Sept. 6, 2003

Box Score

CHICAGO - Nic Ademolu scored the gamewinner in ther 65th minute as Cleveland State opened the Horizon League season with a 3-2 win over Loyola in a game marred by fouls. Twelve cards were issued in the game, including two red cards, one to each team.

"This game was a good reflection on the team's ability to keep playing under some uncomfortable circumstances," head coach Pete Curtis said. "It was a very hostile environment, like all of our conference games are, and the guys knuckled down, rolled up their sleeves and got the job done."

Spencer Lappin got the Vikings (2-2, 1-0 Horizon) on the board first, collecting an errant goal kick from Loyola goalkeeper Greg Stellatos and firing a shot into the open net from about 25 yards out. Loyola (1-1, 0-1 Horizon) evened the score on a Joe Nierzwicki goal at the 31:40 minute mark.

The Vikings took the lead 15 seconds before the half, when Stephen Ademolu was dragged down from behind in the penalty box, giving CSU a penalty kick that was converted by David Carmichael for his first goal of the season.

In the second half, the play on the field took a turn for the worse. Of the 12 cards issued in the match, 11 of them came after halftime, with eight of them coming in the final 20 minutes. In all, 49 fouls were called during the match, with 28 coming against CSU and 21 against Loyola.

At the 64:14 mark of the match, Nic Ademolu took a feed from Jim Sears and beat the Loyola defense, firing the game-winner past Stellatos to give the Vikings a 3-1 advantage. Two minutes later, Sears received his second yellow card of the match, forcing the Vikings to play a man down for the remainder of the game. Loyola took converted on the one-man advantage, with Bill Metzger scoring for the Ramblers past Viking goalkeeper Amir Kettani to make the score 3-2. Todd Wallace of Loyola was thrown out of the match less than a minute later, forcing both teams to play with 10 players. Kettani and defender Cameron Husty, who moved to central defense after Sears was sent off, helped solidify the Viking defense, holding Loyola scoreless for the remainder of the game. Kettani finished the game with a season-high nine saves.

"This result is a great start to the conference campaign," Curtis said. "We showed a lot of unity in a very difficult situation, and got a win on the road. The guys are starting to realize what it takes to get it done at this level."

Cleveland State will return to play with a non-conference matchup at Niagara on Wednesday at 3 p.m.