The Cleveland State Vikings bench was all smiles on Saturday as it bombarded host Green Bay with a second-half barrage en route to a 4-1 victory in its Horizon League opener.  

The Vikings (2-2-0, 1-0-0 HL) tallied three goals in the span of five minutes, including a pair from sophomore Bojan Kolevski in the 65th and 70th minute. Jannis Schmidt sandwiched a score of his own in the 68th minute to put the Green and White up 3-0. 

The offensive attack broke a scoreless game and buried the Phoenix (1-3-0, 0-1-0 HL) in what became an insurmountable hole. Green Bay took a 5-2 shot advantage into halftime before Cleveland State exploded out of the break. 

The Phoenix came close in the 62nd minute, sailing a shot from Ruben Lindsen. CSU made them pay however, as Kolevski’s onslaught commenced shortly after. 

Green Bay’s Eyesteinn Bjorgvinsson put the Phoenix on the board after a penalty in the box, but CSU answered back with Kolevski’s third goal of the night, which was assisted by Schmidt and Pablo Kawecki. Schmidt (2) has recorded multiple assists in consecutive games. 

Despite the lopsided loss, Green Bay dominated the stat sheet, tallying a 17-9 advantage in shots and a 13-4 edge in corner kicks. Kolevski’s performance helped him earn Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors, which were announced on Sept. 13.    

Omeed Naeemy tallied six saves for the Vikings. He has 18 saves in just four games as Cleveland State’s confidence continues to grow.