Oct. 3, 2006

Final Stats

Contact: Josh Rattray

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Cleveland State fell behind, 3-0, in the first half and Rutgers added three more tallies in the second stanza as the Vikings fell, 6-1, at Rutgers on Tuesday (Oct. 3) night. With the loss, CSU falls to 4-7-1 while Rutgers evens its record at 6-6.

"Rutgers is a first-class team," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "They are big, strong, athletic and well-coached. That team is at a level that we will be very soon."

The Scarlet Knights, who were coming off a 1-0 win over 16^th-ranked South Florida, scored first at the 19:44 mark on an unassisted goal by Bart Koffeman. Zach Simi gave Rutgers a 2-0 lead in the 32^nd minute on a clear shot that found the upper left corner of the net. Kevin O'Connor fed Michael Crowley to give the Scarlet Knights a 3-0 lead at the 36:05 mark.

After Adam Lloyd gave Rutgers a 4-0 lead in the 60^th minute, freshman Bryan Henson got the Vikings on the board at the 64:49 mark. The tally was Henson's third of the season, which ties him for the second-highest total on the team.

Charlie Cox and Oliver Petersen would each score a goal late in the match to put the Vikings away, 6-1.

The Rutgers offense made CSU's goalies very busy men all night, as sophomore Kasey Gray notched six saves in the first half to go along with Rutgers' three scores. Freshman Dan Duric played the second stanza in goal for the Vikings, posting a career-high eight saves and also allowing three goals.

"Dan made some very nice saves, but Rutgers made some plays in the box that we just couldn't stop," Kazemaini said. "We won't let this match get us down. We need to get ready for another tough team in UIC."

The Vikings were outshot, 32-8, and Rutgers enjoyed a 14-2 edge in corner kicks. Both disadvantages were season-highs for CSU.

Sophomore Nenad Stojkovic led the Vikings with four shots, with all of them on goal. Freshman George Kephart also had a shot on goal.

The Vikings travel to UIC, which has been ranked as high as seventh in the nation this season, on Sunday (Oct. 8) for a 7:00 p.m. match.