Sept. 28, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Eric Gehrig and Scott Waggoner each scored a pair of goals and Loyola added the back-breaker with just three seconds left in the first half as the Ramblers upended Cleveland State, 5-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Loyola Soccer Park.
Cleveland State falls to 1-6-2 overall and 0-2 in league play while Loyola improves to 5-2-1 and 1-1 against Horizon League opponents.
"I don;t think that we came out and played defensively with the commitment that we have had in the past," CSU head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "We allowed a couple of goals in the first half on plays that we should have defended easily.
"It is frustrating right now because just last Sunday night at Akron, we showed that we could play at a high level. Then we come to Chicago and laid a couple of eggs this week to start the league season.
"We are going to come home this week, maybe take a little time off to rest and get healthy and then get ready to face Green Bay and Milwaukee next week. A little home-cooking might be exactly what we need."
Loyola opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Gehrig took a feed on the left wing from Reed Cataldo and blasted a shot that eluded Viking goalkeeper Nick Harpel.
Gehrig added the second marker as well when he gathered in a cross from Mark Halma in the middle of the field and redirected it into the net.
Loyola put to rest any hopes of a Viking comeback when Waggoner headed home a goal from the middle of the box at the 44:57 mark to send the Ramblers to the intermission with a 3-0 lead.
Keum Sung Kim scored off a free kick in the 58th minute and Waggoner added his second goal at the 70:40 mark to close out the scoring.
Loyola had a 20-7 edge in shots in the match with 11 of those coming on goal. Harpel made five saves for the Vikings while Loyola's Brad Sommer made six stops to record the shutout.
The match ended a stretch that has seen CSU open the season by playing eight of its first nine contests on the road. The Vikings return home this week to face Green Bay on Friday (Oct. 3) and Milwaukee on Sunday (Oct. 5) to start a four-match home stand.
