Lake Forest men's soccer opened up the postseason with a narrow 2-1 victory over Lawrence in the Midwest Conference quarterfinals, with
Tommy Sasfai scoring the winning goal in the second half.
Twenty seconds into the match, the visitors found room in the box, but a mistake by the Lawrence striker saw the ball travel over the goal line for a goal kick. As the two sides settled in,
Elijah Khaldun lifted a cross from deep in the attacking half that
Nathan Kostovetsky powered home. Unfortunately, the Foresters saw the offside flag raised on the play, meaning the game remained tied at zero.
It remained that way until the 43rd minute, when Kostovetsky fired home a
Rocky Rabago cross to give Lake Forest a 1-0 lead. However, Lawrence answered less than a minute later, capitalizing on a long throw routine to level the score at one going into the halftime break.
The Foresters dominated possession coming out of the break, and it paid off for the hosts. Eight minutes into the half, a corner by
Jimmy Cirbo found the head of
Mason Khamsouthavong. His deflection led the ball to
Tommy Sasfai, who took a one-time shot from the edge of the box and sent it into the roof of the net to give Lake Forest a 2-1 lead.
Lawrence responded well after going down, but could not find a dangerous chance in the moments that followed the Foresters goal. The Vikings struck the left post in the 82nd minute, and Lake Forest held on to win 2-1.
With the win, Lake Forest heads to Decorah, IA for the Midwest Conference semifinal match. The Foresters meet the tournament hosts, Luther, on November 7 at 11:00 a.m.
