ASHLAND, Ohio – From the start, the Ashland men's soccer team was determined not to allow the Lake Erie Storm any room to breathe.
Freshman midfielder Louis Clark (Brighton, England/Hove Park) scored a goal 18 seconds after the opening kickoff of Ashland's 2-0 win over the Storm (2-9-1, 0-9-0 GLIAC) at Ferguson Field on Sunday (Oct. 10) afternoon.
Lake Erie keeper Ricky Carreira could have used a breather too. He stopped 16 shots in the loss. The 17 saves by the Storm (including one team save) were the most by an Ashland opponent in program history. The previous record came in a 14-0 win over Ohio Valley in 1999.
"We were relentless attacking them today," said AU head coach Jon Freeman. "It would have been nice to put in a couple more, but we're happy with the way we played."
Clark's goal set the tone for the rest of the game as the Eagles, who are ranked 15th in the country and second in the NCAA Midwest region, controlled possession throughout and limited quality chances for the Storm. The goal was the ninth of the season for Clark.
"Louis is a special player," said Freeman. "He's got a great touch on the ball and a nose for the goal."
Sophomore goalkeeper Kurt Innes (Vermilion, Ohio) made his second start of the season and earned his first career shutout. He made four saves in the winning effort.
"It felt good to get the start and even better to get the clean sheet," said Innes.
After Clark's goal, the Eagles found the back of the net once more, in the 31st minute when senior striker Kelly Desmond (Westerville, Ohio/North) converted on a penalty kick for his second goal of the season.
The Eagles (8-3-1, 6-0-1 GLIAC) dominated the game throughout, but they just weren't rewarded for their effort, mostly because of Carreira.
"Their keeper had a great game," said Freeman. "He made some tough saves. We didn't do all we could to stretch him out, but he was great."
Ashland out-shot Lake Erie, 30-10. It was the most shots by the Eagles since an 8-0 win over Northwood on Sept. 12, 2001. They fired 34 shots in that game.
The Eagles now have four days off and will return to the field on Friday (Oct. 15) night at Northwood for a GLIAC contest. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. Ashland beat the Timberwolves, 2-1, at Ferguson Field on Oct. 1.
AU
MSOC/BB