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Vikings Drop 1-0 Heartbreaker at No. 18 Ohio State

Vikings Drop 1-0 Heartbreaker at No. 18 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's soccer team fell to Ohio State on Wednesday night, 1-0.

The Vikings dropped to 6-7-1 overall while the No. 18 Buckeyes improved to 9-4-2. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for CSU.

In their final non-conference match of the season, the Vikings fought hard for all 90 minutes.

At the halftime break, the score was knotted in a scoreless draw. Aleksandar Drobac made three saves in the half and the Vikings were able to tally three shots, two from Kevin Blackwood and one from Jake Lagania.

The second half played out similar to the first as both defenses held strong and did not allow a goal through 89 minutes. The CSU defense, once again led by Sergio Manesio, Mustafa Raychouni, James Milli and Kareem Banton, held Ohio State to half as many shots in the second half (4) as they totalled in the first (8).

Looking for their third consecutive 90-minute shutout, the Vikings were simply unfortunate as Ohio State's Christian Soldat found himself in the right place at the right time with just 13 seconds left, finishing a loose ball from the leg of Jacob Duska to give the Buckeyes the 1-0 lead and ultimately the win.

Dan Koniarczyk added a shot for the Vikings in the second half.

Drobac dropped to 4-3-1 in net, totalling four saves. Blackwood led the Vikings in shots for the second straight game.

The Vikings will be back in action this Saturday (Oct. 24) for their final regular season home game at Krenzler Field at 1:00 p.m. against Milwaukee. The team will honor six seniors on Saturday for Senior Day; Raychouni, Drobac, Victor Zamora, Nick Kane, Alvaro Pichardo and Cheo Armstrong.