Identical records, they have beaten the same team and both the Nipissing Lakers men's soccer team and the Laurentian Voyageurs are hoping their rivalry with each other gets them going.

Sitting with 1-3-0 records, only defeating RMC, both teams are eager to start their climb up the East Division standings and into a comfortable playoff position.

The Lakers advanced to the post-season last year, while Laurentian fell short and while both are currently in playoff spots now, they need to secure their position sooner rather than later.

Both teams haven't been able to find the back of the net like they have hoped in the first two weekends of the season, with the Lakers being shutout twice and scoring four of their five goals in one game, a win versus RMC.

Laurentian has a similar storyline, scoring all six goals this season on the weekend in Kingston, putting up four against RMC and two versus Queens.

Cody Vaillancourt and Ryan Roy, two rookies on the Lakers this year have scored four of Nipissing's goals and have been bright spot early on in the campaign.

Veteran Neil Van De Walle has the other Nipissing tally.

On their way to another playoff appearance, the Lakers defeated Laurentian twice last year, winning 4-2 in Sudbury and just four days later, picking up a 3-1 win over the Voyageurs.

Thanks to their two victories, Nipissing claimed the 2015 Riley Gallo Cup, a head-to-head series, combined with the women's teams, between the two northern schools.

This is the Lakers final game of four straight away from home, as they are back in North Bay Sept. 17 and 18 to host UOIT and Trent before heading back out on the road to close out September.

Regardless of where they're playing, the Lakers will need to be at their best to get back to .500 which will be their goal in the next few games, beginning with their matchup on Sunday.

The return date is Oct. 1 in North Bay, where the Lakers will host the Vees as part of Nipissing's 2016 Homecoming weekend.

While the beginning of the season sees Nipissing on the road the majority of the time – five out of the first eight games – the end of the year has the Lakers at home for fourth straight games.

If they can hang around the middle of the pack and make a late season push, the team could be in a good position to host a playoff game.

Kickoff Sunday is set for 2:15pm at the LU Soccer Fields in Sudbury.