Nov. 9, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Slavisa Ubiparipovic scored on a breakaway in the 76th minute to cap a Cleveland State comeback from a 1-0 halftime deficit as the third-seeded Vikings eliminated Wright State, 2-1, in the second round of the Horizon League Championship.
Cleveland State (8-7-3) advances to play No. 2 Butler on Friday (Nov. 14) at UIC in Chicago, Ill. Wright State closes the season with a 6-14-1 record.
"It is was good that we didn't panic when we fell behind and we kept going at them and doing the things that have allowed us to be successful this year," CSU head coach Ali Kazemaini said.
"Wright State did a nice job of countering our attack and it took us awhile to make some adjustments. It was a tough match," Kazemaini added.
Wright State opened the scoring at the 34:15 mark when Brandon Fleak scored on a rebound. CSU goalkeeper Nick Harpel was able to stop Fleak's initial shot but couldn't control the ball and Fleak pounced on it and tapped it in for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
The lead would hold until the second half when the Vikings evened the score at the 69:01 mark when Josh Williams scored his third goal of the season on an expertly executed play.
The Vikings caught the Raiders napping, playing a free kick from the right corner short to Marco DiFranco, who dribbled to the top of the box before playing a cross to John Wargo on the left side. Wargo controlled the cross and played it high into the middle where Williams headed it into the right corner of the goal.
"Josh did a nice job of reading the play and finding an open spot," Kazemaini said. "Once the pass came in, he moved toward it, got his head on the ball and put it into the goal."
Ubiparipovic gave the Vikings the lead for good at the 75:48 mark when he expertly finished a breakaway. Williams stopped a Wright State attack at the top of the box and started back the other way, lofting a pass low and slow down the middle that Ubiparipovic collected 15 yards inside the midfield line. With defenders converging on both sides, Ubiparipovic exploded down the middle towards goal and beat a charging Matt Koewler to the right side for his fifth goal of the season.
"Wright State did a good job of keeping Slavisa in check today, but when he gets a chance like that, he's going to finish it," Kazemaini said. "They never had a chance on the play."
Wright State, which had a 12-8 shot advantage in the match, had several opportunities to score in the final 15 minutes but Harpel kept the defense organized to repel all advances.
The best scoring opportunity came with 3:12 left when Michael Conley launched a shot in heavy traffic that Harpel made a diving stop to his right and then quickly gathered in the loose ball.
"I was a little worried after we scored to take the lead that we kind of fell back and let them come at us," Kazemaini said. "Instead of continuing to push and force play, we fell back and let them have some chances to tie the game. That is something that we are going to have to work on/"
Playing in cold and damp playing conditions that featured a temperature in the low 40's, an overcast sky and a light rain for most of the match, the Vikings did a nice job of controlling the tempo of play in the first 45 minutes as both teams managed just one shot on goal with Wright State scoring on theirs.
The win allowed Cleveland State to close the season with a 6-0-1 record at home, the first undefeated home season in school history. The .,928 winning percentage at home breaks the old school record of .800, which was set when CSU went 8-2 at home in 1989.
The win also snapped a five-match losing streak in the Horizon League Championship.
