Oct. 14, 2007
Contact: Stefan Scheibelhoffer
Milwaukee (4-8-2, 4-0-1) scored two first half goals one minute a part to defeat Cleveland State 2-1 (3-8-2, 0-2-1) at Engelman Field in rainy weather conditions. The Panthers extend their unbeaten streak to five games, while the Vikings extend their winless streak to four.
Milwaukee's first goal of the match came at the 16:14 mark when freshmen Greg Rosenthal had a shot just past midfield that hit the wet field and hit the far post into the net. Head coach Ali Kazemaini says that they gave up another bad goal.
"That goal was frustrating," the coach says. "We play great defense and we just seem to give up bad goals at the wrong time."
The Panthers second goal was scored 1:34 later when Tenzin Rampa gave a beautiful pass through the penalty box area to Martin Castro who hammered a left foot shot passed Nick Harpel to put the score at 2-0.
Cleveland State finally ended their scoreless streak of 207 minutes without a goal when George Kephart became the first CSU player to score two goals this season as he had a two on one breakaway where Mike Barton made a pass to the back post where Kephart knocked it in.
"That goal was a big relief," Kazemaini says. "We are working so hard to get chances, but they always seem to be just an inch or two off. The goal was actually a surprise."
Cleveland State had a couple of opportunities in the second half to tie the game, but Milwaukee's goalkeeper Ryan German was up to the challenge. In the 66th minute Josh Williams got free on a breakaway and German came up with a big save that was shot right at him. The second came with just 29 seconds left in the match as Williams had a shot at point blank range off a corner kick, but German was once again up to the challenge and came up with the save. For the game, German recorded seven saves, while CSU's Nick Harpel recorded four. CSU out shot Milwaukee 16-12.
The game was played in less than ideal weather conditions as rain flooded the field, making the field nearly unplayable.
"The field was very wet," Kazemaini says. "We still tried to play through it but the wetness of the field made it tough for us to get any runs going."
The Vikings next play at home on October 19th against Butler.
