INDIANAPOLIS – The end of the regular season is near as nationally-ranked Lake Erie swept Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Players of the Week awards on Monday afternoon.
Six of the eight playoff seeds are sewn up but plenty will be decided on Tuesday with Alderson Broaddus, Ohio Dominican and Malone, all in the mix for the final two spots.
Lake Erie and Ohio Valley have clinched first-round quarterfinal home games for the Great Midwest Championship bracket while Cedarville, Tiffin, Walsh and Findlay, can mathematically still secure home-field advantage.
The second edition of the Super Region 3 rankings will be released Wednesday. The Great Midwest had five teams ranked in the first series, led by Lake Erie at No. 1 and Ohio Valley at No. 3.
The Storm have already wrapped up the regular-season championship and the top overall seed in this year’s championship bracket. Lake Erie is also now ranked fifth nationally after getting bumped up two spots from a week ago.
The quarterfinal winners will play for the conference tournament title in Dayton at Chaminade Julienne HS with the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 14 and the championship final on Saturday the 16th.
The winner will receive an AQ into the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional field.
Offensive Player of the Week
Jonathon Carr
Lake Erie
Midfield
Senior
Sunderland, England (Harlepool/Hartwick College)
The Storm (17-1-0, 13-1-0) outscored Ohio Valley and Alderson Broaddus by a combined score of 8-0 as Lake Erie continued to press its foot on the accelerator late in the regular season.
Lake Erie continues to make a statement in regular season as Louie Rolko’s program looks to roll into the playoffs full steam ahead.
In a big Super Region win, Lake Erie blanked the defending Midwest Region champ Fighting Scots, 3-0, while beating AB, 5-0.
Carr, already a United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week this season, delivered a hat trick on Halloween night vs. Ohio Valley. He was credited with one assist in the team’s win against the Battlers.
Carr scored all three of his goals in the second half, ringing up his first in the 53rd minute of regulation. Later, he scored twice in a span of about nine minutes as the Storm finished with eight total shots on the night.
With his offensive outburst, Carr is now the league leader in points (29), goals (12) and game-winning goals.
Defensive Player of the Week
Tom John
Lake Erie
Goalkeeper
Junior
Ahrensburg, Germany (Tennis Borussia Berlin)
John made it a hat trick of his own by collecting his third weekly conference defensive honor of the fall season.
Make it two more clean sheets for the junior keeper as Lake Erie continues to work on a live streak of five straight shutouts pitched. Even more impressive for the Storm defensive unit, is doing against two teams regionally ranked.
John made a combined nine saves against Ohio Valley and Alderson Broaddus as his goals against average of 0.32 and save percentage of 91% is leading the conference.
He played all 180 minutes behind net for the Storm in the two league victories.
It also marked his 11th and 12th shutouts of the season, an NCAA DII-leading total so far this season.
John’s save percentage of .917 is third for third in Division II and his GAA is among the top two in the nation.