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Detroit Next Up For Men's Soccer

Detroit Next Up For Men's Soccer
Posted: Oct 14, 2008

Oct. 14, 2008

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 14
Cleveland State (5-6-2, 3-2) at Detroit (2-9-1, 1-4-1)
Date: Friday, Oct. 17, 2008
Time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Titan Field (500), Detroit, Mich.
Series: Detroit leads, 13-4-1
Last Meeting: Detroit 4, @CSU 0 , (10/26/07)

SETTING THE SCENE: After winning four straight matches for the first time since 1986, the men's soccer team will travel to Detroit on Friday, Oct. 17 for a 4:00 p.m. contest at Titan Field. It will be just the second time this season that CSU will play just one contest in a week.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings played a pair of home matches last week. Here are recaps of those contests:

Match 12: CSU 2, IPFW 0 (Oct. 8, Krenzler Field)
Marco DiFranco and Nenad Stojkovic each scored goals and CSU limited the visiting Mastodons to just two shots as the Vikings ran their win streak to three with a 2-0 win.

Match 13: CSU 3, Valparaiso 2 (Oct. 11, Krenzler Field)
The Vikings matched a season-high with three goals to run their win streak to four with a 3-2 win over Valparaiso at Krenzler Field. Valpo evened the match at 1-1 at the 43:00 mark but Josh Williams gave CSU the lead for good just 19 seconds later. Mitch Boyer added his team-leading fifth goal early in the second half.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Third-year head coach Ali Kazemaini has a young, talented roster with nine starters returning from last season's 3-12-3 team. With eight freshmen and three transfers added to the mix, Kazemaini has the depth at every position to improve upon last season. Junior defender Mitch Boyer returns to lead the backline after earning second team All-Horizon League honors for leading the team in assists (4) and points (6). He is joined in the back by junior Josh Williams, who will transition from forward, as well as freshman Justin Mancine and junior Eric Tattersall. Sophomore Nick Harpel is back as the starting goalkeeper. He ranked fourth in the league in save percentage (.767) and fifth in saves (69), while recording four shutouts. The midfield is extremely deep and Kazemaini can call on any number of players, led by Anthony Rucci, the lone senior on the roster. The key will be up front where the Vikings will need to improve upon their 12 goals scored last season. Junior Slavisa Ubiparipovic, a Xavier transfer, was brought in to supply the offensive attack up front. Freshman Alfred Majer and junior Jeff Baker will also see action as forwards.

THE HEAD COACH: Former Viking All-American Ali Kazemaini is in his third season as the head coach at Cleveland State. He was hired in December of 2005 and immediately charged with returning the program to prominence. In his three years at the helm, Kazemaini claims a 14-28-7 mark, as his Vikings were the most improved team in Division I in 2006. Kazemaini boasts a career record of 190-104-19 as a head coach, which includes a 14-year stint as the head coach at John Carroll. He is a three-time OAC Coach of the Year and two-time region coach of the year, leading JCU to seven conference championships and four tournament titles.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: After opening the season by playing nine of its first 10 matches on the road, CSU has responded well to its return to Krenzler Field, winning all four home matches over the last two weeks to move to within a game of .500 and climb into the Horizon League race.

. . . AND NOT SINCE 1986: With consecutive wins over Green Bay, Milwaukee, IPFW and Valparaiso, the Vikings have won four consecutive matches for the first time since winning five straight contests in the middle of the 1986 season.

BOY OH BOYER: Junior Mitch Boyer continues to lead the team in scoring, registering his team-best fifth goal of the season in Saturday's win over Valparaiso. Boyer, who led the team in scoring with six points last year, has scored four of his five goals this year via penalty kick. Three of those goals have come during the recent winning streak. He scored in the 19th minute vs. Green Bay to give CSU a 1-0 lead and came back against Milwaukee to force overtime with his goal with 10:27 left in the match. In the win over Valparaiso, his goal in the 54th minute proved to be the game-winner.

BOYER MAKES THEM, HARPEL STOPS THEM: Not only is Mitch Boyer four-for-four on penalty kicks this season, but at the other end of the field, sophomore goalkeeper Nick Harpel has stopped a pair of penalty kick in four attempts this season. Harpel made a diving save to his right on an attempt by Tosaint Ricketts just before halftime of the Green Bay match (Oct. 3) to perserve a 1-0 CSU lead. Harpel also stopped a penalty kick in the 2-1 double overtime loss at Akron on Sept. 21.

HARPEL PROVES DIFFICULT TO BEAT: One of the primary reasons why the Vikings have been in just about every match this year has been the play of goalkeeper Nick Harpel. The only goalie on the roster this year, Harpel has made 65 saves in the 13 matches to date. He made a pair of saves against IPFW last week to record his third shutout of the season. His save total this year has allowed the sophomore to pass the 100 save mark for his career. He starts the week with 131 career stops, including 66 as a freshman.

FOR STARTERS: Through 13 matches this season, only three players have started every contest for the Vikings with 21 different players earning at least one start. The starters in every match include defender Mitch Boyer, midfielder John Wargo and goalkeeper Nick Harpel.

NEXT UP: The Vikings head back out onto the road for a match at Ohio State on Oct. 22 before returning home for Senior Night against Wright State on Saturday, Oct. 25.