Wright State, Cleveland State Advance to Semifinals

#HLMSOC Scoreboard (Championship 1st Round)
(3) Wright State 1, (6) Milwaukee 0
(4) Cleveland State 0, (5) Valparaiso 0 (CSU, 4-3, PKs)

The first of round of the Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship played to chalk, though the results were in question well into the night. Wright State reached the semifinals via a goal from the newly-named Horizon League Player of the Year, Eric Lynch, in the 73rd minute, while Cleveland State netted the winning goal in the seventh round of penalties against Valparaiso.

(3) Wright State 1, (6) Milwaukee 0
Named the Horizon League Player of the Year earlier in the day, sophomore Eric Lynch delivered the lone goal of the match in the 74th minute to lift Wright State past sixth-seeded Milwaukee, 1-0, at Alumni Field.

Wright State (11-6-2) advanced to the Horizon League semifinals for the third time in four years while knocking out the defending tournament champion, Milwaukee (6-10-3).

Lynch, who was also named as the Offensive Player of the Year, provided the eventual game-winner at the 73:09 mark, connecting on a shot from the left side of the box. Senior midfielder Michael Hayes was credited with the assist, his second of the year.

Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer posted his seventh shutout of the season, recording two saves in the process.

WSU outshot the Panthers 18-10 as both teams had four corner kicks.

Wright State advances to a semifinal match against No. 2 Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 4:30 p.m. EST, with coverage on ESPN3 from the Oakland Soccer Field. The teams met on Sept. 27, with the Titans grabbing a 2-1 win against the visiting Raiders.

The 11 wins for WSU are the most since also winning 11 in 2011, a year that saw the Raiders advanced to the Horizon League championship match.

(4) Cleveland State 0, (5) Valparaiso 0 (CSU, 4-3, PKs)
After 110 minutes did not yield a goal, Valparaiso and host Cleveland State added to the drama at Krenzler Field with seven rounds of penalty kicks. In the end, a Nick Ciraldo save ahead of a Kevin Blackwood conversion sent the Vikings into the Horizon League Championship semifinals after a 4-3 decision in penalties.

Cleveland State (6-11-1) managed nine corners, while Valparaiso (8-5-6) had six on the match. In the sudden death period, Jordan Aidoud caught the crossbar, but the shot caromed away, and after a second overtime period, the match headed to penalties.

In the opening round, both shooters missed, but conversions from Valpo's Julio Velasquez and CSU's Mike Derezic knotted the match at 1-1 after two rounds of PKs. Still tied heading into the fifth round, Aidoud drilled his shot, giving the Crusaders an opportunity to win with a save.

However, Alec Nagucki tucked his shot home to send the match into extra shots. Once again, it was Valpo that had a chance to win with a save after Suleiman Thomas netted on the Crusaders' sixth round, but Christian Arboleda's attempt caught the post and deflected in, pushing the match another round deeper.

Ciraldo would dive to his left to deny Nick Suker, and Blackwood beat Nico Campbell to advance the host Vikings.

Cleveland State will meet the tournament hosts, top-seeded Oakland, on Thursday, Nov. 13. The Golden Grizzlies knocked off the Vikings, 1-0, at Krenzler Field on Oct. 11.

The match will begin at approximately 7 p.m. EST, with live coverage on ESPN3.