Oct. 9, 2006

Contact: Josh Rattray

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Match 14

Cleveland State (4-8-1, 1-3) at IPFW (1-12-1)

Date: Wed., Oct. 11, 2006

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Site: Hefner Soccer Complex (1,500) - Ft. Wayne, Ind.

Series: IPFW leads, 4-1

Match 15

Cleveland State at UW-Milwaukee (4-8-2, 1-2-1)

Date: Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Site: Engelmann Field (2,000) - Milwaukee, Wis.

Series: UWM leads, 12-21-2

SETTING THE SCENE:  The road swing continues for the Cleveland State men's soccer team when the Vikings take a detour from their league schedule to play at IPFW on Wednesday (Oct. 11) at 7:00 p.m. CSU then travels to defending league champion UW-Milwaukee to resume league play on Sunday (Oct. 15) at noon. The two contests end a six-match road stretch for the Vikings.

VIKINGS OUTMANNED TWICE LAST WEEK: CSU lost twice last week, 6-1 at Rutgers on Wednesday (Oct. 3) and 2-0 at UIC on Sunday (Oct. 8). Here is a recap of last week's action:

         MATCH 13: Rutgers 6, CSU 1 (Oct. 3, Yurcak Field): CSU fell behind, 3-0, at halftime and could never recover. Rutgers applied pressure on the Viking defense the entire match, posting 32 shots, including 20 on goal. Freshman Bryan Henson scored the lone goal, his third tally of the season, for CSU at the 64:49 mark.

         MATCH 14: UIC 2, CSU 0 (Oct. 8, Flames Field): The Flames scored one goal in each half and smothered the Viking offense, allowing CSU just three shots. Sophomore Kasey Gray played all 90 minutes in goal for the Vikings, stopping three shots.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The youthful Vikings have seen their share of ups and downs this season, which is to be expected from a team that starts no fewer than seven freshmen along with two sophomores. CSU has shown flashes of brilliance on offense, but haven't been able to show it can consistently score goals. Freshmen Andrew Gutting (1 goal, 6 assists, 8 points) and George Kephart (3-1-7) have served as offensive catalysts. Gutting is currently tied for the Horizon League lead in assists and has been ranked as high as 19th nationally in the category, while Kephart leads the team in shots (27) and shots on goal (14). Another freshman, Bryan Henson, has come on strong with his aggressive style of play, scoring three goals on just 11 shots. Junior co-captain Tom Sadd has anchors the defense and is joined in the midfield by freshman Josh Williams, who has started all 13 matches at midfield. The Vikings are currently starting four freshmen on defense, led by Mitch Boyer and Anthony Baraldi, both of whom have started every match.  Sophomore Kasey Gray is the starter in goal and has 50 saves, which is the fourth highest total in the Horizon League.

KAZEMAINI ON THE VIKINGS: "The two teams we played last week were very talented and made a lot of plays. Both Rutgers and UIC were physical and athletic, and we learned a lot concerning where we stand against some elite teams. We need to shift our focus to closing out the season's last four matches strong and continue to get ready for the Horizon League tournament at the end of the month. We have shown we can compete with the best teams in the league, it's now time to start winning the close matches against them."

ROAD TRIP: This week's matches at IPFW and UW-Milwaukee are the final contests in a span of six matches away from home for the Vikings. After having its match against Wright State pushed back to Oct. 20 because of adverse weather, CSU picked up an overtime win at Butler on Sept. 30 before losing twice last week. The Vikings are 2-4-1 on the road this season. 

FAB FRESHMEN: The Vikings have gotten a large portion of their offensive production from the team's freshmen. Nine of CSU's 16 goals have been scored by freshmen, with George Kephart and Bryan Henson each having three tallies while Andrew Gutting, Pete Wagner and Marco DiFranco have scored one each. Newcomers have also accounted for 28 of the team's 45 points (led by Gutting's eight) and 86 of the squad's 126 shots. A Viking freshman has found the back of the net in six matches with CSU going 4-2 in those contests.

CSU NEEDS THE CLOSE ONES: Eleven of the Vikings' 13 matches have been decided by two goals or less, with CSU going 3-7-1 in those contests. The Vikings are 2-4-1 in matches decided by one goal or less, winning 2-1 at Valparaiso on Sept. 17 and 1-0 in overtime at Butler on Sept. 30. CSU has also lost three times by a 1-0 score.

SCHOLARLY WORK: Tom Sadd was named the Horizon League Male Scholar Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, Oct. 3. The junior international business major from Christchurch, New Zealand, a league All-Academic team member in 2005,  boasts a team-high 3.83 grade point average and is the first men's athlete from CSU to win the award.

VIKINGS TRYING TO BUCK SOME TRENDS: Recent history against IPFW and UW-Milwaukee has not been kind to CSU. The Vikings have dropped four straight meetings against IPFW, including back-to-back 2-1 overtime losses in 2004 and '05. CSU's last win against the Mastodons was a 1-0 overtime decision on Oct. 31, 2001. The Vikings' fortunes against the Panthers have been worse, losing 20 of the last 21, including 16 straight. CSU has not defeated UWM since winning, 2-1, on Sept. 18, 1989 12-21-2 all-time against the Panthers.

GETTING DEFENSIVE IN LEAGUE PLAY: CSU's defense has been stingier in league play. In four Horizon League contests, the Vikings have allowed six goals, good for a 1.47 goals against average. Outside of league play, CSU has yielded 17 tallies for a 1.84 goals against average.

MUCH BETTER IN JUST ONE YEAR: CSU's defensive play has been astoundingly better compared to last year's effort. The Vikings have allowed just 23 goals this season in 13 matches. CSU allowed 51 in the same span last season en route to a yielding school-record 65 tallies.

WORKING OVERTIME: CSU was 0-5-2 in its last seven overtime matches before defeating Butler, 1-0, on Sept. 30. It was the first time the Vikings 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 host Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 18 for a Senior Night affair at 7:00 p.m. The contest with the Titans is the final home match of the regular season for CSU. The Vikings then conclude the regular season at Wright State on Friday, Oct. 20 in a rescheduling of a match that was postponed from Sept. 27 due to lightning. The regular season finale is slated for a 5:00 p.m. start.