Oct. 17, 2004
Contact: David Barry
Mentor - The Cleveland State men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to Loyola Sunday afternoon in Horizon League play at Mentor High School. Cleveland State (5-7-2, 0-3-1) remains winless in the conference.
"We are bitterly disappointed," coach Pete Curtis commented after the match. "This was our most disappointing performance this season. The match certainly underlines the youth of this team, and reflected the inconsistency of our performances from game to game.
The Ramblers (2-10-1) scored first in the 66th minute when Lee Zarzecki broke loose on the left side of the box and crossed the ball to the six yard line, finding a wide open Joe Nierzwicki, who finished to the far side of the goal. Loyola added another in the 79th minute when Mark Eckerle finished a ball that was misplayed by the Vikings defense in the box. Eckerle's finish gave Loyola a two-goal cushion.
"Over the course of this season our defense has performed very well," Curtis noted. "We just made two mistakes today, and we paid for it."
The Cleveland State loss comes just two days after the Vikings upended Buffalo, 1-0, at Lost Nation Sports Park in Mentor.
"It's frustrating, but we must hope and believe these experiences will strengthen us in future seasons," Curtis said. "Hopefully we learn from this and it strengthens our results in the future."
Loyola outshot Cleveland State, 13-6, and also held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks. Amir Kettani posted three saves in goal for Cleveland State.
The Vikings will host their final match of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 20th at 7:00 p.m. at Mentor High School. Cleveland State will take on Detroit and will again be seeking the first conference win of the season.
"Detroit will present stern opposition," Curtis noted. "After seeing the result from today, I have no doubt they will come in here feeling very confident. We need to put the disappointment of today behind us and reproduce the kind of form that has given us cause for optimism, proving we are capable of getting the job done."
