Oct. 26, 2007
Contact: Stefan Scheibelhoffer
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Renato Susnja scored two goals and added an assist and Detroit scored three second half goals en route to a 4-0 win over Cleveland State in Horizon League action Friday night at a rainy Krenzler Field.
The victory improves the Titans to 5-9-5 overall and 1-4-3 in league play, while the Vikings fall to 3-11-2 (0-6-1 HL).
"We just didn't play well tonight and couldn't get anything going, especially in the second half," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "We need to put this game behind us and prepare for Sunday's match at Duke."
The evening started out nice for the Vikings as seniors Roshard Gilbert and Tom Sadd were honored in pre-match ceremonies as the duo played the final home match of their careers.
However, it was all Detroit after that as the Titans started the scoring just 5:36 into the match when Renato Susnja scored on an unassisted goal as he took a ball in the middle of the field and rifled a shot 10 yards away to give the Titans an early 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way until the 64:25 mark when Detroit took advantage of a Viking miscue. Ken Simon started the play with a free kick from 35 yards out that CSU goalkeeper Nick Harpel misplayed. Sunsnja was in the right place at the right time for the Titans as he connected on a header for his second goal of the match and seventh of the season.
Detroit put the match out of reach with a pair of late goals that came 38 seconds apart. Simon Zahra started the flurry as he took a pass from Susnja and fired a shot from 20 yards out that beat Harpel at the 86:07 mark. Just 38 seconds later, Matt Spencer received a cross from Brandon Powell from 10 yards out and flicked a shot past Harpel for his first goal of the season.
The Titans dominated in almost every facet of the game, including shots (21-5) and corner kicks (8-7). Harpel finished with five saves, while Detroit's Bryan Kloss recorded three saves to earn the shutout.
CSU returns to action on Sunday (Oct. 28) when it travels to 23rd-ranked Duke for a 6:00 pm match.
