakeland wasted little time taking control of this game as Omar Inga scored his first of 3 goals on a crossing pass from Byron Perez. On the goal, Inga ripped a left footed shot into the upper corner to stake the Lakers to a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, Rauch Deng scored as he received a thru ball pass from Carmen Ningler-Farone. Leading 2-0, Lakeland controlled possession and play. However, 34 minutes into the half, Lorain County took advantage of a Laker miscue to make the score 2-1. Seven minutes later, Inga was credited with his second goal as he took a shot that deflected off a Lorain player and into the net. The Lakers went into the break up 3-1.
At the 54 minute mark of the second half, Inga recorded the hat trick as he beat the Lorain goalie on a breakaway. Ningler-Farone set it up with a pass that beat the Lorain defense. At the 70 minute mark, Evan McGlothin got on the board as he chipped a shot past the Lorain keeper after a nice pass from Jomar Bravo. The final Lakers goal was scored by Byron Perez as he trapped a ball at about the 12-yard line with his back facing the goal. Perez then bicycle kicked the ball into the side of the net to give the Lakers the 6-1 victory.
Diego Garcia got the win in goal and was credited with 6 saves.
Carmen Ningler-Farone: "Our team played skillfully today but lacked the effort to put the game away early. After our halftime talk, we came out ready to put the game away and score goals."
Ty's Talk: "We did what we needed to do today. It's always nice to get a win - especially at home. We have a good challenge coming up for us this weekend so we will need to move on from this quickly."
Next Up: The Lakers travel to Marian University Ancilla on Friday (10/25) to play the Chargers in a 5:00 pm match. On Saturday (10/26), Lakeland will be at Muskegon Community College to finish out the regular season. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 3:00 pm.
