MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Cleveland State (7-6-4) opened its title defense with a 2-1 win against Robert Morris (7-5-6) in the quarterfinal on Sunday afternoon.
The Vikings jumped on the scoreboard first in the ninth minute as Freshman of the Year
Domenic Ruggiero headed in a cross from
Bora Eldem. Cleveland State maintained the 1-0 lead heading into the locker room while holding an 8-5 edge in shots.
Robert Morris started the second half quickly, pulling even on a corner kick in the 50th minute. The Green and White nearly retook the lead in the 57th minute as
Niko Curic and
Fefo Granados each hit the crossbar consecutively off a corner kick.
In the 79th minute, Ruggiero bagged his second goal of the game off a corner kick from
Uzman Ramees and touched on by
Bora Eldem.
Cleveland State held a 12-10 edge in shots, and both teams had three shots on goal apiece. Each team took six corners in the game.
Ruggiero led the game with six shots, and
Ognjen Bozovic was next with two.
Aleksandar Kolar recorded two saves in the game.
The Vikings will head to regular season champion and top-seed Milwaukee for the semifinals on Wednesday, November 11 at 2 p.m.
