Oct. 7, 2005
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ashley Spahn's goal in the 85th minute helped fuel a second half Viking rally but it was not enough as defending Horizon League champion Detroit out-lasted CSU, 2-1, on Friday night at Krenzler Field.
Playing in less than ideal weather conditions that included a wet field, temperature in the low 50's and high winds, the Vikings fell behind 2-0 early in the second half before rallying.
"This was the best match that we have played in the year-and-a-half history of the program," head coach Derrek Falor said. "We stuck to our game plan for 90 minutes and refused to give up. Even though we had a short lull early in the second half, we were able to rally and finish strong.
"We played the ball at our feet all night long and it showed in our performance. We did a nice job of battling for balls at the midfield and controlling possession.
Detroit opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Allison Epple headed home a cross from Lauren Moss. The score held until the 57:01 mark when Epple fed a cross from the left side into the box and Kathy Banjavcic headed hit home to put the Titans ahead, 2-0.
The Vikings had several good opportunities to score in the second half and finally got on the scoreboard at the 84:20 mark when freshman Lisa Conway found Spahn on a pass into the box from 35 yards out and Spahn beat Titan netminder Katie Fortenberry from five yards out for the goal. It was the third goal of the year for Spahn, the most on the team.
CSU made another run in the final two minutes but could not get a quality shot on goal as time run.
The loss spoiled a strong performance in goal by freshman Erin Withrow, who faced 23 shots and made a career-high 12 saves.
"This was a monster game from Ashley Spahn tonight," Falor said. "We had to move her to defense because we were short-handed and she did an absolutely fabulous job of shutting down Mary Parker. Then she capped things off by going to the other end of the field and scored a goal."
With Spahn leading the defensive charge, CSU held Parker, the 2004 Horizon League Player of the Year, scoreless on five shots. that was quite an improvement on a year ago when she scored five goals and handed out two assists in the 13-0 CSU loss at Detroit last year.
"I think our players were motivated a bit from last year's match, but truthfully, only four players from that game were even on the field tonight. Still, it was in the back of their mind that they needed to make sure that that kind of score didn't happen again."
Falor singled out the play of Conway, a freshman midfielder who had been limited during the last several matches with a knee injury.
"Tonight's match was a coming out party for Lisa," Falor said. "For the first time since early in the year she was able to show the kind of play that she is capable of. She had a good week of practice and her knee is starting to come around. We need her to play like that to help control the play at midfield.
"Andrea Loejos was another player who stood out tonight. She joined the team last January as a walkon and has continued to get better and better. She was forward in high school but really stood out defensively tonight. It was a nice surprise."
The Vikings close out the home portion of the Horizon League schedule when they host Butler on Sunday (Oct. 9) beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Krenzler Field.
