Nov. 12, 2010
Watch Cleveland State vs. Butler Highlights
Contact: Dan Carr
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - For 75 minutes it looked like Cleveland State was going to advance to the Horizon League Championship match. But it was not to be, as Butler scored twice in the last 15 minutes, including on a penalty kick with 43 seconds left in the second half, to hand the Vikings a 2-1 defeat on Friday (Nov. 12).
Cleveland State, which lost to the Bulldogs in the conference semifinals for the second consecutive season, finishes the year 9-10-1.
"It's disappointing, especially the way it ended," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "To lose with 40 seconds to go on a penalty kick is a very disappointing way to a end what was a very hard-fought game."
The penalty kick came when Audric Kilroy was called on a tackle inside the box. Ben Sippola, the Horizon League's Player of the Year took the shot for the Bulldogs, lining up against CSU's Brad Stuver, the Horizon League's Goalkeeper of the Year. Stuver initially guessed wrong on the direction, but reversed himself midshot and came within inches of making the save.
Instead, Sippola `s shot went through, and the Vikings, who had left for most of the game, could only watch as their season came to an end.
"It's especially tough to lose here, at Butler, because that's what happened last year," Kazemaini said. "Butler is a very good team, and I won't try to take anything away from what they've accomplished this year, but I thought this game was ours. We played hard, and to have it end on a penalty kick instead of a normal goal is just really disappointing."
Cleveland State enter the match 8-0 on the season when scoring first, and it looked like the Vikings would continue that streak on Friday. Audric Kilroy took a long pass up the middle from Manuel Conde and beat Butler's goalkeeper. The Bulldogs had not trailed all season prior to that CSU score.
The Vikings played tough defense from that point on, but could only manage a handful of shot attempts from that point forward. Aaron Adkins had two very good looks at the net, with one ball going off the crossbar and another ricocheting off the post.
Butler, meanwhile, controlled the pace of the match in the second half, spending most of the period possessing the ball in Cleveland State territory. The Bulldogs outshot the Vikings, 10-4, in the second half.
"Our bench just wasn't strong enough in the second half," Kazemaini said. "We got tired. They pressed us with a lot of long passes, and they wore us down with a lot of shots. We just got to the point where we couldn't keep up on every play. Fitness was an issue, and it's something we will have to address in the offseason."
Butler got back into the match in 76th minute when Julian Cardona took a pass from Sippola and sent it into the back left side of the net. Stuver had a very good angle on the ball but just missed it, one of Stuver's rare misses on the day. The CSU goalkeeper finished with seven saves, and his play was a big part of the reason why the Vikings were still up 1-0 with about 15 minutes remaining.
The Vikings had played Butler last Friday (Nov. 5), with the result of that match being a 0-0 tie in double overtime. Including that match, the Vikings had shutout Butler, the No. 6 team in the country and the owners of the eighth-best scoring offense, for 188:33 minutes.
"Defensively we played very well," Kazemaini said. "I guess this is just an example of the importance of having home field advantage. Butler had a week off, they didn't play on Tuesday like we did, and they got to just wake up and come to the field. Our guys were playing their third match in eight games, it's only natural that they would get a little tired. We learned today why it is so important to play well all season long, and hopefully next year we can have the home field."
With that loss, the Vikings' season is over. Cleveland State will only graduate three seniors this year, however, and Kazemaini sees a lot of potential for improvement next season.
"We did a lot of good things this year," Kazemaini said. "We had a lot of freshmen play, and I'm very happy with how we played at the end of the year. We developed chemistry and a sense of belief that we could beat anybody, and I think that sets us up for a good season next year."
