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Vikings Travel To Pittsburgh, Host Western Michigan On Sunday

Vikings Travel To Pittsburgh, Host Western Michigan On Sunday
Posted: Aug 29, 2006

Aug. 29, 2006

Contact: Josh Rattray

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Match 3

Cleveland State (2-0) at

Pittsburgh (0-2)

Date: Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT

Site: Founders Field (1,000) Pittsburgh, Pa.

Series: Pittsburgh leads, 6-3-2

Last Mtg.: Pittsburgh 3, CSU 2 (OT) (11/3/04)

 

Match 4

Western Michigan (2-0) at

Cleveland State (2-0)

Date: Sunday, September 3, 2006

Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT

Site: Krenzler Field (1,680) Cleveland, Ohio

Series: CSU leads, 2-1-1

Last Mtg.: CSU 1, WMU 1 (9/1/00)

 

SETTING THE SCENE: After season-opening wins over Robert Morris and

Canisius last weekend, the Cleveland State men's soccer team travels to

Pittsburgh on Wednesday (Aug. 30) for a 7:00 p.m. match at Founders Field. The

Vikings then return to Cleveland to host Western Michigan at Krenzler Field on

Sunday (Sept. 3) at 1:00 p.m.

 

VIKINGS 2-0 AFTER SEASON-OPENING WEEKEND: CSU is off to its first 2-

0 start since 1995 after sweeping the season's opening weekend. Cleveland State

hosted defending Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris on Friday and

Canisius on Sunday. Here is a look at both of those matches:

 

MATCH 1: CSU 4, ROBERT MORRIS 0 (Aug. 25, Krenzler Field): CSU began the Ali Kazemaini era in dominantfashion, defeating the Colonials, 4-0, at Krenzler Field. Freshman Andrew Gutting scored a goal and handed out an assist in his collegiate debut as the Vikings won for the first time in 25 matches.

 

MATCH 2: CSU 3, CANISIUS 1 (Aug. 27, Krenzler Field): After Canisius took a 1-0 lead just 2:44 into the match,three different Vikings scored goals to give CSU a 3-1 win at Krenzler Field. Sophmore Kasey Gray played all 90 minutes in goal for the Vikings for the second straight match.

 

TWICE AS NICE: Cleveland State's wins over the weekend marked the first time the Vikings have won consecutive matches since September of 2004. CSU defeated Alabama A&M, 3-2, in double overtime on Sept. 5 of that season and then beat Duquesne, 2-1, on Sept. 15.

 

JUST LIKE WHEN HE PLAYED HIMSELF: Ali Kazemani's 2-0 start at the helm of the Vikings is the first time a new coach has won his first two matches with CSU since Brian Doyle started 3-0 in 1982. Doyle's first wins came over Wisconsin (1-0), Oakland (2-0) and Wright State (1-0). Ironically, Kazemaini led that 1982 team in points (26) and goals (11). The 1982 edition of the Vikings finished 10-4-3.

 

KAZEMAINI ON THE VIKINGS: "Our opening weekend went as well as we could have hoped for. We are looking forward to two tough matches this week against Pittsburgh and Western Michigan. Defensively, I think we still have some things we need to figure out, but overall we are happy with what we have seen so far in the young season. Our young guys have stepped up and are playing like they've been playing college soccer for years by showing a lot of heart and the desire to improve. Right now, we are just looking to improve each day and build on what we have achieved so far."

 

ANOTHER MATCH, ANOTHER CSU WIN: From a historical perspective, CSU's wins over Robert Morris and Canisius shouldn't have been hard to predict. The Vikings are now 9-4-1 against the two schools, posting a 7-4 all-time record against Robert Morris and a 2-0-1 mark versus Canisius.

 

SCORING A GRAY AREA FOR OPPONENTS: Sophomore Kasey Gray recorded his first career shutout in CSU's 4-0 win over Robert Morris on Friday (Aug. 25). The Marietta native played all 180 minutes

in goal over the weekend, allowing just one goal and posting four saves. Gray played just 90 minutes in goal for all of the 2005 season allowing one goal and collecting nine saves.

 

SCORING SURGE: CSU's seven goals in the two matches last weekend were the most by the VIkings over a two-match span since September of 2003, when they scored eight goals against UIC (5-4)

and Pittsburgh (3-2).

 

FRESHMEN ORIENTATION: Ali Kazemaini started eight freshmen and 11 newcomers saw playing time in the season opener against Robert Morris. The Viking freshmen didn't disappoint, collectively

scoring three goals against the Colonials. On Sunday against Canisius, freshmen players scored two goals in the Viking victory. All six of CSU's assists and 16 of the team's 20 points have gone to freshmen.

 

GUTTING STANDING TALL ON THE FIELD: At 5-2, Andrew Gutting is CSU's smallest player by size, but he has been the largest so far in production. The forward from Erie, Pa. currently leads the team in points (5) and assists (3). Against Robert Morris, Gutting scored a goal off a pass from fellow freshman George Kephart in the 27th minute and then added an assist on freshman Pete Wagner's goal in the 48th minute. Gutting then recorded two assists against Canisius, feeding Kephart in the 28th minute and freshman Bryan Henson in the 86th minute.

 

NOT SUCH A 'SADD' RETURN: Junior defender Tom Sadd was forced to sit out the Vikings' season opener against Robert Morris because he collected a red card in CSU's 1-0 loss to

Detroit in the 2005 Horizon League Championship. Sadd made the most of his return by tallying the go-ahead goal at the 50:50 mark in Sunday's win over Canisius. Sadd's goal came on a header off a Marco DiFranco free kick.

 

UP NEXT: CSU travels to Marshall for a 7:00 p.m. match on Wednesday, Sept. 6 before hosting UW-Green Bay in the Horizon League opener for both teams on Saturday, Sept. 9. The match against the Phoenix is at 1:00 p.m.