PAINESVILLE, Ohio – Two teams ranked in the thick of the Super Region 3 rankings will battle for the title on Saturday as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship semifinals finished Thursday from Jack Britt Stadium.
No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the six-team bracket moved on as top seeded Lake Erie and No. 3 Ohio Dominican scored respective wins in regulation vs. No. 4 Walsh and No. 2 Cedarville.
The Panthers and Yellow Jackets were dueling for the third time this season with regional ranking positioning possibly at stake. After a split in the regular season, both programs kept it tight once again in a fierce back-and-forth struggle.
First team all-conference forward Shingai Nindi scored in the 20th minute in the shutout effort by ODU, who is in the conference championship game for the first time since joining the league in 2017.
The Yellow Jackets will now wait for the selection show on Monday evening to learn if an at-large selection to the national tournament will be in store for the program.
ODU found out a short time later it would be playing host Lake Erie for the championship.
The action was fast and furious from the whistle as each team exchanged a goal in the first seven minutes of play. Great Midwest Freshman of the Year Teddy Baker scored the first of his two goals at the 5:10 mark and he was countered less than two minutes later by all-conference midfielder Harry Gardner, who also scored twice.
The Storm scored two more times in the first half off of shots from Conner Moutino and Alex Ovalle. The Cavaliers and Storm went into the intermission with Lake Erie up 3-1.
Tomas Fernandez and Baker scored early in the second half for a 5-1 lead and Gardner closed out the scoring for Walsh in the 66th minute.
Lake Erie is currently ranked fifth in the Midwest Region rankings and Ohio Dominican is ranked eighth going into Saturday’s championship matchup. The championship game is set for 1 p.m. ET on Saturday with the winner receiving an automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Super Region 3 bracket.