Sept. 23, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cincinnati scored on a pair of breakaways in the first six minutes of the match and the Vikings could not recover as CSU fell, 4-1 to the Bearcats on Sunday at Krenzler Field.
The loss, CSU's third in a row, drops the Vikings record to 2-7 while Cincinnati improves to 3-4-1.
"Our central defense really let us down early," head coach Derrek Falor said. "All of our problems this year have come in the middle of the field and today was no different because three of Cincinnati's four goals came from the middle.
"Our injury situation hasn't helped, especially at midfield. To beat a team like Cincinnati, we need to have our best players on the field and that wasn't necessarily the case today."
The match was decided in the first six minutes. Melissa Bigg opened the scoring at the 3:27 mark when she fielded a deflected pass from Kendall Loggins and one-timed a shot beneath a diving Kelly Zinkiewich to give UC a 1-0 lead.
Cincinnati made it 2-0 less than three minutes later when Erin MacDonald broke free and beat Zinkiewich to the far post from 18 yards out.
The score would hold until well into the second half as CSU's defense stiffened and the offense began to create scoring opportunities.
"After we allowed those two goals, our defense started to put things together and we played pretty well, even though Cincinnati controlled play," Falor said.
The Bearcats extended their lead to 3-0 at the 62:21 mark when Loggins gathered in a loose ball off a MacDonald cornerkick and slid the ball into the net.
The Vikings came right back, scoring their first marker of the contest at the 73:57 mark when Abbie Kakias fed Heather Clapacs with a short pass off a free kick and Clapacs blasted a shot from just outside the box on the left side into the far corner of the net.
"It was good to see Heather get a goal today," Falor said. "She is so important to what we do offensively."
The Bearcats would add an insurance goal at the 77:33 mark when MacDonald's pass from the right wing found an open Bigg in the box. Bigg took one dribble before knocking the ball home.
Cincinnati held a decisive 17-5 edge in shots, including an 11-1 edge in the first half.
The Vikings continue their current three-game homestand this week when they host Robert Morris on Friday (Sept. 28) before beginning Horizon League play against Green Bay on Sunday (Sept. 30).
