Oct. 5, 2004
Contact: David Barry
Mentor, OH - The Cleveland State men's soccer team got back to the .500 mark Tuesday night, notching a 3-1 victory over visiting Robert Morris at Mentor High School. Andreas Roaldset, David Prentice, and Seth Matisak each scored for the Vikings (4-4-2), who are unbeaten (3-0-1) at home.
"I thought that in the first 45 minutes tonight we played some of the best and most efficient soccer we've played all season," coach Pete Curtis said after the match. "We were tremendous in terms of keeping the ball and dictating the pace of the game."
Roaldset got the Vikings on the board when he converted a free kick from 20 yards away, bending his shot to the upper left side of the goal. Cleveland State would hold its 1-0 lead until the 74th minute when Prentice headed in a loose ball from eight yards away to give Cleveland State the insurance goal it needed.
Robert Morris responded just eight minutes later when Joe Di Buono finished a one-touch pass from Mark Klabnik to cut CSU's lead to 2-1.
"Their goal was definitely a letdown," Curtis said. "We lost our concentration. The boys wanted a clean sheet tonight and they are disappointed they did not get it."
Four minutes after Robert Morris scored, Spencer Lappin dribbled the ball into the box down the left side of the box and fed it to Matisak, who pocketed the ball into the net to secure the win for Cleveland State. It was Matisak's third goal of the season and Lappin's second assist.
"Seth was in the right place at the right time, and that goal sealed the win for us," Coach Curtis said. "But I was pleased with our effort tonight. The defense played well - and Cormac Finn again caused a lot of problems on the defensive side of the ball. David Prentice was dominant in set pieces and his goal was the least he deserved for his effort tonight."
The Vikings outshot Robert Morris, 23-8. Chris Black made his second start in goal for Cleveland State and stopped four shots en route to his second performance in which he conceded one goal. Colonial keeper Tomer Chencinski stopped eight shots for Robert Morris.
"This match showed this team's character," said Curtis. "Coming off an extremely disappointing game on Sunday, the guys came back to produce tonight. With such a young team it's certainly a testament to their character."
Cleveland State will next host UW-Green Bay on Saturday, Oct. 9th at 12:00 at Mentor High School. It will be the first home conference match for the Vikings, who are currently 0-1-1 in Horizon League play.
"We need to keep the momentum we had going early tonight," Curtis said. "The first 45 minutes of soccer we played tonight is the type of soccer we need to produce from here on out. We fought hard to play good soccer and that's what we will need to do again on Saturday."
