KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan scored less than two minutes before halftime and the goal held up in a 1-0 victory over Cleveland State in nonconference women's soccer action on Sunday afternoon.
The loss dropped CSU to 2-2 this season, while the Broncos improved to 1-2.
"We didn't do a very good job of meeting the challenge presented to us with our two games this weekend," head coach Derrek Falor said. "We were a little overwhelmed by the pressure from Western Michigan today and had a hard time of getting anything going offensively in the box. We need to find a better way to increase the intensity in our training and be prepared for what's coming our way on the field."
The lone goal of today's match came just 1:55 before halftime and was almost a carbon copy of the goal Kent State scored against the Vikings on Friday night.
WMU goalkeeper Michelle Watson sent a punt downfield that bounced in front of the CSU defense that Nicole Hatcliffe gained possession of. She took the ball into the box and beat Sarah Wood from about eight yards out.
"We need to be more aggressive and win the ball in that situation," Falor said. "It's a current flaw that we have and needs to be addressed moving forward."
It would be the only goal WMU would need as the Vikings could not get anything going on the offensive end, being out-shot, 18-2.
A total of 19 players saw the field for CSU today as the Vikings were playing for the second time in three days, while WMU had been idle for a week.
"We wanted to get some fresh legs on the field and try some different combinations and see if we could get something going," Falor said.
Wood finished the day with nine saves, raising her season total to 34 through four games.
"Sarah did a great job at keeping us in the game today," Falor said.
Watson made one save for the Broncos.
CSU returns to action on Friday (Sept. 6) when the Vikings play their first of two games in Florida, traveling to Miami (Fla.) for a 7:00 p.m. match. CSU plays at Florida International on Sunday (Sept. 8) at 1:00 p.m.
