Sept. 13, 2006

Final Stats

Contact: Josh Rattray

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Down three goals at halftime, the Vikings found the back of the net twice in the second stanza but their rally would fall short, 4-3, on a cold and rainy Wednesday night at Krenzler Field. CSU (2-4-1) has now dropped four straight matches.

Niagara's Matt Stedman scored two goals in the first 11:47, single-handedly sparking Niagara to a 2-0 lead. CSU cut the lead in half when a free kick from senior David Stewart deflected off Niagara goalie James McKenna and into the net at the 12:55 mark. Stedman would then proceed to finish his first-half hat trick and give the Purple Eagles a 3-1 lead at the 26:04 mark when teammate Stephen Kauble's shot deflected off CSU's freshman goalie Dan Duric and set him up for the easy one-timer.

Niagara (1-3) extended its lead to 4-1 at the 44:01 mark when an Eric Brodfuehrer header found the back of the net at the tail end of a Purple Eagle corner kick.

"We didn't play well in the first half," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "I was pleased with the way we fought our way back into the match, but we can't spot teams big leads and expect to win."

Sophomore Nenad Stojkovic scored at the 51:44 mark off freshman Andrew Gutting's cross from the left side, pulling CSU to within 4-2. Gutting would pick up his second assist of the match at the 70:22 mark when he fed freshman George Kephart for a tally from five yards out, just to the right of the goal.

"We played hard in the second half," Kazemaini said. "It was good to see our offense score some goals, but we just can't afford to give goals away."

The match marked the first time the Vikings have scored more than one goal since their 3-1 win over Canisius on Aug. 27. It was also the second time this season CSU has allowed multiple goals.

Duric, starting for the third time this season in goal for the Vikings, played the first 45 minutes, allowing four goals and recording three saves. Sophomore Kasey Gray replaced Duric, holding the Purple Eagles scoreless in the second half and stopping two shots.

Kephart led the Vikings with a career-high five shots, with four of them on goal. Stojkovic and freshman Josh Williams each had two shots.

CSU will try to end its four-match losing streak on Sunday afternoon when it travels to Valparaiso. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EDT.