The Canisius College men's soccer team concluded the 2011 regular season on Sunday afternoon, falling to Cleveland State in non-conference action. The Griffs now enter the MAAC Tournament as the championship's eighth seed with a 4-13-1 record.

"Cleveland State is a very good soccer team and I thought that for the most part, the game was very even," said Canisius College head coach Dermot McGrane. "We played very well defensively and did a good job of limiting their scoring chances. We need to be more clinical in front of the goal as we missed easy chances at the end of the game. It was a great opportunity to get some more playing time looking toward the MAAC Tournament and to also get some players a little rest."

The Vikings (8-8-1) got on the scoreboard first, when Aaron Adkins netted his eighth goal of the season in the 22nd minute.

The Griffs responded in the 55th minute of play when freshman Denver Spearman tallied his first collegiate goal. Freshman Asani Samuels left the ball for his classmate right outside the box and Spearman found the netting to knot the game at one.

Cleveland State once again reclaimed the lead when Adkins netted his second goal of the day in the 67th minute. After receiving a long pass, Adkins scored to the bottom left for the 2-1 advantage.

Canisius had a number of chances in the final five minutes of play but could not find the equalizer. Samuels got behind the Vikings defense with just under five minutes remaining in regulation and found junior Andrew Incho open six yards in front. However, Incho's attempt went over the crossbar as Cleveland State remained one goal ahead.

Spearman then nearly netted his second goal of the game in the final minute but his attempt toward the bottom corner was stopped by the Vikings goalkeeper.

Cleveland State finished with a 14-6 advantage in shots. Brad Stuver recorded one save to earn the victory for the Vikings, while junior Kareem Gray recorded two stops for the Griffs.

Canisius now turns its attention toward the MAAC Tournament. The championship's eighth seed, the Griffs open the tournament against No. 9 Rider on Thursday at 2 p.m. Canisius earned a 2-1 overtime victory against the Broncs during the teams' regular season matchup.