CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State (9-3-6) won the programs third Horizon League Tournament Championship in a 1-0 double overtime thriller over Purdue Fort Wayne (8-3-6, 5-2-2) on Saturday afternoon.

The Vikings have now won two tournament championships under head coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic, both on Krenzler Field, with the most recent in 2022.

Matteo Correia was the hero in the title game as the sophomore headed in the only goal of the game in the 103rd minute off a cross by Paolo Roditti. The goal was his fifth of the year, tying for the team lead and earning him tournament MVP honors.

Cleveland State controlled the game, outshooting the Mastodons 20-5, including a 6-2 edge in shots on goal. The Green and White also had a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.

The Vikings nearly got on the board in the 18th minute when Tom Mertz's shot went off the right post and cleared out of danger. The game went into the break scoreless, with the home team holding a 10-4 edge in shots.

Cleveland State kept the pressure on in the second half with a 5-1 advantage in shots as the game remained scoreless, moving to golden goal overtime.

The first overtime saw the Green and White hold a 3-0 edge in shots and had two shots in the second overtime, with the second being the winner by Correia in the 103rd minute.

Ryan Poling, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, picked up his second shutout of the postseason after making two saves. The graduate now has six clean sheets on the year.

Mertz and Uzman Ramees also received All-Tournament honors for their play during the two games.

HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT AWARDS
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM – Uzman Ramees, Tom Mertz, Ryan Poling
TOURNAMENT MVP – Matteo Correia

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Cleveland State will make its eleventh appearance in the national tournament, with its previous trip coming in 2022.

The 2025 men's soccer selection show, which will reveal the tournament bracket, will air live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17.