Aug. 19, 2003

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's soccer team has been picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League in the league's preseason poll, the league office announced Monday. The Vikings received 29 points, one point behind Wright State for fourth place.

The fifth-place ranking is a marked improvement over last season's preseason poll, when the Vikings were picked to finish last in the eight-team league. During the regular season, Cleveland State finished with a 5-2 league mark in claiming the second seed in the league tournament and advanced to the championship game of the league tournament.

Head coach Pete Curtis' squad returns six starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that finished 10-11 overall and 5-2 in the league. Headlining the returnees is Horizon League first-team honoree and league Newcomer of the Year, Stephen Ademolu, who led the Vikings in scoring with 27 points on 11 goals and five assists a year ago.

UW-Milwaukee was picked to repeat as league champions in the preseason poll, garnering seven of eight first-place votes. CSU received the other first-place nod. UIC was second in the poll with 36 points, followed by Butler with 35 points. Following Wright State and Cleveland State in fourth and fifth were Detroit in sixth place (24 points), Loyola in seventh (13 points) and UW-Green Bay in eight (eight points).

Cleveland State opens the 2003 season against Temple on Aug. 29 in the opening game of the Duquesne tournament.