Box Score EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's soccer set the tone early with a pair of goals and handed Cleveland State a 2-0 defeat Friday night at Korte Stadium.
SIUE Coach Kevin Kalish credited the 1,144 Cougar fans for making the atmosphere top-notch.
"Tonight, it was just a fantastic environment for college soccer," he said.
The Cougars, now 2-3 overall, pocketed a pair of goals in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the game, stunning a Cleveland State team early.
"I was real happy with the way we started the game," said Kalish. "Our goal going into this thing was to find a way to score some goals, and they weren't the prettiest but nonetheless we'll take them."
Jack Twellman, who returned from a mid-season injury last season, recorded his second start of this season and his first goal of the year at 3:11.
Nash Maduekwe started the play with a throw-in from 30 yards out. He threw in well into the box. After the ball shuffled a bit, Tejada and a Cleveland State defender tapped it to Twellman, who scored from six yards out.
Chris Anzalone picked up his first goal of the season at 7:26, chipping the ball over the head of CSU goalkeeper Brad Stuver from 18 yards out.
"I give Chris a lot of credit. He created that with his footwork and then just lobbed the goalkeeper," said Kalish.
Scott Meyer recorded his first shutout of the season and grabbed four saves. He lowered his goals against average to 0.80.
Kevin Bielicki recorded two of SIUE's five shots in the game. "Kevin played his best game of the year, in my opinion. His work rate has been good all year, but he was doing all the little things right," Kalish added.
Cleveland State, now 1-4 overall, finished with nine shots, including three from Manual Conde.
"We were content with keeping possession and limiting their chances (in the second half)," said Kalish. "So I thought we managed the game pretty well."
SIUE now turns to Sunday's matchup at Korte Stadium against IUPUI. "We have to recover and try to get back to .500 Sunday," said Kalish. Game time is 3 p.m.
-siue cougars-
