Aug. 25, 2006
Contact: Josh Rattray
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Freshman Andrew Gutting scored a goal and handed out an assist and Cleveland State scored two goals in each half, winning for the first time in 25 matches as the Vikings routed Robert Morris, 4-0, on Friday night at Krenzler Field.
The victory marked the triumphant debut for first year Viking head coach Ali Kazemaini, who was a two-time All-American as a player at CSU in the 1980's and took over as head coach last winter after 14 years at crosstown John Carroll.
"It couldn't feel any better than this," Kazemaini said. "Tonight was a great team effort. We were really working hard on both sides of the field and we had some great individual performances. Everyone on the field was great and (sophomore) Kasey (Gray) was awesome in goal."
The Vikings, who went 0-17-1 in 2005, opened the match with eight freshmen in the starting lineup and used 11 first-year players in the contest.
CSU opened the scoring at the 17:17 mark of the opening half when sophomore Nenad Stojkovic converted a penalty kick set up by a penalty called when freshman Marco DiFranco was tripped in the penalty box.
The Vikings extended the lead to 2-0 in the 28th minute when George Kephart fed fellow freshman Andrew Gutting with a beautiful pass down the middle and Gutting used his speed to break in all alone, beating Colonial keeper Matt Felice to the far corner.
"We had a three-on-one," Kazemaini said. "Andrew had guys open but he saw that the goalie read pass and he sneaked it past the keeper."
CSU made it a 3-0 match at the 48:46 mark when freshman Peter Wagner scored off a pass from Gutting from the left side, 10 yards out.
Freshman Marco DiFranco would put the final tally on the board in the 83rd minute, firing a shot 20 yards out from the right side over Felice's head top-right corner.
Cleveland State controlled the match throughout, registering 16 shots, including 10 on goal, compared to just nine for the Colonials. The match, the season opener for both squads, was a physical affair, with seven cards issued, six of them yellow. The Vikings received three yellow cards. Robert Morris played the entire second half with 10 players.
"There was a lot of energy for both teams," Kazemaini said. "Robert Morris is a tough team. I think nerves were an issue on both sides.
"The key for us now is to stay humble. We played well but we still have a lot to learn."
The win sets the stage for this Sunday (Aug. 27) when Canisius comes to Krenzler Field.
