RIPON, Wis. – The Lakeland University men's soccer team bounced back in fine fashion from a disappointing ending 24 hours earlier, defeating Ripon College 3-2 on the road Sunday afternoon.

The Muskies staked a two-goal lead for the second straight day but this time made it stand up to win and improve to 3-5-1 on the season. Lakeland tied its win total from the season before and has already clinched a better record with the three victories plus a tie so far this season.

Just one day after an overtime loss to Beloit College, the Muskies led for all but 84 seconds on Sunday, scoring quickly to take the lead. Alessandro Bianchi (Fr.-Venice, Italy) broke the ice in the second minute with his third goal of the season, with Andres Gonzalez (Fr.-Jamul, Calif.) assisting.

The lead stayed at a goal for a long time until Lakeland added on in the 36th minute. Ryoto Kinoshita (Sr.-Kanagawa, Japan) scored his second of the season with an assist from John Bentler (Sr.-Seattle,Wash.) to make it 2-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

Ripon (0-7-1 overall) cut into that lead before halftime when Christian Martinez hit a long shot from 30 yards out to make it 2-1, but the Muskies added on shortly after the halftime break when Lizandro Jimenez (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) scored unassisted to make it 3-1 in the 51st minute. The score remained there all the way until the final minute, when the Red Hawks scored with 32 seconds left to draw within a goal.

Ripon finished with a 22-10 advantage in shot attempts, including a 14-5 bulge in the second half, but both teams finished with eight shots on goal for the match. Alex VandenAvond (So.-Luxemburg, Wis.) made six saves in goal for his second win of the season.

Kenny Smith made five saves in goal for the Red Hawks. Christian Millan led Ripon with a game-high six shot attempts.

Lakeland opens Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play Tuesday when it travels to face Milwaukee School of Engineering at 7 p.m. in Milwaukee.