CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's soccer team dropped its Horizon League opener on Saturday night, 1-0 in overtime to Wright State.
The Vikings fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the Horizon League while the Raiders improved to 6-1 overall, 1-0 in the league.
It was a physical first half at Krenzler Field that ultimately led to a scoreless first half. Though both teams had opportunities, Wright State headed into the break leading shots 7-3. All of Cleveland State's shots were on goal in the half, two by Victor Zamora and one headed nearly to the back of the net by Jake Lagania. In the 40th minute, Wright State's Peguy Ngatcha broke free behind the Cleveland State defense, but goalkeeper Nick Ciraldo made a spectacular save to keep the tie into the half.
The second half was a deja-vu of the first half as the two sides battled back and forth, only to come up empty. As was the case with the Raiders in the first period, the Vikings nearly netted a goal twice as both Lagania and Gianluca DiFranco had open lanes to the goal only to have Wright State goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer save the shutout each time with a save. The Vikings outshot Wright State 4-3 in the second half.
In regulation, CSU led shots on goal 5-3.
The overtime period ended as fast as it began. Just 30 seconds into OT, Ngatcha notched his fifth goal of the season on a cross into the box from Jackson Dietrich as the Raiders scored the game's first and only goal for the 1-0 victory.
Cleveland State will be back in action this Wednesday (Sept. 23) when they host Cincinnati in a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match at Krenzler Field.
