FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Cleveland State Vikings women's soccer team dropped a 3-2 road match on Thursday afternoon against Purdue Fort Wayne.

The Vikings (2-2-0) trailed 3-1 before a 71st minute tally by Maddie Young pulled them back within a goal. Despite threatening over the final 20 minutes with a pair of shots, Cleveland State was unable to find the equalizer.

THE GAME
Young was aggressive out of the gate, rattling off five shots on goal over the first 25 minutes of action, including a pair within the opening five minutes.

Cleveland State broke through first when junior Christina Trickett converted a penalty kick in the 17th minute for her first goal as a Viking since transferring from UCF.

Purdue Fort Wayne responded only three minutes later when Kailyn Wade netted her second goal of the campaign. Stevie Holbrook punched out Wade's initial effort before the Mastodons' leading scorer corralled the rebound and sent a shot just under the crossbar.

Freshman McKenna Donahue entered for the first time in the 38th minute and produced her first career shot fewer than five minutes later.

Cleveland State held an 11-8 edge in first-half shots with Young (five) and Trickett (3) accounting for all eight attempts on goal.

Purdue Fort Wayne grabbed a 2-1 lead on a header by Rylee Vruggink only two minutes into the second frame. The 'Dons doubled their advantage with another tally in the 64th minute on a shot that bounced past a diving Holbrook.

In the 71st minute, Young netted her league-leading third goal from 10 yards out on an effort just inside the left post, drawing the Vikings back within 3-2 and pushing her goal streak to three consecutive matches. Grace Krosky, a four-goal scorer a year ago, recorded the assist for her first point of the campaign.

Maria Bashardoust logged a shot in the 86th minute before Elena Gutlove's free kick was saved by the Mastodons keeper as the clock expired.

Holbrook finished with four saves while Young logged a career-best nine shots, including seven on target. Overall, the Vikings outshot the Mastodons 19-15.

UP NEXT
Cleveland State returns home to the Krenzler Bubble for a 5:00 p.m. match against Youngstown State on Wednesday, March 3.

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