Nov. 15, 2002
Box Score | Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament Page
MILWAUKEE - For the first time in school history, the Cleveland State soccer team is playing in a conference title game. The Vikings (10-10-0) scored four unanswered second half goals en route to defeating Illinois-Chicago 5-3 Friday afternoon in Milwaukee to advance to Sunday's Horizon League Championship match. The win avenges a 5-2 regular season loss at UIC (10-8-2) and breaks an eight-game losing streak against the third-seeded Flames.
"We all worked too hard to just settle for being in the semifinals," noted senior Adam Musser (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard). "We proved that when we play as a team, we can beat anybody."
Sophomore Stephen Ademolu (Windsor, Ontario/Herman) got the scoring started for the second-seeded Vikings just over four minutes into the match when he took a pass from Musser and ripped a shot from eight yards out on the right side.
The lead was short-lived however, as the Flames' Sinisa Ubiparipovic answered just 26 seconds later when he volleyed a cross from Micah Howser into the back of the net. The score remained knotted until the 33rd minute when Ubiparipovic nutmegged his defender on the left side and sent a cross to Patrick Grange. Grange then touched a pass to a wide-open Dennis King for UIC's second goal.
Trailing 2-1 coming out of the locker room, Ademolu got the equalizer just six minutes into the second half. Senior O.C. Haugen (Hornindal, Norway/Stryn) took a free kick from 20 yards out on the left side that Ademolu nodded in with the back of his head for his team-leading 11th goal of the year.
Just three minutes later, Musser worked a give-and-go with senior Joachim Walker (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) on the left side of the penalty box. Musser found himself open five yards from the net and promptly put the ball away for his third goal of the season.
The Vikings clung to their one-goal lead for the next 20 minutes, before putting the game out of reach at the 74:47 mark. Jumping just past midfield, Ademolu headed a goal kick to Walker, who then slotted a perfect pass to sophomore J.R. Trandal (Selje, Norway/Stryn). Trandal carried the ball down the right side and then rocketed the game-winning shot just inside the far post.
Senior Matt Milcetich (Ravenna, Ohio/Kent, Ohio) tallied CSU's final goal when he headed in a free kick from Walker in the 81st minute. Walker matched the Horizon League tournament single-game record with three assists. The Flames added a meaningless goal in the game's final minute to close out the scoring.
"We came out in the second half believing we could do it," pointed out CSU Head Coach Pete Curtis. "Our seniors have seen the dark days and now they're playing for the championship."
Senior goalkeeper Josip Novkovic (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) made four saves, three of them of the spectacular variety, to preserve the victory. Novkovic also got a little help from his defenders who cleared three potential goals off of the goal line.
"This justifies everything we've done," said Milcetich who, along with Musser, Novkovic and John Schaller (Medina, Ohio/Medina), was on the 1999 team that won just two games. "Everyone was on the same page and for the first time since I've been here, no one doubted that we would come back to win."
Picked eighth in the preseason coaches poll, the Vikings will face top-seeded and eighth-ranked UW-Milwaukee (17-1-1). The Panthers extended their winning streak to 17 games with a 3-1 victory over Butler (8-10-4) in the other semifinal. The championship match is set for Nov. 17 at noon CST at Engelmann Field on the UWM campus. In the regular season meeting, the Panthers defeated the Vikings 7-0 on Oct. 27 in Milwaukee.
