Men's Soccer Begins Six Match Homestand on Tuesday vs. Robert Morris Athletics

Posted: Oct 04, 2004

Oct. 4, 2004

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's soccer team begins a six-game homestandthis week when the Vikings host Robert Morris on Tuesday, Oct. 5th at 7:00 p.m. The Vikings are unbeaten at home (2-0-1), and will be facing a Robert Morris side that is 0-5-1 away from its home field. The Colonials are 2-5-1 overall, but have won their last two matches, a pair of 1-0 victories, over Pittsburgh and Canisius. UW-Green Bay comes to town on Saturday, Oct. 9th after ending a two-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over Western Michigan last Sunday. The game on Saturday will be Cleveland State's third conference match of the season, as the Vikings are currently 0-1-1 in the Horizon League.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK:

Match 8: CSU 0, Niagara 0 (Sept. 29th at Mentor High)
Amir Kettani posted eight saves as the Vikings played through two overtimes to a scoreless draw against the Purple Eagles. The Vikings appeared to have taken the lead with less than ten minutes left when David Prentice challenged for a ball in the box and headed it to the back of the net. The goal was called back as Prentice was whistled for interfering with the goalie. Cleveland State was outshot, 17-11, and put just three shots on goal.

Match 9: Wright State 2, CSU 1 (Oct. 3rd at Wright State)
Cleveland State took a 1-0 lead into the latter part of the second half, but was unable to hold it as Winston Marshall converted a penalty kick to tie the match for Wright State in the 79th minute. Just three minutes later, Wright State scored again on a ball that bounced around the box and eventaully to the feet of a Raider who pocketed his shot into the net. Spencer Lappin scored his seventh goal of the season off a beautifully weighted ball from David Prentice early in the first half.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State is 3-3-2 in one-goal matches this year, and the team has had difficulty seizing chances to finish opportunities. "We need to make the most of our opportunities or else we're going to keep losing these close games," coach Pete Curtis said. "We need to rectify a few things so we can get the job done on Tuesday against Robert Morris." The Vikings defense has held solid all year, but has allowed a few mental lapses to let opponents take control of certain matches this season. After the awarding of the penalty kick that tied the Wright State match last Sunday, the Viking defense let in the gamewinner just three minutes later. Curtis commented after the match about the youth and inexperience in the back. "Maybe it's an indication of a young team, but our concentration lapsed with the awarding of the penalty."

LAPPIN THE COMPETITION: Spencer Lappin continues to impress with his goal-scoring abilities. The Pepper Pike native tallied the lone goal in the season-opening loss to Lousiville, then proceeded to score all four goals for the Vikings during the week of Sept. 19-25. After scoring the game-winner against Xavier and the lone goal in Sunday's 2-1 loss at Wright State, he now has 14 goals in his three-year career at CSU. Lappin's seven on the season are one more than the rest of the team combined, and his six goals in seven games entering last week ranked him 23rd in goals per game in NCAA Division 1. His seven goals currently put him tied for second in the league, while his 1.67 points per game average ranks him third.

MIRROR MIRROR IN THE GOAL: Amir Kettani leads the Horizon League with an average of 7.12 saves per game. The Kirtland native ranks second with a .803 save percentage. Kettani posted his first shutout of the season Wednesday against Niagara, a game that saw him make eight saves. It was Amir's first full shutout of his career.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: Twelve newcomers have joined the squad this year, after just seven players remained from the side that went 6-13-1 in 2003. Newcomer Andreas Roaldset has provided steady and creative play in the midfield, while freshman Cormac Finn stepped up his defensive effort in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Wright State. Coach Pete Curtis has also been impressed with the defensive prowess of Craig Coleman, a freshman from Dublin, Ireland.

SAME PLACE, DIFFERENT DAY AND TIME: The Pittsburgh match, originally scheduled for November 2nd, has been pushed back to November 3rd. The delay is forced by Pittsburgh's attempt to reschedule events postponed by the recent inclement weather. The match, which is the last of the regular season for the Vikings, will begin at 7:00 p.m.

ONE TOUCHES: Eight of Cleveland State's nine matches have been decided by one goal or less...the Vikings were 5-8 in one-goal matches last season....the Vikings have been outshot, 69-36, in first halves this season...Spencer Lappin and the Vikings are halfway through the season, and, if Lappin keeps the same goal-scoring pace in the second half as he did in the first, he will tally up eight more goals (to give him 15) - tying him with three others for the seventh best goal-scoring season in CSU history.