MATCH #14
at Northern Kentucky | Saturday, Oct. 20 | 4:00 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
PDF Notes
Week #9
THE OPENING KICK:
• Cleveland State will close its season by playing three straight Horizon League matches, a stretch that starts on the road this weekend.
• CSU is 0-1-2 all-time against the Norse with the series having begun in 2015.
• Each of the past two meetings between CSU and NKU have ended as scoreless draws.
• Cleveland State has had an advantage in shots in all three prior meetings, including a 22-5 cushion in last year's matchup.
• This will be the latest in the calendar year that these two programs have met.
LAST TIME OUT:
• Gabriel Pewu scored his team-leading fifth goal but the Vikings were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie against IUPUI last weekend.
• CSU had a 16-7 advantage in shots over the Jaguars.
• CSU dropped its non-conference finale at Loyola (Md.), 4-0, Tuesday. The Vikings had made eight changes to their starting lineup for the match.
FREE KICKS:
• While it took the fifth seed in 2017, CSU has been seeded fourth or better in the Horizon League Tournament in eight of the past 10 seasons, the highest figure in the League in this span.
• CSU's last two wins marked the first time since 1984 the Vikings won back-to-back matches against teams currently in a Power Five conference. It was the first time that it won two such matches on the road since 1974.
• Vlad Jandric was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 1 and Thomas M'Barek earned Defensive Player of the Week honors Oct. 8. It marked the first time since 2011 that Vikings were honored by the HL in back-to-back weeks.
• Gabriel Pewu has five goals and an assist in the past eight matches.
• Noah Pio has six assists in the past eight matches.
• Jandric's hat trick, in the 3-1 win over UIC, was the first by a Viking since Admir Suljevic achieved the feat during the 2013 campaign.
• Cleveland State's win over UIC ended a 12-match unbeaten run by the Flames against Horizon League opposition.
• Noah Pio has a point in 12 of the past 24 matches, scoring in five of them. Pio was among the top 10 in points, goals and assists in HL play in 2017.
• Cleveland State has outshot its opponent in eight of 12 matches, including all five Horizon League fixtures.
• The Vikings are the only team to outshoot their opponent in every Horizon League match this season.
• Noah Pio has scored or assisted on nine of CSU's last 14 goals in Horizon League matches.
• Among the 60 starts made by Vikings on defense or in goal this season: 26 starts have been made by true freshman or redshirt freshman, 31 starts have been made by sophomores with one start by a junior and two by a senior.
• Eight CSU rookies have started at least once with three freshmen owning 6+ starts (Alex Gyerman, Ryan Kolonick, Jannis Schmidt).
• Skylar Jeppesen made his first start of the season in goal last time out after being injured much of the season thus far. He became the third Viking to start in goal this season.
• Ivan Babic and Skylar Jeppesen became the 22nd and 23rd Vikings to start a match in 2018 when they started at Loyola (Md.).
• Tommy Paltani only played 39 minutes combined in the first six matches and has averaged 67 minutes in the past six, starting four of the past five.
• Noah Pio has assisted on four of Gabriel Pewu's five goals this season.
• Thomas M'Barek is the only Viking to start all 12 matches thus far in 2018. He owns 14 consecutive starts, the most among active Vikings.
• Vlad Jandric's streak of 21 consecutive starts was broken last time out at Loyola (Md.).
• Four Vikings that started at Loyola (Md.) were starting for the first or second time this season.
• Ben Hryszko started at center back last time out after playing as a right back nearly his entire collegiate career thus far.
UP NEXT:
• Cleveland State plays its final home match Saturday, Oct. 27, against Oakland.