Horizon League Men’s Soccer Semifinal: Cleveland State dethrones Robert Morris, 2-0

Horizon League Men’s Soccer Semifinal 

FINAL: No. 1 Cleveland State 2, No. 5 Robert Morris 0

Match Stats

RMU men’s soccer team saw its postseason run come to a close Wednesday night, falling 2-0 to top-seeded Cleveland State in the Horizon League Semifinal.

The Colonials come up short in its bid to repeat as league champs, finishing the 2025 campaign with a 6-4-7 overall record after making their second straight appearance in the Horizon League Championship.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening 45 minutes were a tightly played defensive battle as neither side was able to break through.

Cleveland State managed four total shots while RMU posted three, including a strong attempt from Kosi Udeh in the 11th minute that forced the Vikings’ keeper into a save.

The Vikings controlled 58% of the possession in the first half, but the Colonials’ back line held firm to keep the match scoreless at the break.

The second half continued in a similar fashion until Cleveland State began to gain momentum midway through the frame. In the 69th minute, Tom Mertz broke the deadlock with a curling shot that clipped the post and went in.

Just five minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage when Uzman Ramees cut down the left side and fired a low shot into the net to make it 2-0.

RMU pushed numbers forward in the closing stages, but the Vikings’ defense held strong to secure the win and advance to the championship match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Cleveland State outshot RMU, 9-5, and held a 3-1 edge in shots on target.
• Miguel Dominguez led the Colonials with two shots, while Udeh added one on goal.
• The Vikings earned four corner kicks to RMU’s one.
• Junior goalkeeper Josh Lane recorded one save between the posts.
• Fabian Overkamp, Jaxson Lee, Kosi Udeh, Anass Hadran, Miguel Dominguez, Kevin Gorbell, and Victor Koah all played the full 90 minutes.

Match Updates

FINAL:  CLEVELAND ST 2, ROBERT MORRIS 0

That’s it — the heavy-legs of Robert Morris fought hard but came up short on the road, losing to No. 1 seed Cleveland State.

HALF — RMU 0, CSU 0

28’ – Riley Cotton now in for William Afawubo. RMU 0 – 0 CSU

27’ – Colonials make their first sub of the match. Kyler Miller in for Royie Rahamim. Game is still scoreless.

Match Preview

Proving they have plenty of fight with a gritty 2-1 road win at Milwaukee on Saturday in the first round of the Horizon League men’s soccer tournament, Robert Morris, the defending league champs, are hoping to keep another postseason run going.

On Wednesday afternoon, they’ll face yet another road test, this time against top-seeded Cleveland State in the semifinal round.

The Colonials punched its ticket to the semifinal after a gritty 2-1 road win over No. 4 seed Milwaukee this past Sunday, thanks in large part to Arnass Hardan’s brace.

Arnass Hardan’s brace powers Robert Morris past Milwaukee in Horizon League playoff

“We try to manage the game wisely. Winning last year has given us more experience of how to handle being ahead,” Hardan said.

“We have a great group that fights every single minute. (Goalkeeper) Josh Lane had a big performance today saving Milwaukee’s PK — he’s a great goalkeeper.”

Sunday provided the Senior Midfielder to make a statement performance, scoring both goals for the Colonials.

He opened the second half with a strike in the 46th minute off a feed from Kosi Udeh, before Milwaukee equalized late. With under three minutes remaining, RMU earned a decisive penalty kick, which Hadran buried for the game-winner.

Goalkeeper Josh Lane posted five saves in the victory, matching his postseason career-high set in last year’s Horizon League Championship match vs. Oakland.

Hadran has now climbed to six goals, four assists and 16 points—tied for second in the conference in goals and fourth in total points. Both Hadran and Udeh own two game-winners this season.

The Colonials have proven over the course of the season that they are simply a tough team to beat, as three total losses are currently the fewest in a single season in program history.

The standing record of four was set in 1995 when the Colonials finished 14-4-0.

On the back line, Jaxson Lee leads the team with five assists (tied for second-most in the league), while defender Kevin Gorbell remains an ironman, logging 90 minutes for the 13th time this season and accumulating 1,410 minutes to anchor the back four.

Between the posts, Lane holds six wins, a season-high 60 saves, and five clean sheets in 2025.

In conference-only contests, RMU has the league-best scoring margin (+0.78) while averaging 1.78 goals per game, which also tops in the Horizon League. Defensively, the Colonials have allowed just nine conference goals—second only to Cleveland State’s eight.

A Closer Look: Cleveland State

In a season where there was a fine line between teams that finished in the middle of the Horizon League standings all the way to the top — it was Cleveland State who captured the 2025 regular-season title and secured a quarterfinal bye.

Things could have been different if it weren’t for a wild last few minutes of the first match between these two teams.

In that match, all the action came late, as the Colonials went up in the 86th minute when Kyler Miller found Jack Bejarano down the right flank. Bejarano cut inside a defender and buried his shot into the left side netting for his third goal of the season

Cleveland found the equalizer in the dying seconds of the match when Tom Mertz headed in a corner from Lennart Heck.

All the action comes late as Robert Morris men’s soccer settle for 1-1 draw with Cleveland State

The Vikings remained unbeaten in conference play until a 3-2 defeat to Green Bay on the final day of the regular season.

Junior forward Peleg Armendariz leads CSU in goals (5), game-winners (3) and points (11), while sophomore forward Matteo Correia is tied with 11 points, producing four goals and three assists. Three players—Uzman Ramees, Djordje Petrovic, and Josip Rimac—share the team lead with four assists each.

Senior defender Uros Jevtic is the anchor of the Vikings’ defensive unit with a team-high 1,440 minutes played. Graduate goalkeeper Ryan Poling has started 15 matches, earning seven wins, four clean sheets and a .761 save percentage.

Cleveland State owns two Horizon League Tournament titles (2022, 2012) and two regular-season championships (2025, 2022).

RMU is 7-15-1 all-time against Cleveland State in a series dating back to 1992. The lone tie came earlier this season in dramatic fashion: Jack Bejarano scored with five minutes remaining, before the Vikings found a goal off a corner kick in the final second to earn a 1-1 draw.

Last year, CSU claimed a 3-2 victory with Udeh and former Colonial Kai McLoughlin, finding the net for RMU. In 2023, the Colonials earned a 1-0 home win, with Hadran and William Dodzi Afawubo recording assists.

While RMU and Cleveland State battle in Cleveland, No. 2 seed Purdue Fort Wayne hosts No. 3 seed Green Bay in the other semifinal. Winners will advance to the Horizon League Championship on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 PM local time. The best-remaining seed will host the title match, which will stream on ESPN+.

RMU MSOC MATCH NOTES 

• In just his second season at the helm, Head Coach Jonathan Potter has elevated the standard of RMU men’s soccer. After narrowly missing postseason qualification in 2023, Potter’s Colonials have gone undefeated in Horizon League Tournament play over the last two years (3-0-0). Last season, RMU marched past Milwaukee and Oakland with back-to-back 1-0 results before defeating Milwaukee again on Sunday.
• The Colonials have been especially dominant at the North Athletic Complex. RMU finished the 2025 regular season undefeated at home (3-0-3), outscoring opponents 12-6. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, the program is 5-0-5 in conference home matches, boasting a +13 scoring margin (21-8).
• This season also marks just the third undefeated home campaign in program history (3-0-3), previously accomplished in 2006 (7-0-2) and 1994 (9-0-0).
• The Colonials enter the semifinal among the Horizon League’s most efficient and well-balanced squads. RMU holds the second-best scoring margin in the conference (+0.50), trailing only Purdue Fort Wayne, and ranks second in the league in goals (26) and assists (33).