Sept. 14, 2007

Final Stats

Contact: Brian McCann

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Cal State Northridge scored a pair of second half goals and the Vikings were out-shot 13-5 after the intermission as CSU dropped a 2-0 decision to the Matadors on the opening day of the UNLV adidas Invitational.

The loss drops Cleveland State to 2-2-1 on the year while Cal State Northridge improves to 3-1-1.

"This is the best team that we have played this year," CSU head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "I thought we really took the play to them in the first half, but as we got into the second half, the heat and wind really took its toll on us. We just weren't used to those kind of conditions.

The Vikings controlled play for the majority of the first 45 minutes, owning a 5-1 edge in shots.

But playing under windy conditions with an air temperature in the mid-90's took its toll on CSU as the Matadors rallied at the half and exploited weaknesses in the Viking attack. CSUN held a commanding 13-5 shot advantage after the break and 14-10 for the match.'

The Viking defense held until the 55th minute when Devin Deldo headed home a pass from Rafael Garcia and into the right corner of the net to put CSUN ahead, 1-0.

"They got their first goal on a set play," Kazemaini said. "We needed to defend it better."

The lead grew to 2-0 at the 68:57 mark when Fergie Agwu finished a short run by blasting a shot past Viking netminder Nick Harpel and just inside the left post.

"Once we allowed the first goal, we were forced to apply more pressure and chase after the ball in an attempt to even the contest. Unfortunately, that allowed Northridge a couple of opportunities and they were able to score off one of them," Kazemaini said.

Harpel, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week who had allowed just one goal in three-and-a-half matches this year, made four saves in the contest. Cal State Northridge's Kevin Guppy made three saves in recording the shutout.

After an off day on Saturday, the Vikings resume play in the tourney when they square off with Cal Poly on Sunday (Sept. 16) at 1:00 p.m.