Dragons prepare for GMAC Final Four in Dayton

Tiffin will take on Lake Erie in the GMAC Semifinals Nov. 14 at 7:30 pm.
Tiffin will take on Lake Erie in the GMAC Semifinals Nov. 14 at 7:30 pm.

Tiffin (9-4-5) will take on Lake Erie (18-1) at 7:30 pm Nov. 14 in GMAC Semifinal action.

The top four seeds in the bracket were given all they could handle and ultimately prevailed in Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship quarterfinal action last Saturday.
 
No. 2 Ohio Valley, No. 3 Cedarville and No. 4 Tiffin, each won by one-goal margins of victory to move into the semifinals. Top seeded Lake Erie earned a 3-0 victory at home. 
 
The semifinals will be conducted at Roger Glass Stadium on the campus of Chaminade Julienne High School. The championship banquet will be on Wednesday with the all-conference team announced that evening.

It looked like Tiffin and fifth-seeded Walsh would be headed to overtime before Abdoul Magid Sy scored his second goal of the game late in regulation. The Dragons crashed the box and formed a crowd off of Lucas Manneck's beautiful set corner piece.
 
Prior to Tiffin facing Lake Erie at 7:30 pm, Cedarville will face Ohio Valley in the 5 p.m. contest. All four teams remaining from the conference bracket are ranked in NCAA Super Region 3.

Lake Erie, ranked fourth nationally and first in Super Region 3, forged ahead against No. 8 seed Malone with a 3-0 victory. The Pioneers had given the Storm fits in their only regular-season meeting, so the No. 1/8 matchup certainly wasn't a done deal for LEC in terms of seeding.
 
Jonathon Carr scored his league-leading 13th goal of the season before he was helped out by Tom Akinola and Ameer Saade later in the game. 

Lake Erie and Tiffin boast the conference's best offenses and defenses. The Storm have scored a GMAC best 46 goals followed by Tiffin's 38, while LEC has allowed a GMAC lowest 6 goals while Tiffin is next with 14. Overall Lake Erie has a 0.31 GAA while Tiffin is at 0.73.

Leading the attack for LEC is Carr with 13 goals and 5 assists for 31 points. Akinola has 8 goals, 3 assists, and 19 points, while Ayden Von Essen also has 7 goals and 6 assists for 20 points. Javier Borreguerro gives LEC additional depth with 4 goals and 7 assists for 15 points while Ameer Saade has 4 goals and 6 assists for 14 points. Tom John is in the nets, making 63 saves.

For the Dragons, Leo Hasenstab continues to excel with 12 goals an 2 assists for 26 points. Darren Appanah (5 goals, 2 assists), Joel Daly (4 goals, 3 assists), Eduardo Carvalho (3 goals, 3 assists), and Caleb Gibbons (3 goals, 3 assists) also lead the attack. Dylan Morris has excelled in the nets once again, making 55 saves.