Huge win to start home regular season for Rustlers

Men's soccer at Lakeland was looking for a strong start to the season and after dropping their road opener, showed poise in bouncing back on Sunday.

The Rustlers faced the Concordia Thunder, a team they split their series with last fall. A quick pace marked the opening minutes of the half, broken by Sam Dosumu notching the first goal. Concordia answered seven minutes later and the teams were tied at the half.

In the second, some key adjustments by the Lakeland coaching staff resulted in multiple scoring chances, which the players capitalized on. Nate Tran finished off a nice pass from Yassin Hassen, Kristian Krokis added another and then Tran scored on two consecutive penalties for the hattrick. After the Thunder got one back thanks to reserve Cameron Holman, Lakeland stayed steady, adding one more tally near the end, courtesy og Gavin Quinlan.

Hassen, who had two assists, was named Player of the Game, with Stephane Gnago getting the nod for Concordia. This improves the Rustlers record to 1-1

Next for Lakeland is a critical road trip to Edmonton to take on the King's Eagles, a team they battled against fiercely last year.