Oct. 21, 2006
Contact: Brian McCann
The loss drops the Vikings to 2-15 overall and 0-6 in league play while UW-Green Bay improves to 8-5-2 overall and 3-2-1 in league action.
"We did a nice job of playing on the 40 yards on both sides of midfield," head coach Derrek Falor said. "Unfortunately, the field is over 100 yards long and we didn't do a very good job at either end of the field.
"Offensively, we were able to move the ball up and down the field, but once we got into the scoring zone, we weren't able to put together any great scoring opportunities. At the other end of the field, Green Bay let its All-American loose and she (Gross) played liked it. We weren't able to come up with an answer defensively for her."
Gross got the Phoenix on the board in the 35th minute when she gathered a cross from Meghan Merryfield on the right side to beat Viking goalkeeper Erin Withrow. Gross then pushed the game to 2-0 in the 43rd minute when she connected with Kari Olsen on a free kick on the right side to place the ball in the side netting.
Gross added two second-half goals in the 65th and 69th minutes, with her third goal coming again off of Olsen's assist on a one-time volley.
CSU was outshot 20-6 in the contest with Withrow making five saves in goal and Ashley Kidwell coming off the bench to add three saves in the final 15 minutes.
Falor singled out the play of sophomores Abbie Kakias and Lisa Conway as leading CSU. "Those two (Kakias & Conway) came ready to play tonight," Falor said. "Abbie did a great job in one-on-one defending while Lisa continues to shine as midfielder who is capable of controlling possession and create scoring opportunities."
The Vikings return home to play their final two regular season matches of the year, starting with a Sunday night (Oct. 22) contest against IPFW that begins at 7:30 p.m. at Krenzler Field. CSU then closes the regular season at home against Youngstown State on Wednesday, October 25.
