Oct. 10, 2005

Contact: Brian McCann

Match 12
IPFW (1-10) at Cleveland State (0-10-1)
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Krenzler Field (1,680), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: IPFW Leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: IPFW 2, CSU 1 (9/21/04, Fort Wayne, Ind.)

Match 13
Cleveland State (0-10-1, 0-4) at Detroit (6-3-2, 3-1)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2005
Time: 2:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Titan Field (500), Detroit, Mich.
Series: Detroit Leads, 10-3
Last Meeting: Detroit 4, CSU 1 (10/20/04, Mentor, Ohio)

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State goes in search of its first win of the season when it plays a pair of matches this week. The Vikings open the week with a non-confernece match against IPFW on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field. CSU then returns to Horizon League play when the Vikings travel to Detroit on Sunday (Oct. 16) to take on the Titans beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Titan Field.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings played a pair of matches last week, including a Horizon League home contest against UIC. Here is a synopsis of those contests:

Match 10: Niagara 6, CSU 1 (Oct. 4, Lewiston, N.Y.)
Niagara's Kwame Oduro scored a hat trick as part of a six goal Purple Eagle first half. Nenad Stojkovic scored the lone Viking goal late in the first half and Kasey Gray came off the bench to play in the goal in the second half, making five saves while holding Niagara scoreless.

Match 11: UIC 2, CSU 1 (2OT) (Oct. 9, Krenzler Field)
The Vikings turned in one of their strongest defensive efforts of the year yet in the end, a defensive miscue on a pass back to the goalie in the second overtime led to UIC's game-winning goal with five minutes left. The loss spoiled a strong showing by Anthony DeMarco, who made nine saves against 19 UIC shots. Vincent Rosati forced overtime with his first career goal in the 85th minute.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings have beared some resemblence to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season defensively, especially over the last handful of matches. CSU has sandwiched two of its strongest defensive showings of the year -- a 1-0 loss to defending Horizon League champion UW-Milwaukee and a 2-1 overtime loss to UIC -- around a 4-0 loss to Butler and a 6-1 setback at Niagara. One thing that has been consistant this year has been the youth of the team. In Sunday's loss to UIC, the Vikings used a starting lineup that consisted of four freshmen, five sophomores and two juniors. CSU took an offensive hit on Sept. 23 when junior Ismail Ismail, who was leading the team in shots, broke his left ankle in practice. Steve Trapp and Nenad Stojkovic have stepped up, sharing the team lead with two goals each. Freshman netminder Anthony DeMarco continues to show improvement, entering the week led the Horizon League in both saves (77) and saves per match (7.00) while ranking among the top five nationally in both categories as well.

JUDGE KRENZLER PRESENT FOR REDEDICATION: Judge Alvin Krenzler, after whom Krenzler Field was named when it was built in 1985, was present for the rededication ceremonies of the complex prior to the Oct. 2 Butler match. The home of CSU soccer for more than two decades, Krenzler Field underwent nearly $3 million in renovations since last year, including the addition of an all-purpose FieldTurf playing surface and a removable air-supported dome that will cover it during the winter months. The dome, a product of Yeadon Domes, will cover the entire length of Krenzler Field, approximately 94,000 square feet, with a 60-foot ceiling. It will be made of a heavy-duty vinyl coated flame-resistant polyester architectural fabric.

Ismail Ismail IS OUT OUT: Junior college transfer Ismail Ismail will miss the remainder of the season after breaking his left ankle in practice on Sept. 23. The timing of the injury was especially bad for Ismail, who played in the first seven matches of the year for CSU, two more than permitted to qualify for a medical redshirt season. Before the injury, Ismail led the Vikings with 15 shots. Ismail played two seasons at Green River CC, leading the team in points (22) his second season.

DeMARCO SOLID IN NET: Freshman goalkeeper Anthony DeMarco continues to turn in strong performances for the Vikings. He has made eight or more saves in five of the last seven matches, including a career-high 13 stops against UW-Milwaukee on Sept. 29. He ranked second in the nation in saves (69) and third in saves per game (7.56) in the latest NCAA statistics (through matches played Oct. 2) and enters the week leading the Horizon League in both saves (77) and saves per game (7.00).

NEW FACES ALL AROUND: With 13 first-year players on the 21-player roster this year, it is almost impossible for CSU to go into a match without the newcomers having a significant impact on the starting lineup. In the Sept. 9 match at Akron, CSU used a starting lineup that consisted of a season-high nine newcomers, with the only returners being All-Horizon League second team members Craig Coleman and Cormac Finn. The newcomers have 79 of 121 starts between them which is 65% of the team's starts. The Vikings have the fewest returning starters from last season in the Horizon League.

AN INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: The 2005 Vikings have members that hail from six different countries, including citizens from the United States, Canada, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand and Norway. In addition, two of the three CSU coaches are from the United Kingdom in head coach Pete Curtis and graduate assistant Steve Kehoe.

BLACK FOR THE DEFENSE: With two starting defenders absent from the lineup serving one game suspensions at Niagara last week because of multiple yellow cards, head coach Pete Curtis used goalie Chris Black as a reserve on defense. Prior to the Niagara match, Black had only seen action in one match this year, starting and playng 78 minutes in goal in the Sept. 10 contest with Marshall at Krenzler Field.

NEXT UP: The Vikings return home to close out the home portion of the 2005 schedule when they host Wright State on Oct. 19 and Valparaiso on Oct. 23.