Oct. 4, 2001
The Cleveland State men's soccer team (2-8-0, 0-3-0 Horizon League) got a career-high 10 saves from senior goalkeeper Josip Novkovic (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic), but lost 2-1 in overtime to Pittsburgh (3-6-0) in the opening match of the ALL Crane Rental Classic Challenge Series at Krenzler Field tonight.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the 5th minute when Pittsburgh captain Chris Churchill knocked in a rebound from 10 yards out. After Novkovic pushed the initial shot wide, the ball caromed off the post to a waiting Churchill who calmly one-timed the ball into the open net. The Panthers kept the pressure on throughout the first half, out-shooting the Vikings 11-8, but were unable to add a second tally.
The second half was a carbon copy of Cleveland State's disappointing storyline from several of its early season matches in which the Vikings dominated the play but could not put in enough goals for the victory. Lead by senior Cory Pryor (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights), the CSU defense continually shut down the Pittsburgh attack and started the offensive push, feeding passes into juniors Joachim Walker (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) and Adam Musser (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard).
It wasn't until the 71st minute that the Vikings finally got on the board, when sophomore Josh Lidala (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) slid out of a skirmish inside the penalty area and slotted a shot into the left side of the goal. The goal was Lidala's first as a Viking.
The game was knotted at 1-1 at the end of regulation, but not without Cleveland State's typical second half near-misses. Musser came closest for the Vikings, having a cracker from 15 yards saved in the 78th minute and a shot on the doorstep pushed off the goal line in the 87th.
The first overtime period was more of the same for the Vikings: opportunities without results. Walker fired off two more shots, both sailing wide of the net. At the other end, Novkovic was doing his part to keep the game tied, making two impressive saves.
However, as fortune would have it, The Viking's luck ran out in the second overtime stanza. Although CSU outshot the Panthers 4-2 in the period, Pittsburgh took the 2-1 victory with a golden goal from Mark Sikora. Sikora laced a rocket from 30 yards past a sprawling Novkovic into the upper left corner of the net.
The Vikings play the second game of the ALL Crane Classic Challenge Series when they host Butler this Saturday (Oct. 6) at 2:00 p.m.
