Sept. 9, 2006
Final Stats
Contact: Josh Rattray
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- UW-Green Bay scored two goals in the second half after a Cleveland State red card had the Vikings playing with 10 men as the Phoenix defeated CSU, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at Krenzler Field. The Vikings, now 2-3-1 on the season, have lost three straight.
"The red card hurt us, but I think it was the right call. But a lot of our struggles were because of us," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "We had a few breakdowns defensively and UW-Green Bay is a tough team."
The Phoenix (3-2) struck first at the 42:59 mark when Mike McCormack scored an unassisted goal off a loose ball in the box on the left side. The Vikings tied the match at one when sophomore goalie Kasey Gray's long punt took a fortunate CSU bounce and freshman Bryan Henson broke away and found the net at the 73:04 mark. Gray's helper was the first of his career.
"I was glad to see us fight back and score that goal," Kazemaini said. "Bryan did a nice job against some tough defense. He made a big play. Hopefully, we can make some more big plays."
UW-Green Bay retook the lead at the 79:18 mark when Brent Diggs found the back of the net with a header from the left side. Green Bay's Dan O'Brien assisted on the goal. In the 81st minute, Green Bay's Joshua Okoampa scored on a penalty kick to make the score 3-1. The penalty kick resulted from a CSU handball in the box.
The Phoenix outshot the Vikings, 20-7, for the match, including a 17-3 edge in the second stanza. UW-Green Bay also had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks, a statistic which Cleveland State currently leads the Horizon League.
Gray played all 90 minutes in goal for the Vikings and posted a season-high six saves.
Sophomore Nenad Stojkovic had a team-high two shots with one coming on goal. The Vikings' five other shots were taken by five different players. Henson's goal and a try by freshman Andrew Gutting were the other shots on target for CSU.
The Vikings host non-league foe Niagara on Wednesday (Sept. 13) at Krenzler Field. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. CSU will then travel to Valparaiso on Sunday (Sept. 17) for a 1:00 p.m. match. The contest with Valpo will be the final time the two schools meet before the Crusaders join the Horizon League next season.
