Oct. 25, 2011
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Match 16
Cleveland State (6-8-1, 3-2-1 HL) at Butler (6-6-2, 1-2-1 HL)
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Butler Bowl (5,647) - Indianapolis, Ind.
Series: Butler leads, 17-4-2
Last M'tg: @ Butler 2, Cleveland State 1 (11/12/10)
Match 17
Canisius (4-11-1, 2-5-1 MAAC) at Cleveland State
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2011
Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
Site: Krenzler Field (2,000) - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Cleveland State leads, 4-0-1
Last M'tg: Cleveland State 1, @ Canisius 0 (9/30/07)
SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings, now in a three-way tie for first place in the Horizon League standings with 10 points, will look to get back on the right track after dropping two home matches last week. First up is a road league match at Butler on Wednesday (Oct. 26) night at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs, picked to win the Horizon League in the preseason, are 1-2-1 in the league and tied for sixth place with four points. Canisius, currently 4-11-1 overall and 2-5-1 in the MAAC, will come to Cleveland for a 3:00 p.m. contest on Sunday. The Golden Griffins will conclude the league portion of their schedule with a Friday evening match against rival Niagara in Lewiston, N.Y. before battling CSU. Canisius goes into Friday's match as winners in just one of their last six matches. Sunday's showdown will be the final regular season match of the season for Canisius before they head to Florida to participate in the conference tournament.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Cleveland State dropped a pair of home matches last week. Below is a quick recap of both matches:
Match 14: IUPUI 1, Cleveland State 0 (Oct. 19, Cleveland, Ohio) A goal in the 59th minute helped IUPUI pick up a non-league win at soggy Krenzler Field. The Vikings put three shots on goal, but couldn't find the back of the net. Brad Stuver made two saves in defeat. Match 15: Green Bay 2, Cleveland State 1 (Oct. 22, Cleveland, Ohio) Jordan Hart scored just over two minutes into the match to put the Vikings up 1-0. That goal held up until Green Bay scored in the 85th minute on a penalty kick after a hand ball was called in the box. In the final minute, Green Bay's Luke Goodnetter headed home a ball to give the Phoenix the road win.
2011 SEASON PREVIEW: When looking at the Vikings 2011 roster, you'll notice a lot of familiar names. The 2010 team finished 9-10-1, but expectations are high this season with nine of the team's top 10 scorers returning from last season. Junior Brad Stuver (6-7-1, 57 saves) is one of the best goalkeepers in the league. He was named Horizon League 'Goalkeeper of the Year' last season when he had three shutouts and 87 saves - 14 more than the second place finisher. Stuver already has pitched four shutouts this season. The backline is led by sophomore Zach Ellis-Hayden (one goal, two assists) who has started all 15 games in the back, as well as Justin Mancine (12 starts) and Al James (11 starts). Brian Donnelly has moved around but the experienced defender has started 10 games for the Vikings. Sophomore Justin Cree (seven starts), junior John Gulden (three starts) and senior Chris Koy (three starts, one assist) have added experience and depth. Senior Manuel Conde (two assists), first on the 2010 team in points, leads the charge in the middle. With injuries allowing John Wargo to only appear in three matches, the club has needed major minutes from Aslinn Rodas (one goal, three assists) and freshman Mike Derezic (one goal) who has started the first 12 games of his college career and excited the coaching staff with his level of play. The Vikings forwards have scored 16 goals in the 2011 season, with Admir Suljevic and Aaron Adkins each scoring a team-best six goals in addition to Jordan Hart (three times) and Cazz Warren finding the back of the net. Adkins and Suljevic, tied for fourth in the league in goals, are the most well known of the bunch but Caleb Eastham (six starts) and Hart (10 starts) are also very experienced for sophomores at the forward spot for the Vikings.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Aaron Adkins and Admir Suljevic are tied with Butler's Austin Oldham for fourth in the league with six goals. Suljevic and Oldham are tied with Milwaukee's Robert Refai for third in the league in points with 15 while Adkins (13) is tied for seventh. With three assists each, Suljevic and Aslinn Rodas are tied for ninth in the league. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver is second in both shutouts (four) and saves (57) while ranking fifth in the Horizon League with a 1.39 goals against average.
RPI RANKINGS: Despite being tied for the league lead with 10 points, the Vikings are seventh in the Horizon League when it comes to the RPI rankings released by the NCAA on Oct. 25. UIC, 1-2-1 in the league, tops the group at 65th, while Green Bay is 76th. Wright State is 111th and Butler, Cleveland State's next opponent, is 131st. Two spots behind the Bulldogs sits Valparaiso. Milwaukee is 142nd, two places ahead of the Vikings who are 144th. Detroit and Loyola round out the league at 179th and 182nd, respectively.
DYNAMIC DUO: With six goals each, Aaron Adkins and Admir Suljevic are tied for fourth in the Horizon League in that category. The pair has combined to form one of the most formidable duos in recent school history. Josh Williams and Slavisa Ubiparipovic scored six goals apiece during the 2009 season, but before that you would have to go back to the 2003 campaign to find the last time a duo scored more than 12 goals in a season. In 2003, Stephen Ademolu (12) and Spencer Lappin (five) combined for 17 goals. In each of the last four Horizon League matches, either Adkins or Suljevic has recorded a point.
CLOSE CONTESTS: Since Ali Kazemaini took the reins of the Viking program before the 2006 season, he's developed a nice rivalry with Butler. In the eight meetings since Kazemaini has been in charge, the series is even at 3-3-2. Prior to his arrival, the Vikings had defeated Butler just once (2002) in the prior 15 meetings. All eight matches since 2006 have been decided by one goal or less and three matches have gone into overtime. In each of the last two seasons, Butler has defeated Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championships.
HOME SWEET HOME: This will be the fourth time that Canisius visits Krenzler Field, and the Golden Griffins are 0-3 in their first three trips. In those three matches (1997, 2000 and 2006), Cleveland State has outscored Canisius 8-1.
NEXT UP: The Vikings will conclude their regular season when they host Detroit at 7:00 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 4). Prior to kickoff, the seniors will be honored as part of 'Senior Day'. Should Cleveland State qualify for the six team Horizon League Championships, the quarterfinal match would be held on Tuesday (Nov. 8) at the home field of the higher seed.
