DAYTON — Wright State struck in the fourth minute and again in the 68th on Saturday night, and the Raiders made both goals stand up for a 2-1 Horizon League win over Cleveland State at Alumni Field at the Rinzler Student Sports Complex — their second straight victory, earned while being outshot by more than two to one.
Midfielder Djafar Albadawi opened the scoring just four minutes in, finishing a feed from forward Maximilian Banfi to give Wright State a 1-0 lead it would carry into halftime. The early goal came against the run of possession: Cleveland State controlled much of the first half, outshooting the Raiders 7-3 before the break, and nearly watched the margin double anyway when Rowen Arnold’s 18th-minute drive crashed off the crossbar.
Arnold got his goal in the second half. In the 68th minute the midfielder scored unassisted for a 2-0 lead — the eventual game-winner — as Wright State absorbed pressure and picked its moment to counter.
Cleveland State refused to fold. The Vikings piled up a 23-11 advantage in shots and an 11-3 edge in corner kicks, and goalkeeper Alex Normandeau finished with three saves for Wright State, including stops on Adin Ibrahimovic in the 79th minute and Ognjen Bozovic in the 86th. One minute later, Ibrahimovic broke through with his first collegiate goal, unassisted, to pull Cleveland State within 2-1 — but the Vikings’ late push ran out of clock.
The numbers underline how fine the margin was: shots on goal finished even at four apiece, and Cleveland State’s Aleksandar Kolar made two saves. Bozovic led all players with six shots for the Vikings, while Arnold’s four shots paced Wright State.
The win lifts Wright State to 5-6-2 overall and 4-2-1 in the Horizon League, tightening the Raiders’ grip on a conference tournament position with the regular season winding down. Cleveland State falls to 6-4-3 overall and 4-2-2 in league play.
Wright State stays home Tuesday, hosting Ohio Northern at 7 p.m. at Alumni Field. Cleveland State, meanwhile, wraps up its non-league schedule Tuesday with a stiff test — a 7 p.m. trip to No. 9 Akron — before returning to Horizon League play.