Men's Soccer to Host Last Home Match on Wednesday Athletics

Posted: Oct 18, 2004

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Oct. 18, 2004

SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's soccer team wraps up its six-match homestand and its home season by hosting Detroit on senior night, Oct. 20, at 7:00 p.m. at Mentor High School. The Vikings, who enter the week winless (0-3-1) in the conference, will play two of the top three teams in the Horizon league this week. Detroit (9-4, 3-2) enters Wednesday's match in third place and riding a six-match win streak - with the last three victories over Wright State, IPFW, and Valparaiso all coming in overtime. Detroit leads the all-time series with a 9-3-1 record, and won both of last year's matchups by one goal. The Vikings have not beaten Detroit since a 3-2 victory in 2002. Cleveland State will then travel to Butler (10-3-1, 4-0) on Sunday to take on the only undefeated team in the league. The Bulldogs have not lost since Sept. 10, and slipped past Loyola by a 2-1 margin in their most recent match on Oct. 15.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK'S MACHES:

Match 13: CSU 1, Buffalo 0 (Oct. 15th at Lost Nation)
David Stewart scored eight minutes into the second half, as a strong defensive effort and solid goalkeeping throughout the match helped secure a 1-0 victory. Senior Amir Kettani posted his second shutout of the season, stopping seven shots in the match. He made a couple of saves in the latter part of the second half that thwarted good chances Buffalo had created, helping to keep the shutout in tact for the Vikings. Cleveland State was outshot, 16-11, but held the corner kick advantage, 4-1.

Match 14: Loyola 2, CSU 0 (Oct. 17th at Mentor High School)
Cleveland State fell to 0-3-1 in the Horizon League after giving up two second half goals to Loyola. The Ramblers outshot the Vikings, 13-6, and also held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks. Amir Kettani posted three saves in goal for Cleveland State, who had a difficult time creating any offensive chances.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: After defeating Buffalo, who entered the match against CSU with a 7-4-1 record, on Friday, the Vikings lost to a Loyola side which had just one win entering Sunday's match. We were bitterly disappointed," coach Pete Curtis commented. "It was our most disappointing performance this season. The Loyola match certainly underlines the youth of this team, and reflected the inconsistency of our performances from game to game." Yet although this season has not yielded a conference win, it's hard to ignore the promising future the Vikings can see with seven underclassmen starters. "It's frustrating, but we must hope and believe these experiences will strengthen us in future seasons," Curtis said. "Hopefully we learn from this and it strengthens our results in the future."

BRING ON THE BIG BOYS: The Vikings have felt that at times they can compete with any team on the schedule, and this week will bring about a sure test with Cleveland State taking on two of the top teams in the Horizon League. The Vikings scored two goals against each of the top two teams in the conference last year, falling 4-2 to UW-Milwuakee and 3-2 to Butler. This year's challenge is to perform at a higher level defensively against the upper tier of the Horizon League. "We have performed very well defensively this season," coach Curtis commented. "(Sunday) we made a few mistakes, and they we paid for it. We need to reproduce the kind of form this week that has given us cause for optimism, proving we are capable of getting the job done."

"TEX" MIX: Sophomore David Stewart has been a workhorse wherever coach Curtis has used him this season - whether it be up front of in the midfield. The Ingleside, Texas native used that same work ethic to score the game-winner against Buffalo on Friday. It was Stewart's hussel and determination that allowed him to gather a loose ball and finish it eight minutes into the second half. "Stewart played very well (Friday), and, with his work ethic and determination, he deserved a goal," Curtis commented. David had been waiting for this for some time. ""I have been a little frustrated this year because I've had plenty of opportunities," Stewart remarked after the match. "But it felt good to produce one for all of my teammates."

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 second shutout of the season against Buffalo on Friday, a match that saw him make seven saves. The Kirtland native made a few key stops down the stretch that helped preserve the shutout and the win for the Vikings. Amir came up with some big saves for us today," Curtis noted. "He again proved what a quality keeper he can be."

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: Senior Cameron Husty has started the last six matches on defense, filling in for the injured Tom Sadd...Five seniors - Amir Kettani, David Preseren, Cameron Husty, Harveer Mann, and Spencer Lappin - will be honored Wednseday as part of senior night at Mentor High School...Eleven of Cleveland State's 14 matches have been decided by a goal or less...the Vikings are 4-5-2 in those matches this year, and were 5-8 in one-goal matches last season.