Sept. 24, 2003
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's soccer team rallied again for their sixth win in their last seven games, defeating Pitt 3-2 on Wednesday at Krenzler Field. Stephen Ademolu added a pair of goals, while David Stewart collected his second career goal in the win.
"We put ourselves in a situation we shouldn't have been in," head coach Pete Curtis said. "We were forced to dig our way out of a hole again, and we've got some quality teams ahead that won't give us that opportunity."
The Vikings fell behind 18 minutes into the match when Clay Haflich scored for Pitt, knocking a header in off a Panther free kick. Ademolu tied the game in the 37th minute, taking Pittsburgh goalkeeper Justin Lowery one-on-one after a pass from David Prentice and beating him for the open goal. The Panthers pulled ahead just before the half, as Keeyan Young blasted a loose ball in the Viking penalty area past goalkeeper Josh Cain.
"Even though we fell behind, the guys never quit," Curtis said. "They never consider themselves out of a game, they keep working. And as long as we've got the speed, strength and size up front that we do, we aren't ever out of a game."
Cleveland State tightened up the defense in the second half, allowing Pitt to take just four shots. The Vikings kept attacking, and tied the game on Stewart's second goal of the season in the 81st minute. Ademolu crossed a low ball into the penalty area that was knocked around before Stewart finally tapped it into the back of the net.
Ademolu notched the gamewinner seven minutes later, finishing off a 45 yard run by Spencer Lappin. Lappin, who got the ball near midfield, used a speed run to get past a Pitt defender, then made another miss before finding Ademolu in the middle of the box. Ademolu then sidestepped Lowery and hit his second goal of the match.
"The run by Spencer was beautiful," Curtis said. "He showed his strength, pace and ball handling ability on that run, and Stephen did a good job of finishing."
The Vikings played without senior defender Benny Eck, who received a red card in Saturday's win over UIC. Also out of the match was junior goalkeeper Amir Kettani, who was replaced by Cain, making his first collegiate start.
"We made some adjustments in the back, and I thought the guys played pretty well there," Curtis said. "We had several moments of indecision that Pitt made sure we were punished for. Josh Cain also played very well, his kicks, even into the wind in the first half, were outstanding."
Cleveland State will next face Horizon League rival UW-Milwaukee at 7 p.m. on Friday at Krenzler Field.
