Nov. 11, 2001
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Cleveland State (3-15-0) played 11 games this season decided by one goal - unfortunately, the Vikings came out on the winning side only three times. Yesterday's Horizon League quarterfinal match was no different, as No. 16 Wisconsin-Milwaukee (17-3-0) edged CSU, 3-2, in Milwaukee. The Panthers won the first meeting in Cleveland on Oct. 21 by a 1-0 margin.
UW-Milwaukee took an early 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when B.J. Blake scored on a pass from Kevin Roethe. The Vikings evened the match 17 minutes later when Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Joachim Walker (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) netted his team-best eighth goal of the season on an assist from Misha Levkov (Richmond Hills, Ontario/Bayview). However, the Panthers regained the lead exactly one minute later when Blake assisted on a goal by Chad Dombrowski.
UWM came out of the half and doubled its lead in the 51st minute when Blake tallied his second goal of the game on an assist from Kyle Lance. Just over a minute and a half later, CSU answered back on Levkov's third goal of the year on an assist from O.C. Haugen (Hornindal, Norway/Stryn). Unfortunately, the Vikings could not get the equalizer in the final 38 minutes.
The Panthers out-shot CSU 17-7 and held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks. UWM goalie Chris Dadaian was only forced to make two saves, while Josip Novkovic (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) made six stops for the Vikings.
With the victory, the top-seeded Panthers earned the right to host the Horizon League semifinals and championship next weekend (Nov. 16-17).
