Box Score The Nipissing Lakers men's soccer team was in search of a key victory Saturday afternoon as they hit the field at home.

The Lakers welcomed the Toronto Varsity Blues to North Bay, with Nipissing hoping to snap a four game winless slide, which included two straight draws.

It was an effort they can build off of in the long run, but the Lakers were on the wrong side of a 3-1 decision, coming up short against the Blues.

Despite a strong start and the better of the chances early on, the Lakers found themselves down 2-0 at the halftime whistle.

Toronto opened up the scoring 25 minutes into the game, burying one of their few chances in the first 45 minutes.

They doubled their lead about six minutes before halftime, once again capitalizing on a chance from a good spot.

Toronto managed to outshoot Nipissing 3-2 in the half, however, the Lakers did generate a good amount of pressure, as well as chances that didn't result in goals.

In the second half, Nipissing was able to wrestle momentum away from the Blues and began tipping the game in their favour.

A goal by veteran Isaac Ajani on a penalty kick gave the Lakers life and brought them within a goal with plenty of time left to push.

Unfortunately, a tough bounce near the Nipissing goal saw the Blues tap in their third goal, restore their two goal advantage and dash the Lakers hopes.

Another late push wasn't enough for Nipissing, as they fell by two.

Next up, the Lakers wrap up the regular season with a showdown against their rivals, the Queen's Gaels.

Game time is set for 2:15pm Sunday afternoon at the Nipissing Turf Field.