Aug. 24, 2011
Contact: Greg Murphy
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MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Cleveland State senior Samantha Salmon scored her second career goal in the 80th minute, helping the Vikings rally for a 3-2 victory at Robert Morris on Wednesday afternoon.
The win improved the Vikings to 2-1, while Robert Morris slipped to 2-1.
"This was a huge win for us, especially this early in the season," head coach Derrek Falor said. "This is always a tough place to play and we talked about that at halftime and how we had to fight through that apathetic feeling. I really think we picked up our intensity in the second half and to be able to come from behind twice and earn a win is a testament to the character that these girls have."
Holly Sieradzk gave the Colonials a quick 1-0 lead with a goal in the 12th minute, but the lead was short-lived as the Vikings came right back less than two minutes later.
Valerie Stahl sent a cross in from the left corner that found Taylor Vidovic at the near post where she redirected the ball into the net to tie the match at 1-1.
It stayed tied for just eight minutes as the Colonials Brianna Bell sent a long ball into the box that Ayana Davis was able to win and one-time a shot to put RMU up, 2-1.
The first half scoring was not done, however, as the Vikings tied the match at 2-2 as CSU scored another goal off a set piece, this time a corner kick. Kelcey Fisher started things with the service and Stahl was all alone at the backpost to head in the game-tying goal. It was her second goal in as many games.
It remained tied at 2-2 until the 80th minute when Salamon put the Vikings ahead. Natalie Daniels started the play by getting past a RMU defender and playing the ball back to Salamon in the middle of the box where she one touched it for the game-winning goal.
"Sam was only on the field for about 20 minutes today," Falor said. "When we put her in, we asked her to push forward at times and win the ball in midfield. She was very choosy in moving forward and picked an opportune time to move ahead. It was nice to see a senior come through in that situation."
The Vikings are now out of action until Sept. 2 when CSU hosts Bowling Green at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field.
