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Contact: Kevin Zeise
Sept. 29, 2003
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's soccer team returns to action with a pair of Horizon League matches this week. The Vikings will travel to Detroit on Wed., Oct. 1, for a 4 p.m. match against the Titans before returning to Krenzler Field for a 2 p.m. game with Wright State on Sat., Oct. 4.
About the Vikings
Cleveland State (6-4, 2-1 Horizon) lost its first Horizon League match of the season on Fri., Sept. 26, at the hands of league favorite, UW-Milwaukee. The Vikings defeated Pittsburgh in a non-league matchup on Wed., Sept. 24.
CSU 3, Pittsburgh 2 - The Vikings rallied for two goals in the final ten minutes of the game to defeat Pitt, 3-2. Stephen Ademolu (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/Herman) scored the gamewinner with three minutes left after David Stewart (Ingleside, Texas) tied the game with his second goal of the season.
UW-Milwaukee 4, CSU 2 - David Carmichael (Paisley, Scotland/Cardonald College) and Benny Eck (Ottendorf, Germany/Friedrich-Fischer-Schule) scored penalty kick goals for the Vikings, who lost their first Horizon League match after opening the league season with a pair of wins.
About Detroit
Detroit carries a 3-5-1 record into Wednesday's match with the Vikings after dropping a 3-0 decision to UW-Milwaukee on Sunday. The Titans are now 1-1 in Horizon League play, having beaten UW-Green Bay on Sept. 26. Ablaye Camara and George Kithas lead the Titans with 13 points each.
About Wright State
The Raiders carry a 6-2 mark into Saturday's match with the Vikings. In games through Sept. 21, Wright State was leading the nation in scoring offense, putting in 3.83 goals per game. Of common opponents, Wright State defeated Xavier 7-0 and took a 1-0 decision from Loyola. Paul-Anthony Perez leads the Raiders in scoring with 14 points on six goals and two assists.
Series Notes
Cleveland State has struggled against Detroit, holding a 3-7-1 mark against the Titans, though the Vikings have won two of the last three matches. CSU won last year's meeting at Krenzler Field, 3-2, in overtime. Against Wright State, Cleveland State is 8-8-1 all time, winning last year's meeting in Fairborn, Ohio, 3-1. The Vikings won the first five games in the series, including a 24-0 rout in 1971 that still stands as an NCAA record. Last season's win snapped a five game losing skid to the Raiders.
Head Coach Pete Curtis
In his fourth season as head coach, Pete Curtis has accumulated a record of 22-43-1 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 118-131-11 in his 14 seasons as a 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.
Trendy Items
Through the first ten matches of the season, it is apparent that the Cleveland State men's soccer team has success when Stephen Ademolu has success. The junior forward has scored at least one goal in each of the Viking victories on the year, but has not found the back of the net in any of the four losses suffered.
An Eye On The Rankings
Two Vikings have made an appearance in the national rankings this season. Prior to the game against UW-Milwaukee, Stephen Ademolu was leading the nation in scoring at 2.88 points per game. After going scoreless against the Panthers, Ademolu's scoring average has dipped to 2.56, which should be good enough to keep him in the top 10 in the nation when the updated statistics are released later this week. Also making an appearance is goalkeeper Amir Kettani, who was ninth in the nation in saves as of Sept. 21, averaging 6.29 saves per game. That average rose to 6.37 after he made seven saves in the first half against UW-Milwaukee on Friday before leaving the game with an injury.
50 Years of Soccer
The 2003 campaign is the 50th season of soccer at Cleveland State University, a milestone that was marked during the Sept. 20 home opener against UIC. More than 50 former players and coaches were on hand for the festivities, which included an alumni game and recognition of alumni at halftime of the CSU-UIC match.
We're Going Streaking
The Vikings won four straight road games at Robert Morris, Loyola, Niagara and Xavier after starting the season 0-2. That streak is tied for the second-longest road win streak in school history, tying the 1981 campaign that saw the Vikings record 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.
Lappin The Competition
Spencer Lappin (Pepper Pike, Ohio/Orange) has emerged as a complimentary offensive threat to go along with Stephen Ademolu in the Viking attack. Lappin is second on the team in scoring with 14 points on five goals and four assists, tops on the team. His three assists tie him with Ademolu for the team lead. The 14 points far exceed his offensive output of a year ago, when he scored just two goals in 16 appearances off the bench, 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.
Up Next
The Vikings get a bit of a break in the schedule next week, as Marshall comes to Krenzler Field on Thurs., Oct. 9, for a 7 p.m. match, the only game scheduled for the week.
