MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Cleveland State dropped a heart breaker in overtime to LIU 15-14 in the NEC semifinals on Thursday evening. This marks the conclusion of the 2026 with the Green and White putting up a 6-8 overall record and making its first-ever appearance in the NEC tournament.
Adam Van Voorhis started the scoring two minutes into the game, but LIU evened the game two minutes later.
Ethan Erker put the Vikings back on top with an unassisted goal at the 4:46 mark. The Sharks tied the game two minutes later, and the score remained tied heading into the second quarter.
LIU rattled off the first two goals of the new quarter to reclaim a 4-2 advantage with 13:02 to go in the first half. Van Voorhis netted his second of the game at the 11:13 mark, and
Will Adair tied the game a minute later.
The Sharks came right back with the next two goals before Erker got a goal back to trail by one with 5:21 showing. LIU regained the two-goal advantage with 3:10 to go, but a
Payton Corpus strike with 13 seconds left brought the margin to 7-6. However, an LIU goal with four ticks to go made it 8-6 at halftime.
Xander Johnson bagged consecutive goals in the opening two minutes, tying the game at 8-8. The Sharks accounted for the next two goals before Johnson completed the hat-trick off a
Landon Whalen assist to trail 10-9 with 8:30 left in the third quarter. A minute later, Adair retied the game with an unassisted strike.
Three goals were scored in an eleven-second span highlighted by a
Robbie Stewart goal off a faceoff win as the Green and White trailed 12-11 with 5:11 to go in the frame. After the Sharks made it a two-goal game again, Van Voorhis completed the hat-trick, knotting the game at 12-12 with 3:58 showing.
Erker gave Cleveland State its first lead since the first quarter off a
Jack Dickson pass with 2:28 left in the third quarter. A man-up goal for the Sharks sent the game to the fourth quarter tied at 13-13.
A man-up goal by Johnson, his fourth of the game put the Vikings on top 14-13 with 11:09 to go in regulation. The Sharks used a man-up goal with 3:08 left in regulation as the game headed to overtime.
In the overtime period, LIU notched the game-winner with 1:16 left on the clock as the Green and White season ended in the semifinals.
Erker and Johnson finished with four goals while Whalen had four assists. Stewart went 17-of-29 in the circle with nine ground balls.
Justin Dalum made nine saves in the cage.
