Sept. 22, 2006

Final Stats

Contact: Brian McCann

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State junior Amber Rasmussen scored to give the Vikings an early 1ead just 13 seconds into the match but couldn't make it stand, falling, 2-1, to Indiana State on Friday night (Sept. 22) at Krenzler Field. CSU, now 1-8 on the season, has now lost six times by a one-goal margin. With the win, Indiana State moves to 4-4.

Rasmussen's tally came on the very first possession of the game. Junior Heather Clapacs took the ball in the middle of the field, found junior Shayna Back on the left side and Back fed Rasmussen to put the Vikings on top. It was Rasmussen's first marker of the season.

Indiana State's Rachel Gordon scored the equalizer at the 28:21 mark off a Lauren Podolski rebound.

"Scoring that early goal was great because it showed that we were ready to play early," head coach Derrek Falor said. "We played well at times tonight, but we need to learn to keep it up for 90 minutes."

The Vikings were the victims of a series of unfortunate injuries in the second half. Senior Andrea Loejos suffered a cut above her eye challenging for a header and minutes later sophomore Maggie Pugliese also came out with an injury. The Sycamores capitalized, with Podolski scoring the game-winner off a Sarah Whiteley pass at the 65:01 mark to take a 2-1.

"We had some mental breakdowns on defense in the second half," Falor said. "Granted, we had some injuries and some young players on our back line, but we had trouble keeping up with Indiana State. I give Indiana State a lot of credit, they have a lot of team speed and they compete hard."

The Vikings were outshot for the match, 16-6. Whiteley and Podolski each attempted three shots to lead the Sycamores.

Sophomore goalie Erin Withrow had a busy night, posting nine saves in 90 minutes of netminding. Withrow has now gone the distance seven times this season.

"I thought Erin had a solid game," Falor said. "She made a lot of good saves and kept our defense organized."

The Vikings starts a three-match road swing at Robert Morris on Tuesday (Sept. 26) at 4:00 p.m.