Aug. 25, 2010

Soccer has returned to Cleveland State and the men's team started their campaign with an exhibition with the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus.

The men's team gave their Big Ten rivals a run for their money and was able to take the 1-0 lead, via an Aaron Adkins goal.

What the box score did not show was the game that was played at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Here is what I saw:

Good start for the starting XI-As mentioned above, Adkins' goal put the Vikings' up 1-0 35 minutes into the match. What the Vikes did best was getting past the Buckeye's last line of defense. In fact, Adkins' goal was on a perfect pass from Suljevic "I saw the space open up, he (Admir) played the ball through and it was an easy finish," the sophomore said of his goal.

The Vikings played an equal game with their Big Ten counterparts and frustrated the Buckeyes all night.

Fitness- The biggest thing that head coach Ali Kazemaini emphasized after the match was the fitness of his club.

"Obviously we are not as fit as we need to be like to be, so we need to work on the fitness. The fitness is going to get better and we are going to get better," the said of his club.

Attacking- Cleveland State only ended with two corners on the night and were outshot 13-4. That cannot continue to happen if the Vikings have the mishaps, like tonight.

The Three Stooges...Errr...Goals- A 3-1 loss looks bad, but the Vikings were happy with the way they played. They know that they have to limit the mistakes. The first Ohio State goal came off a turnover at midfield that the Bucks capitalized on. Even when goal scorer, Matt Gold, his initial shot was blocked, but he regained himself and put the right footed shot into the lower left hand corner of the goal.

The second Ohio State goal came off a Cleveland State defender's head that even Kazemaini was in awe over. When the cross came into the box, the CSU defender missed the ball on the header, but the ball bounced off the side of his head and floated brilliantly into the Viking net.

Finally, the last goal came on a back pass that went awry and Chris Hegngi broke away and closed out the game.

Three goals that should not have happened, but can be fixed.

Buckeyes, Shmuckeyes- Honestly, I really was NOT impressed with the Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer team. Ok, there, I said it. I do give them credit for pouncing on the mistakes that the Vikes gave them, but the attacking just was not spectacular. We are still in exhibition (with their last exhibition match against Notre Dame) mode, but they need to improve if they are looking to get as far as the rankings say they can.

Overall- This was a great experience for the Vikings, for both the veteran and the rookies. "I think we have a good nucleus. The old and the new guys are blending in and I was very happy," the head coach said. 3-1 looks harsh, but the Vikings did not give up and continued to press even until the last whistle. I commend them for the tough play and a much better performance than last year's 2-0 loss.

The Vikes finish their exhibition set with the University of Cincinnati on Friday. The team opens their season against St. Bonaventure in New York next Wednesday.