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INDIANAPOLIS – It has been nearly two weeks since last taking the field for Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular season/tournament champion Lake Erie as the No. 2 seeded Storm face No. 6 Fort Hays State in the NCAA Championship Super Region 3 semifinals on Thursday afternoon.
The national tournament third round matchup is part of the Sweet 16 with only four programs in each super region in contention.
The battle will take place at Key Stadium at 3 p.m. ET with UIndy, top seed of Super Region 3, serving as host. The winner would face either the Greyhounds or No. 4 seed Illinois Springfield, both from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, for the Super Region 3 title on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
A trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the final four of the NCAA Championship bracket is on the line for all remaining teams Dec. 9-11.
After earning an opening-round bye, the Storm have played one game and advanced after toppling No. 7 Lewis in the second round, 2-1. The Storm recently found out their star forward Ayden Von Essen and lockdown defender Ben Wiemann were both all-region team selections by the D2CCA.
The return of Von Essen Is imminent after the Great Midwest Player of the Year should be appearing in his first postseason game after missing the conference tournament with an injury. The Storm have filled in the junior striker’s shoes admirably, with conference freshman of the year Teddy Baker scoring four goals in his last three playoff games, including two vs. Walsh in the conference tournament semifinals.
Baker’s torrid postseason has elevated him to second among all players in 2021 in total points with 24 as he goes into Thursday’s matchup with nine goals and six assists.
Getting Von Essen (9 G, 5 A, 23 PTS) back into the offensive fold is important for the Storm and head coach Louie Rolko as the league’s leader in points per game (1.53) gets acclimated back to game speed as quickly as possible.
Lake Erie, now 16-3-1, turns its focus to a relatively unfamiliar opponent in Fort Hays State. The Tigers are primarily affiliated with the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) but compete in men’s soccer with the Great American Conference (GAC) for a combined championship opportunity.
The Tigers are 14-5-2 overall after eliminating Wisconsin Parkside in the second round and FHSU won the GAC/MIAA crown over Northeastern State to earn the AQ into the championship field. The Tigers are defensive-minded program with eight shutouts against opponents this fall; Blake Arndt is a dangerous weapon to game plan against with nine goals and three assists for a team-leading 27 points.
Fort Hays State and Lake Erie were both seeded in the 2019 NCAA Championship Super Region 3 bracket, albeit opposite ends of the spectrum seeded at No. 8 and No. 1. Both programs had first-round exits back then, but are seasoned, hungry and more determined after getting this far in the postseason.
The game will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network with NCAA.com providing live stats coverage of the semifinal rounds.