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Vikings Defeat Fifth Seeded Wright State, 2-1

Vikings Defeat Fifth Seeded Wright State, 2-1

CLEVELAND, Ohio-  The Cleveland State men's soccer team defeated fifth seeded Wright State, 2-1, on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championships.

The Vikings (8-12-0) had key goals from freshman midfielder Sergio Manesio and senior forward James Howe in the match.  Manesio started the scoring early in the match as he netted a lobber from the top of the box off of a corner kick to give the Vikings an early 1-0 lead.  Mike Derezic and Danilo Radjen were credited on the assist.

The Raiders of Wright State would answer off of Manesio's score, as Greg Merchand scored from eight yards out at the 14th minute-mark to tie the game at one apiece.  The score remained tied heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Vikings put the finishing touches on WSU.  At the 60th minute-mark Howe booted a 15 yard screamer past Wright State's goalie Tyler Blackmer to give the Green and White a 2-1 lead.  The Vikings defense kept the Raiders away from the net, and Howe's goal would eventually be the game winner to send Cleveland State to Chicago.  The Vikings outshot the Raiders 15-5 in the match and Austin Saini relieving Nick Ciraldo at goalkeeper, notched his fourth win of the year.

CSU advances to the semifinals where the Vikings will play at top-seeded UIC on Friday at 5:00 p.m. EST.