Contact: Brian McCann
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Lauren Wood and Sarah Oligney scored two goals each to lead UW-Green Bay to a 7-0 win over Cleveland State on Friday night in Green Bay.
"We played pretty well in the first half," head coach Derrek Falor said. "We didn't create too many opportunities at the goal, but our mid-field possession game was about as good in the first half as it has been all season long."
"We did a nice job of marking defensively in the first half, but then we had a couple of breakdowns that led to scoring opportunities."
"Samanatha Casey played her best game of the year," Falor added. "She was solid on defense, showed great composure on the ball and switched the point of attack well. She has been one of the true bright spots over the last part of the season.
Wood put the Phoenix ahead 1-0 at the 13:07 mark when she scored her first goal of the year from 15 yards out after a good run. The Viking defense would regroup and hold UW-Green Bay scoreless until the 32nd minute when the turning point of the match occurred.
With UW-Green Bay pushing offensively, Casey was called for a foul inside the box, giving the Phoenix a penalty shot. But Viking goalie Allie Zajaros, who returned to action after missing the previous six matches with a knee injury, went low and to her left to stop Katie Norman's penalty shot. The celebration would be short lived as the Viking defense failed to cover the rebound and Oligney pounced on it for the easy marker.
"I'm not sure exactly what led to the penalty because there was a lot of pushing and shoving going on by both teams," Falor said. "Allie (Zajaros) made a great play on the shot but we just didn't cover her defensively and Green Bay took advantage of the rebound.
The stop on the penalty shot marked the second time in three attempts that Zajaros had thwarted a penalty shot this year.
The 2-0 score would hold until the second half when the Phoenix scored three times in the first 15 minutes to put the match away. Zajaros would leave the contest after the fifth goal after re-injuring her knee.
Cleveland State was out-shot, 35-3, in the contest with Zajaros making five saves and goalie Ashley Kidwell making six stops in a reserve role.
The loss dropped Cleveland State's record to 0-18 on the year and 0-6 in Horizon League play. The Vikings will close the regular season at home against Loyola on Sunday (Oct. 31) beginning at 1 p.m. at Foltz Field in Strongsville. The contest will serve as Senior Day, with Viking seniors Ivana Milovic, Katie Burke and Jessica Larsen being honored in a pre-match ceremony.
