Oct. 23, 2006

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Match 18

Horizon League Championship - First Round

# 5 Cleveland State (6-9-2, 3-4 HL) at # 4 Loyola (9-7-1, 4-2-1 HL)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Site: Loyola Soccer Park (500) - Chicago, Ill.

Series: Loyola leads, 7-5

SETTING THE SCENE:  After clinching fifth place in the Horizon League regular season standings, Cleveland State heads to fourth-seeded Loyola for the first round of the Horizon League Championship on Saturday (Oct. 28) at 2:00 p.m.

VIKINGS WIN TWO TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON: CSU picked up wins over Detroit (2-0) and Wright State (2-1) in its two matches last week. Here is a look at those contests:

MATCH 16: CSU 2, Detroit 0 (Oct. 18, Krenzler Field): Freshman Josh Williams scored in the 41:29 mark and George Kephart added an insurance goal in the 50th minute to give the Vikings their second league win in the home finale. Before the match, which was CSU's fourth shutout of the year, the Vikings' three seniors, David Stewart, Anthony Segreti and Mark Zambra, were honored before the match.

MATCH 17: CSU 2, Wright State 1 (ot) (Oct. 20, Alumni Field): George Kephart nailed home the game-winner at the 97:24 mark to give the Vikings the road win and the fifth seed in the Horizon League Championship. The Viking offense had one of its best performances of the year, posting 18 shots, including 10 on goal.

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 is playing its best soccer of the year heading into the Horizon League Championship. Senior co-captain David Stewart (6 goals, 12 points) is the team's leading scorer while freshmen George Kephart (5g-1a-11p) and Andrew Gutting (2g-6a-10p) have served as offensive catalysts. Gutting has been among the Horizon League leaders in assists and has been ranked as high as 19th nationally in the category, while Kephart  leads the team in shots (41) and shots on goal (19). Another freshman, Bryan Henson, has come on strong with his aggressive style of play, scoring three goals on just 17 shots. Junior co-captain Tom Sadd anchors the defense along with freshmen Mitch Boyer, Anthony Baraldi and Eric Tattersall, while freshman Josh Williams has started all 17 matches in the midfield.   Sophomore goalie Kasey Gray has 70 saves, the third highest total in the Horizon League.

KAZEMAINI ON THE VIKINGS: "We have been playing with a very high level of confidence lately. You can see it in the way we have been making plays the last couple of matches. I am happy with the way we have been playing on both ends of the field and I think now is a great time for us to be playing the most important match of the year. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and get the results we want this weekend."

CSU AT THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: CSU will be attempting to win its first league championship win since a 5-3 win over UIC on Nov. 15, 2002 at Loyola on Saturday. The Vikings are 4-11 all-time in MCC/Horizon League tournament play and have dropped their last four postseason contests by a combined score of 14-0.

VERSUS LOYOLA: The Vikings are 5-7 all-time against the Ramblers with each of the last two meetings having been decided by one goal. CSU dropped a 1-0 decision at home against Loyola on Sept. 24 and fell 2-1 in the two teams' only match in 2005. The Vikings defeated Loyola in both 2002 and '03 by a 3-2 count.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH: Ali Kazemaini started a record 11 freshmen in a 2-2 tie on  Oct. 11 at IPFW and has started exactly eight freshmen on eight occasions this season, going 4-2-2 in those contests. At least seven freshmen have started in each match this season.

FRESHMEN PRODUCTION: Fourteen of CSU's 23 goals (61 percent) have been scored by five different freshmen, led by George Kephart's five tallies and Bryan Henson with three.  Newcomers have accounted for 39 of the team's 61 points (64 percent) and 130 of the team's 187 shots, including 56 of the team's 82 shots on goal.

CLOSE CALLS: The Vikings finished the regular season 3-5-2 in matches decided by one goal or less, winning 2-1 at both Wright State (Oct.20) and Valparaiso (Sept. 17) and 1-0 in overtime at Butler on Sept. 30. CSU has also lost three times by a 1-0 score.

THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: The Vikings were outscored, 65-17 last year in their 0-17-1 campaign. This year, CSU heads into the league championship having been edged just 28-23 in scoring en route to the team's most wins since the 2003 Vikings posted six wins.

...BECAUSE THEY'RE FINISHING STRONG: In 2005, the Vikings were outscored 36-5 in the second half and overtime periods of their 18 matches. CSU holds a 13-11 edge in the same time frames this year.

WORKING OVERTIME: The Vikings are 2-0-2 in overtime matches this season, posting wins over Butler and Wright State while tying Pittsburgh and IPFW. CSU had gone winless in its previous seven extra time affairs heading into this season. In 54:39 of extra play, CSU has outscored its opponents 2-0, with both goals coming off the foot of George Kephart.

THE TEXAN: Affectionately referred to by players and coaches alike as 'Tex', David Stewart has doubled his career scoring total this year. The Ingleside, Texas native scored his team-leading sixth goal in the eighth minute at Wright State after scoring six in his previous two seasons combined.

A SURGE BY GEORGE: George Kephart is now second on the team in scoring with 11 points after netting the overtime game-winner on Friday at Wright State. Kephart, who leads the team in shots (41) and shots on goal (19), scored a goal in both matches last week with nine shots and five shots on goal.

UP NEXT:  A CSU win at Loyola would set the Vikings up for  a semi-final match at the highest remaining seed on Friday, Nov. 3. The location would be either at UIC, UW-Green Bay or UW-Milwaukee.