Men's Soccer to Host Buffalo on Friday Athletics

Posted: Oct 14, 2004

Oct. 14, 2004

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's soccer team continues its six-match homestand by hosting Buffalo on Oct. 15th at 3:00 p.m. at Lost Nation Sports Park in Mentor. The VIkings will come right back to take on Loyola at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 17 at Mentor High School. Buffalo recently snapped a four-match losing streak with a 2-1 overtime home win over Bowling Green. The two teams share a common opponent in Niagara this year, with the Vikings tying the Purple Eagles and the Bulls losing 3-1. Loyola, which travels to Butler on Friday, has a five-match losing streak. The Ramblers are 0-3 in conference play after dropping matches to UW-Green Bay, Wright State, and Illinois-Chicago.

REVIEWING THE LAST FEW GAMES:

Match 10: CSU 3, Robert Morris 1 (Oct. 5th at Mentor High School)
The Vikings got back to the .500 mark as three different players scored in the 3-1 victory. Andreas Roaldset scored first for Cleveland State off a free kick from 20 yards away. David Prentice added another by heading one in at the 74th minute, and Seth Matisak took a nice pass from Spencer Lappin and touched it to the back of the net to give the Vikings the 3-1 advantage. Cleveland State outshot Robert Morris, 23-8.

Match 11: UW-Green Bay 1, CSU 0 (Oct. 9th at Mentor High School)
Cleveland State fell to 0-2-1 in the Horizon League with an overtime loss to visiting UW-Green Bay on Alumni Day at Mentor High School. Joshua Okoampa scored in the 115th minute, bleeding an outside-of-the-foot shot to the right side netting and past a diving Amir Kettani. Cleveland State had trouble putting together anything offensively, managing to put just two of its 10 shots on goal.

Match 12: Akron 2, CSU 1 (Oct. 11th at Mentor High School)
David Prentice scored in the 89th minute to put the Vikings within one goal, but Cleveland State's late attempts to tie the match fell short as Akron prevailed with a 2-1 victory. Akron, ranked 16th in the latest Soccer America poll, got goals in the 64th and 68th minutes to take the lead. Andreas Roaldset nailed a shot from 25 yards off the crossbar in the first half, just missing giving CSU an early lead. Cleveland State was outshot, 8-6, but edged Akron in corner kicks, 3-2.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State enters Friday's match with Buffalo disappointed with its recent loss to Akron, but with the confidence to know it can compete with any team it plays. "We were disappointed with the result (against Akron), but we performed well, and the guys can walk off the field with their heads high," coach Pete Curtis commented. "It showed us that we can compete with any team on our schedule. "If we can take the form we showed in parts of the game tonight and apply it to an entire game, there's a not team we can't beat." Cleveland State is still without defender Tom Sadd, who has missed the past four games after minor knee surgery. Captain and starting central back Mark Zambra will be back in action Friday after missing the Akron match with five yellow cards.

WAY TO GO, MATES: Coach Pete Curtis has been very pleased with the overall play of his Irish imports, sophomore Mark Zambra and freshmen Cormac Finn and Craig Coleman. "All three of those guys have been tremendous for us this far," noted Curtis. "They have all stepped right in and contributed immediately. They have brought us a different kind of attitude and intensity to each training session." The trio's hard work has paid off - as the CSU defense has allowed 19 goals in 12 matches, an average of 1.46/match.

MIRROR MIRROR IN THE GOAL: Amir Kettani leads the Horizon League with an average of 6.67 saves per game, and ranks second with a .800 save percentage. Kettani posted his first shutout of the season against Niagara, a game that saw him make eight saves. It was his first full career shutout.

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:Ten of Cleveland State's twelve matches have been decided by one goal or less...the Vikings were 5-8 in one-goal matches last season...CSU is 2-1-1 all-time against Buffalo, and 5-4 against Loyola...the Vikings beat Loyola, 3-2, last year and did not play Buffalo...Sophomore David Stewart has started the last four matches at forwad, while David Preseren has gotten the starting nod in the back...senior Harveer Mann, who has a 3.67 gpa as a biology major, and sophomore David Prentice, who has maintained a 3.54 gpa as a business administration major, were each nominated this week for Academic All-American honors.