Oct. 2, 2006

Contact: Josh Rattray

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Match 13

Cleveland State (4-6-1, 1-2) at Rutgers (5-6, 2-4)

Date: Tues., Oct. 3, 2006

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Site: Yurcak Field (5,000) - Piscataway, N.J.

Series: First meeting

Match 12

Cleveland State at UIC (7-1-2, 1-0)

Date: Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Site: Flames Field (1,000) - Chicago, Ill.

Series: CSU leads, 17-11-1

SETTING THE SCENE:  The road swing continues for the Cleveland State men's soccer team as the Vikings take a break from Horizon League play with a match at Rutgers on Tuesday (Oct. 3). The first meeting ever between the two schools starts at 8:00 p.m. CSU resumes league play on Sunday (Oct. 8) when it travels to UIC for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. The Flames were ranked seventh in the Sept. 26 NSCAA/adidas national poll and ninth by Soccer America before losing to Wisconsin last week. The two matches are the third and fourth contests of a six-match road stretch for the Vikings.

VIKINGS DROP TWO CLOSE ONES LAST WEEK: CSU completed just one match last week, a 1-0 overtime victory at Butler on Saturday (Sept. 30). The Vikings' contest at Wright State on Wednesday (Sept. 27) was postponed after 45 minutes of play due to a severe lightning storm. Here is a recap of last week's action:

         MATCH 11: CSU-Wright State, ppd. (Sept. 27, Alumni Field): The Vikings and the Raiders were tied at one after 45 minutes when the match was called. Stats      and records from the contest don't count and the match will be started over on Friday, Oct. 20 at 5:00 p.m. at Wright State. Freshman George Kephart scored the Vikings' lone goal before play was ended.

         MATCH 12: CSU 1, Butler 0 (ot) (Sept. 30, Varsity Field): George Kephart's goal at the 97:15 mark gave the Vikings their first Horizon League win since the 2003 season. Sophomore Nenad Stojkovic assisted on the goal. Sophomore goalie Kasey Gray posted a career-high nine saves in posting his second shutout of the year.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The young Vikings head into the month of October in the middle of the Horizon League standings. CSU's starting lineup features as many as eight freshmen, but first-year coach Ali Kazemaini has the Vikings playing like veterans as of late. Two freshmen, George Kephart and Andrew Gutting, have been key offensive players all season. Kephart (3g, 1a)  has stepped up his play at the forward position and is third on the team in points and leads the team in both shots (25) and shots on goal (12). The speedy Gutting (1g, 6a) has been the team's top offensive catalyst, leading the Horizon League in assists and assists per game (0.55). Co-captain David Stewart, one of only two seniors on the team, leads CSU in goals (4) and has provided a veteran presence on offense. Junior Tom Sadd, the team's other co-captain, has done the same on the defensive end, playing alongside freshmen Mitch Boyer, Anthony Baraldi, Mike Barton and Eric Tattersall. Sophomore Kasey Gray has established himself among the Horizon League's top goalies, ranking third in the league in goals against average (1.17), saves (41) and save percentage (.804).

KAZEMAINI ON THE VIKINGS: "We showed a lot of heart and toughness this past week. The Wright State match being postponed could have taken us out of our rhythm, but we stayed focused and mentally tough. Butler had lots of good chances to beat us on Saturday but again we stepped up and got the job done. I am very pleased with how we are staying strong and improving at this point in the season."

ROAD TRIP: The Vikings are in the middle of a six-match road swing after playing six of the season's first 10 matches at home. Following this week's matches at Rutgers and UIC, CSU travels to IPFW on Oct. 11 and UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 15.The stretch is CSU's longest since opening the 2003 season with seven straight matches away from Krenzler Field. The Vikings will play just once more at home, against Detroit on Oct. 18.

MILESTONE WIN: CSU's win over Butler on Saturday was a big win for the Vikings for several reasons. The victory was the team's first Horizon League win since a 5-4 overtime win over UIC on Sept. 20, 2003. It also was CSU's first league win on the road since Sept. 6, 2003 (3-2 at Loyola) and the first league shutout since the Vikings blanked UW-Green Bay, 3-0, on Oct. 17, 2002.

BY GEORGE, I THINK HE'S GOT IT: Despite leading the team in shots and shots on goal for much of the season, George Kephart had just one goal (on Aug. 27 against Canisius) in the first six matches of the season. Kephart has  found the back of the net twice in the last four contests. The freshman from Parma, Ohio scored in the 71st minute of CSU's 4-3 loss to Niagara on Sept. 13 and then added the game-winner on Saturday at Butler. Kephart scored a goal at Wright State on Wednesday (Sept. 27) before the match was called.

'TIS BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE: Andrew Gutting has given the Viking offense a jumpstart this season. The Erie, Pa. native leads the Horizon League in assists (6) and assists per match(0.55). His assists per match mark is ranked 19th in the nation. He handed out two assists on Aug. 25 against Robert Morris and another one on Aug. 27 against Canisius. Gutting had two helpers against Niagara on Sept. 13 and another on Sept. 17 at Valparaiso.

WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND: If CSU had its way, every match would be played on the weekend. The Vikings are 4-3 in matches played on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and 0-3-1 in matches played during the week.

VIKINGS ON THE HORIZON LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: Below is a look at where CSU players rank among the Horizon League leaders as of Oct. 2:

Category                       Player (Stat)                    League Rank

Shots                              George Kephart (25)            6th

Shots per match           George Kephart (2.27)         6th

Goals                              David Stewart (4)                  T-8th

Assists                            Andrew Gutting (6)               1st

Assists per match         Andrew Gutting (0.55)          1st

Goals Against Avg.      Kasey Gray (1.17)                 3rd

Saves                             Kasey Gray (41)                    3rd

                                         Dan Duric (13)                       9th

Save Pct.                        Kasey Gray (.804)                 3rd

Saves per match          Kasey Gray (4.10)                 4th

FINISHING IN EXTRA TIME: CSU was 0-5-2 in its last seven overtime matches before Saturday's win over Butler. It was the first time the Vikings have won an overtime match since defeating Alabama A&M, 3-2, on Sept. 5, 2004. The Vikings are 1-0-1 in overtime matches this season with a 0-0 tie at Pittsburgh on Aug. 30 being the team's other overtime match.

UP NEXT:  The Vikings continue their six-match road swing with a 7:00 p.m. contest at IPFW on Wed., Oct. 11. CSU then heads to defending Horizon League champion UW-Milwaukee on Sunday, Oct. 15 for a 12:00 p.m. match.