For the second consecutive league road fixture, the Valparaiso University men’s soccer team earned a win away from home, as the Crusaders took down Cleveland State Saturday night, 2-1.

How It Happened

• The Crusaders got on the board first just past the halfway mark of the first half. Senior Matthew Gweh (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview [High Point]) crossed a ball in from the right, where redshirt freshman Jacob Pesek (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade) drilled it in off the bar to give Valpo the 1-0 advantage.
• After helping on Valpo’s opening goal, Gweh finished off the eventual match-winner in the 55th minute. Senior Adrian Graham (Kingston, Jamaica/St. George’s College) sent a long ball over the top of the CSU defense, and Gweh ran onto it, took one touch and blasted it home to double the lead.
• Cleveland State’s Lawrence Karpeh made it a 2-1 game in the 61st minute, knocking in a rebound after a Viking shot ricocheted off the post. The Crusaders held off CSU from there, however.

Inside the Match

• Pesek’s goal was the first of his career, while Gweh found the back of the net for the first time this season after scoring three goals last year.
• Graham tallied his first point of the year with his assist on the match-winner – his third career assist.
• Valpo out-shot CSU 13-8 and put five shots on goal to the Vikings’ three. Senior Nico Campbell (Kingston, Jamaica/St. George’s College) made a pair of saves to earn the win.
• The Crusaders earned their first Horizon League wins in consecutive road matches since wins at Wright State and Loyola in October of 2011.

Thoughts From Head Coach Mike Avery

“It was a tremendous performance by the guys tonight, on the road, and against a very good Cleveland State team. I was interested to see what kind of response we might have after losing just a few days ago at Ohio State with what was clearly not our best performance, and was very pleased to see the boys bounce right back with what might have been our best performance to date this season. That's a sign of character, and the character of this group is something I've never questioned.”

Next Up

The Crusaders (3-2-2, 2-0-1 Horizon) close out their stretch of four straight matches on the road with a non-league contest Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 27, at Eastern Illinois. A link for live stats for the match against the Panthers will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.