Sept. 11, 2005
Final Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Sophomore Ashley Spahn set a school-record with two goals, but that was not enough as Valparaiso built a five goal advantage en route to a 5-2 win over Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon at Krenzler Field.
The match marked the first true home contest in the short women's soccer history at CSU. The Vikings played all nine home matches off campus last year while Krenzler Field underwent nearly $3 million in improvements and renovations.
"I am disappointed with our performance this afternoon," head coach Derrek Falor said. "After waiting to play on campus for over a year, I would have thought that we would have come out with a little more fire and enthusiasm.
"We were capable of beating this team today if we would have played to the level that we showed in other matches this year. We were flat and let them bring the play to us."
The match started poorly for the Vikings as CSU was whistled for a penalty inside the box, setting up an Emily King goal at the 3:11 mark.
"That goal really hurt because it was a tough call by the official out on the wing and just inside the penalty box," Falor said. "We had controlled play during the first couple of minutes and that goal put us back on our heels."
Valparaiso's Kendall Brown scored the first of her three goals at the 33:42 mark to push the advantage to 2-0 at the intermission.
Although the score didn't show it at the break, CSU did control play in the opening 45 minutes. The Vikings had six first half shots, three of which were on goal, and limited the Crusaders to seven shots.
Brown opened the second half scoring in the 53rd minute. She broke free towards goal on the left wing and blasted a shot that Viking keeper Erin Withrow stopped but could not maintain possession of. Brown pounced on the loose ball and blasted the rebound to the far post..
Three minutes later, Brown assisted on a Lori Johnson goal at the 55:38 mark. Brown then closed the scoring at 66:26 when she scored on a breakaway.
The Vikings closed the match out strong, tallying a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes.
Spahn, a transfer from Tiffin College, put the first marker on the board at the 77:46 mark when she floated a shot from the left wing over the head of Valparaiso netminder Danielle Guerra.
Spahn then became the first player in school history to score multiple goals in a match when she tallied a second goal with 1:30 remaining. Jennifer Wieand started the play on the right wing, sending a cross to the middle of the goal which Spahn chested past the Crusader keeper.
The Vikings were out-shot, 20-9 in the contest with Withrow finishing the contest with a career-high eight saves.
Cleveland State continues its non-conference schedule with a pair of matches this week. The Vikings will play at Bowling Green on Friday (Sept. 16) before returning home to host Toledo on Sept. 18 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field.
