Oct. 9, 2002
CLEVELAND - Cleveland State overcame a sluggish first half to defeat Loyola Chicago (3-9-0/0-5-0 HL) 3-2 Thursday night at Krenzler Field. On the strength of their first three-game winning streak since 1993, the Vikings improve to 7-5-0 overall and move a game ahead of UW-Milwaukee in the Horizon League race (4-0-0).
Sophomore Stephen Ademolu (Windsor, Ontario/Herman) struck in fourth minute on an assist from senior O.C. Haugen (Hornindal, Norway/Stryn) to put CSU on top 1-0. Five of Ademolu's seven goals this season have come in the first 15 minutes, with CSU going 4-1 in those contests.
However, Ademolu's shot was the only one the Vikings would record in the first half, as they were out-shot 13-1. The Ramblers constant pressure finally paid dividends in the 30th minute when sophomore Drew Sypura netted his first goal of the year on assists from Adam Hitchman and Joe Nierzwicki. Loyola surged in front seven minutes later when Nierzwicki headed in his fifth goal of the season. Danny Herbst and C.J. Bachmann assisted on the play.
Just five minutes into the second half, Ademolu knotted the match at 2-2. Junior Brendon White's (D'abadie, Trinidad/St. Andrew) and freshman Bryan Fecke (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) picked up assists on the play. CSU then reclaimed the lead in the 58th minute when Ademolu broke free on the left side and crossed the ball to senior Joachim Walker (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay). Walker hit the post with his first shot, but calmly collected the rebound and deposited it in the back of the net for his fourth goal of the year. On their first five shots, the Vikings scored three goals and hit the post twice.
Sophomore goalkeeper Amir Kettani (Kirtland, Ohio/Lake Catholic) made six saves to earn his third consecutive victory. Kettani dodged a bullet when Herbst ripped a shot off the post with just 41 seconds remaining.
With three Horizon League matches remaining, the Vikings have assured themselves of their first winning season in nine years in the conference. The last time CSU was over .500 in league play was when it posted a 5-1-2 mark in 1993 (CSU's last year in the Mid-Continent Conference).
Cleveland State looks to pick up its fourth win in a row when the Vikings travel to Illinois-Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 13 for a 2:00 p.m. EDT match.
