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Contact: Kevin Zeise
Aug. 25, 2003
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's soccer team begins the 2003 season this week with a match against Temple on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa., in the opening match of the Duquesne Classic. The Vikings then face Duquesne in the tournament's final game at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
About the Vikings: The Vikings return six starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that went 10-11 and finished second in the Horizon League. Headlining the returnees is 2002 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Stephen Ademolu, who scored 27 points last season on 11 goals and five assists.
Survey Says: The Vikings were picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League in the league's preseason poll. The fifth-place prediction is a marked improvement from last season, when Cleveland State was picked to finish last in the eight-team league. Despite being picked eighth last year, the Vikings went 5-2 in the Horizon League and advanced to the league tournament championship game.
About Temple: The Owls finished the 2002 campaign with a 6-13-1 mark, including a 3-7-1 record in the Atlantic 10. Temple returns its top scorer from last year, Tony Donatelli, who scored 10 points on three goals and four assists, and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
About Duquesne: Duquesne finished second in the Atlantic 10 a year ago with a 13-3-5 mark, going 7-1-3 in league matches. The Dukes feature a potent offense, led by senior Damien Pottinger, who accounted for 42 points on 18 goals and six assists.
Series Notes: Cleveland State dropped a 1-0 decision to Duquesne last season at Krenzler Field, giving them a 0-1-1 mark all-time against the Dukes. A 1999 matchup at Krenzler Field resulted in a 1-1 tie to open the series between the two schools. The Vikings have never faced Temple in men's soccer.
Exhibition Openers: The Vikings defeated Mercyhurst, 3-1, in a preseason scrimmage Aug. 21 at Krenzler Field. Spencer Lappin, Nick Ademolu and David Carmichael each found the back of the net for the Vikings against Mercyhurst.
Head Coach Pete Curtis: Entering his fourth season as head coach, Pete Curtis has accumulated a record of 16-39-1 at Cleveland State. He guided the Vikings to a 10-11 mark last season, inlcuding a berth in the Horizon League championship game.
Prior to coming to CSU, Curtis spent five years at the University of Charleston, compiling a record of 68-30-7. He also spent five years at Marietta College, guiding that school to a 28-58-3 mark during his tenure. He is assisted by John Harr and Andy Carl.
The 2002 Season: Cleveland State was picked to finish last in the eight-team Horizon League a year ago in the league's preseason poll, but the Vikings surprised the rest of the league in posting a 5-2 league mark and finishing second in the league standings. In addition, Cleveland State advanced to the first league championship game in school history. Stephen Ademolu was named the Horizon League's Newcomer of the Year and was also named to the all-league first team. The 10 wins by the Vikings were the most since the 1990 team finished 12-6-2.
Up Next: The Vikings will head back to western Pennsylvania for a matchup with Robert Morris on Sept. 3 at 4 p.m.
