Lakeland Mirror

Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Carlos Millan Derek Pitterle and Bobby Rublee in the Oct. 27 game against MSOE.

The Lakeland men's soccer team played MSOE on Oct. 27 at home.

The men fought through a tough battle going into double over time at 1-1 but in the end MSOE found the net ending in a 2-1 loss for the Muskies. Jacob Kleinschmidt scored the lone goal on an assist from senior Ted Cormier. Freshman goalkeeper Alex Piekarski saved six shots for Lakeland.

In what would be Lakeland's last game of the season, the Muskies fought hard against Edgewood College at their home field in Madison, Wis. This was the first game in the Northern Athletic Conference Tournament. The men fell behind in the beginning of the game and only at the 77 minute mark showed a comeback, when sophomore Ben Koepsell scored his eighth goal of the season. This goal puts him on top for goals recorded this season.

"We played an okay match, but let Edgewood dictate things in the first half," Lakeland coach David Madsen said. "We made adjustments to increase our attack at the half, and we created a lot of chances in the second half." The final score was 3-1, ending the Muskies' season. The Muskies finished out the year with an overall record of 8-10-1 and 6-5 in the NAC.

Looking back on the season, Coach Madsen has many constructive thoughts. "We made a lot of progress as a team and we had just as many wins as last season. We need to work on building up our team for next year and when we have a lead to keep it in our favor. The men have made lots of chances for themselves, and that's what we need to keep up."

Coming up in men's soccer, the recruiting process is going well. The coaches are doing heavy recruiting for fall 2010, having high school students visit the campus and meet the team. As far as the graduate assistant position for the following year, coaches plan on having Sam Schroeder stay in as the GA for the men's team. Coach Madsen said that "Sam has been a great help to the team and is a consistently hard working person."

In the spring, the Muskies will compete in the annual 7 v. 7 tournament on the weekend of Apr. 17 and 18. The men's alumni game will be the following weekend. Before this, the men will have the winter strength and conditioning and then the spring season training sessions. This will take about eight weeks. Good luck to the men in their future, and have a healthy off-season.

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