Sept. 25, 2009

Final Stats

Contact: Renee Adam

Cleveland, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's soccer team defeated Loyola, 1-0 tonight in their first Horizon League match of the season. CSU improves to 3-3-1 and 1-0 in the Horizon League with the victory, while Loyola falls to 3-2-1 and 0-1 in the league.

"This is a big win for us, especially for our seniors," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "You have to realize that Loyola has beaten our seniors every time that we have played them. So to get a win against them is a big milestone."

With just one minute left in regulation time, sophomore Justin Mancine scored his first goal on the season, beating Loyola goalkeeper Peter McKeown to the far left corner of the net from five yards out. Slavisa Ubiparipovic recorded the assist on the play when he passed the ball into Mancine from the top of the box.

Although Loyola held the advantage on shots, 11-9 and shots on goal, 5-2 throughout the match, the Vikings were finally able to capitalize on one of their shots late in the second half.

"We tried to be a little too fine offensively and get the perfect goal," said Kazemaini. "Then we stopped worrying about that and we started to play and we finally took advantage of an opportunity."

Junior goalkeeper Nick Harpel recorded the shutout for CSU, playing all 90 minutes in goal. Harpel had five saves on the night.

"Our defense played really well," said Kazemaini. "They just kept coming at us, and at us and we kept repelling them. It really shows how far our defense has come. Now we have to rest up, and regroup tomorrow and get ready for UIC on Sunday because they will be ready for us."

The Vikings will continue league play when they host the preseason favorite, UIC on Sunday (Sept. 27). Kickoff is set for 12:00 noon.