Sept. 26, 2008
Final Stats
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kelly Zinkiewich made a season-high 10 saves as Cleveland State and Wright State battled through two overtime periods to a scoreless tie in the Horizon League opener for each team. CSU improved to 4-5-1 overall while Wright State slipped to 5-5-1.
The tie marked another first for Cleveland State as the Vikings for the first time ever did something other than lose to Wright State, who was picked to finish third in the Horizon League this season. In four previous meetings, CSU was outscored 17-1 by the Raiders.
Outside of a 2-2-1 record against Youngstown State, the Vikings can only claim a 2007 tie vs. Detroit in compiling a 2-29-2 record against league opponents.
"Our defense did an outstanding job of keeping its shape and staying organized all night," CSU head coach Derrek Falor said.
"We didn't have too many chances offensively, but time after time our defense stood up to the best that they had. Even in overtime when they had a couple of good opportunities and were sending everybody forward, we withstood it.
"This is another example of how far we've come. They have dominated the first four meetings but tonight, even though they controlled play, we kept them off the scoreboard. That is a good sign."
Playing with swirling winds that at times gave the team attacking at the north goal an advantage, the Vikings showed their best offensive effort in the first half when they had the wing advantage. CSU was out-shot, 8-3, in the opening half but that figure didn't show how even the play was.
The offensive flow changed at the intermission when Wright State played with the wind at its back. The Raiders out-shot CSU, 10-0, in the second half and 6-2 in the two overtime periods for a 24-5 shooting edge for the match.
Zinkiewich was outstanding in nets for CSU, both in repelling the Raider attacks and keeping the defense organized. Her 10 saves allowed her to move past Ashley Kidwell and into second place on the career saves list with 176.
The Vikings have the rest of the weekend off, resuming Horizon League play on Friday, Oct. 3 with a 2:00 p.m. match at Detroit.
