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Canisius University Athletics

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Noah Baumslag game action - Sep. 1, 2026
Lindy Feider
3
Winner Cleveland St. CLE (1-2-0, 0-0-0)
1
Canisius CAN (0-3-0, 0-0-0)
Winner
Cleveland St. CLE
(1-2-0, 0-0-0)
3
Final
1
Canisius CAN
(0-3-0, 0-0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cleveland St. CLE 3 0 3
Canisius CAN 0 1 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Big First-Half Lifts Cleveland State Past Men’s Soccer

Cleveland State tallied three goals in the first half to take control of the contest and record a 3-1 victory over Canisius in collegiate men's soccer action Tuesday at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, N.Y. 

Tom Mertz scored the final two Vikings (1-2-0) goals while Petrovic Djordje converted a penalty kick opportunity to propel the visitors to victory. Aleksander Kolar made one save in net for Cleveland State to earn his first win of the campaign. 

Sophomore Noah Baumslag provided the only goal for the Golden Griffins (0-3-0). Graduate goalkeeper Preston Harold got the start in goal, finishing with four saves.
 
The Vikings struck first in the 23rd minute as Djordje converted a penalty kick for his first goal of the season.
 
Cleveland State doubled its advantage in the 31st minute as Ognjen Bozovic played a pass into the box, where Mertz collected it, turned and fired a shot into the top-left corner to make it 2-0.
 
The Vikings capped their first-half barrage with a little more than five minutes to play before the break as a header from Domenic Ruggiero was cleared off the goal line by a Canisius defender, only for Mertz to collect the loose ball and deposit into the Canisius cage to make it a 3-0 contest. 
 
The Griffs tallied their first goal of the 2026 season in the 74th minute as Baumslag stepped up and converted a penalty kick opportunity to cut the deficit to two.
 
The Vikings kept Canisius from getting any closer as they secured the two-goal victory. 
 
GAME NOTES
• Tuesday's match marked the 10th meeting between Canisius and Cleveland State. The Vikings now lead the series by an 8-0-2 margin.
• Cleveland St. outshot the Griffs by a 17-3 margin, with seven of those attempts being on target.
• Canisius secured the only three corners of the match.
• Mertz led all players with eight shot attempts, including four tries on goal.
• Baumslag recorded the only two shots on target from the Griffs, highlighted by his penalty-kick goal in the 74th minute.
• Freshman Brayden Zavala-Lopez made his collegiate debut, coming on as a substitute and playing 45 minutes.
• Senior AJ Zarcone and sophomores Henrique Dias and Larry Jimenez played the full 90 minutes on Tuesday.
 
UP NEXT
The Griffs will close out their road non-conference schedule Saturday when the team travels to Erie, Pa., to take on Mercyhurst in a 6 p.m. contest. 
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