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Contact: Kevin Zeise

Sept. 15, 2003

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's soccer team will finally open the home portion of the schedule on Sat., Sept. 20 with a Horizon League match against UIC at 3 p.m. at Krenzler Field. Before the UIC match, however, the Vikings will try for their fifth-straight road win when they face Cincinnati on Wednesday for their seventh-straight match away from Cleveland.

About the Vikings
Cleveland State (4-2, 1-0 Horizon) stands in first place in the Horizon League, winning four straight games, all on the road. The win streak is the longest such streak since the 1981 season.
CSU 2, Niagara 1 - Spencer Lappin (Pepper Pike, Ohio/Orange) and Stephen Ademolu (Windsor, Ont., Can./Herman) each tallied a goal for the Vikings, who picked up their third straight win. It was the fourth goal on the season for both players.
CSU 2, Xavier 0 - David Carmichael (Paisley, Scotland/Cardonald College) scored the game-winner in the first half, as the Vikings notched their first shutout of the 2003 season. Ademolu picked up an insurance goal, his fifth goal of the season, in the second half for CSU.

About Cincinnati
Cincinnati is 1-1-3 on the season, coming off a 2-1 win over Bradley in Cincinnati. The Bearcats have scored five goals on the season, with five players tallying goals. Cincinnati features a strong defense, as goalkeeper John Adams has posted a GAA of 0.88 through the first five games.

About Illinois-Chicago
The Flames are 5-0 on the season, with three of the wins coming in overtime. UIC has outscored its opponents 13-6 in the five games, and Dennis King has four of the Flame goals. UIC was picked to finish second in the Horizon League in the league's preseason poll.

Series Notes
Cleveland State leads the all-time series against Cincinnati, 6-2, including a 3-2 win at Krenzler Field last season. The Vikings took the first five matches in the series before losing in 1995 and 1996. Against UIC, the Vikings hold a 16-10 advantage, with the two teams splitting the two meetings a year ago. UIC won, 5-2, during the regular season in Chicago, while the Vikings took the Horizon League semifinal in Milwaukee, 5-3. The win in the league tournament snapped an eight-match losing skid to the Flames, dating back to the 1997 season.

Head Coach Pete Curtis
In his fourth season as head coach, Pete Curtis has accumulated a record of 20-41-1 at Cleveland State. He guided the Vikings to a 10-11 mark last season, including a berth in the Horizon League championship game, and was named the Horizon League co-Coach of the Year. Curtis has compiled a career record of 116-129-11 in his 14 seasons as head coach. 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, in his first season, and Andy Carl, in his sixth season.

50 Years of Soccer
The 2003 campaign marks the 50th season of soccer at Cleveland State University, a milestone that will be commemmorated during the home opener on Sat., Sept. 20, against UIC. The event includes a full weekend of activities, including an alumni soccer match. In addition, returning alumni will be recognized at halftime of the Viking-Flame matchup.

We're Going Streaking
The Vikings have won four straight road games in raising their record to 4-2 on the season. Only five members of the current team were alive the last time a Cleveland State team won four straight matches on the road. In the 1981 season, Cleveland State strung together wins at Bowling Green, UW-Milwaukee, Marquette and Ohio State. The record for consecutive wins away from home is six, set during both the 1977 and 1979 seasons.

The Drought Is Over
Stephen Ademolu's three-goal output against Robert Morris on Sept. 3 earned him Horizon League Player of the Week Honors for the week ending Sept. 7. That marks the first time a CSU soccer player has received the award since Colin Knott claimed it on Sept. 8, 1997. In addition, the hat trick was the first one turned by a CSU player since Joachim Walker performed the feat on Sept. 22, 2001 in a 4-3 win over St. Bonaventure.

This Keeper's A Keeper
Junior goalkeeper Amir Kettani (Kirtland, Ohio/Lake Catholic/Ashland) allowed just an own-goal against Niagara on Sept. 9 as the only blemish on his record over the past week, registering a goals against average of 0.51 for the week. The solid play in the nets has lowered Kettani's season GAA to 1.62, down from 2.33 a week ago. In addition, he has raised his season save percentage to .798.

Lappin The Competition
Spencer Lappin has already exceeded his offensive output of a season ago. Lappin has four goals on the season to go with an assist, giving him nine points, good for second on the team. The junior forward scored at least one point in every game except the Sept. 3 match against Robert Morris. Lappin collected just two goals in 16 appearances off the bench last season, tallying once against Detroit on Oct. 2 and again against Akron on Oct. 20.

Tournament Honors
Spencer Lappin and Stephen Ademolu were each named to the all-tournament team at the Duquesne Classic. Lappin scored a pair of goals in the tournament, while Ademolu collected an assist in the tournament's final match against Duquesne.

Welcome Aboard
Six Vikings made their first appearance in a Cleveland State uniform at the Duquesne Classic on Aug. 29-31, with several players making valuable contributions to the Vikings already this season. Nic Ademolu (Windsor, Ont., Can./Herman/St. Clair College) collected a goal against Duquesne, and has two on the season, while David Prentice (North Curl Curl, Australia/St. Pius X) assisted on Spencer Lappin's goal against the Dukes. Sophomore David Carmichael (Paisley, Scotland/Penilee/Cardonald College) picked up a goal against Loyola on Saturday, with freshmen Brock Elder (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) and David Stewart (Ingleside, Texas/Ingleside/Lamar) have seen valuable minutes in the back for Cleveland State.

Up Next
After opening the season with seven games away from home, the Vikings will play seven of their next eight matches at Krenzler Field. CSU will play Pittsburgh on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. before welcoming UW-Milwaukee on Sept. 26 for a Horizon League tilt.