June 3, 2001

Indiana Blaze defeat the Cleveland Eclipse in overtime

The Indiana Blaze defeated the Cleveland Eclipse in overtime 2-1 at Kuntz Stadium Saturday night for their first taste of victory this season. "It was nice to get our first win at home," said Head Coach Marc Behringer. "Hopefully this will give us some confidence the rest of the way."

Indiana came out taking control from the opening kickoff. The Blaze fired shot after shot at Eclipse goalkeeper Keren Cunningham without success. Indiana forward Kate Kastl nearly gave the Blaze the early lead. In the 16th minute she missed a chance to score from the six-yard line when the charging keeper Cunningham smothered the ball. Kastl failed to convert on another one-on-one with the keeper in the 30th minute.

in the 36th minute Kara Bryan sliced through the Cleveland defense and fired a shot that deflected off the post into the goal. "I realized their defensewas a little slow," said Bryan. "Our through balls weren't working, so I decided to take it in myself."

Indiana was unable to net another goal in regulation. Indiana held off a late charge by the Eclipse until a controversial goal in stoppage time. With only seconds remaining, Cleveland got the tying goal with a header that slipped past Blaze goalkeeper Heather Combs, sending the game into overtime.

In the overtime session, Indiana dominated possession just the same as they did the first half. It didn't take long for the Blaze to net the game winner, giving them their first win this season. In the 94th minute, Kara Bryan found the back of the net for her second goal of the game. "It felt good to finish the game early in overtime," said Bryan. "We deserved this win."

Scoring
IND-Bryan (unassisted) 36'
CLV-Aschenbrener (Adams) 90'
IND-Bryan (unassisted) 94'

Cautions
CLV-Sluga (Caution) 49'
CLV-Guminey (Caution) 50'

SHOTS: Cleveland 14, Indiana 14
SAVES: Cleveland 5, Indiana 3
FOULS: Cleveland 9, Indiana 11
OFFSIDES: Cleveland 2, Indiana 5
CORNER KICKS: Cleveland 7, Indiana 2