Men's Soccer Hosts Butler In Final Regular Season Home Match Athletics

Posted: Oct 26, 2009

Oct. 26, 2009

Match 17
Butler (10-1-1, 3-0-1 HL) at Cleveland State (6-6-4, 3-1-2 HL)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Krenzler Field (400) Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Butler leads, 15-3-1
Last Meeting: CSU 1, Butler 0 (11/14/08) at Varsity Field

SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's soccer team will return to Krenzler Field for the final time during the regular season on Saturday (Oct. 31) to host Butler in a 7:00 p.m. contest. The Vikings will put their 12 match home field unbeaten streak (10-0-2) on the line, and will attempt to record their second straight undeafeted home season.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings were in action once over the past weekend. Here is a review of that contest:

Match 16: CSU 2, Wright State 0 (Oct. 24, Alumni Field)
The freshmen duo of Admir Suljevic and Aaron Adkins led the Vikings, each recording a goal in the 2-0 victory over Wright State. Suljevic struck early in the 7th minute after the Raider defense had trouble clearing the ball out of the box. Adkins scored in the 66th minute after he took control of the ball in the box, pulling the Wright State goalie out of the net. Brad Stuver posted the shutout for CSU recording three saves during the contest.

2009 SEASON PREVIEW: With 11 seniors returning, including nine that have been in the 2009 starting lineup so far, the men's soccer team is bringing experience and depth to the field this season. 2008 all-league first team honoree senior Slavisa Ubiparipovic returns up front, and is second on the team in points (13), leading the Vikings in assists (5) and tied for second on the team in goals (4). He is joined up front by freshmen Aaron Adkins (4g, 2a, 10pts) and Admir Suljevic (3g, 3a, 9pts) who both earned high school All-America honors following their senior campaigns, giving the Vikings a loaded front row. Experience is the key to the midfield this season, as all three starters return: Marco DiFranco, who is second on the team with four assists, Josh Williams who leads the team in goals with six and two assists for 14 points and Kevin Malone. The entire defense returns for 2009 after posting six shutouts last season. Leading the charge are seniors Eric Tattersall, Mitch Boyer (1g, 2pts) and Anthony Baraldi and junior Audric Kilroy (1a, 1pts). They have played in a combined 51 matches so far this season, allowing 22 goals. Goalkeeper Nick Harpel has played in nine contests, recording 38 saves, a 1.12 GAA and three shutouts, while freshman Brad Stuver has played in ten matches posting 38 saves and one shutout. Backing up Harpel and Stuver is freshman Almir Suljevic (4 saves).

FAREWELL TO KRENZLER: Saturday's match against Butler will mark the last regular season contest at Krenzler Field for 12 CSU seniors. The senior class of Anthony Baraldi, Mike Barton, Mitch Boyer, Stephen Byer, Marco DiFranco, Bryan Henson, Davon Jones, Kevin Malone, Brian Murphy, Eric Tattersall, Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Josh Williams have had 25 matches at Krenzler Field, amassing a winning record of 13-9-3. Williams (17 pts), Ubiparipovic (17 pts) and Boyer (14 pts) have all taken advantage of the home field, recording over 50-percent of their career points at Krenzler. Williams has done so in 24 matches, Boyer in 23 and Ubiparipovic playing in just 12 contests at the field. Seven Viking seniors have been in the starting lineup for at least six contests this season, recording 36 out of the 62 CSU points.

KRENZLER FIELD RECORD: The Vikings kept their Krenzler Field unbeaten streak alive, stretching it to 12 (10-0-2) with the victory over Detroit (10/18). The record dates back to Sept. 12, 2008 when CSU tied Niagara 3-3. During the stretch the Vikings have beat or tied 11 different teams, playing only Wright State twice at home last season.

...HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Vikings are one of only three Horizon League teams that are unbeaten on their home fields this season. Butler (5-0-0) and Green Bay (6-0-1) are the other two teams to remain undefeated at home. These teams also represent the current top three teams in the league standings, with each school having at least one match left to play at home; Butler (Detroit & Wright State), Green Bay (Milwaukee) and Cleveland State (Butler) to close out the regular season. Last year CSU was the lone team to go undeafeted at home throughout the entire season (6-0-1).

THREE IN A WEEK: Admir Suljevic became just the second Viking in four seasons to score three goals in seven days with his game-winning goal at Wright State (10/24). Just six days before, Suljevic recorded his first two career goals in the 4-3 victory against Detroit on October 18. David Stewart was the last Viking to record three goals in one week, doing so during the 2006 season from September 13-20. Stewart recorded the first goal against Niagara (9/13/06), his second and third at Valparaiso (9/17/06) and the fourth at Cincinnati (9/20/06).

MONTH OF SCORING: Sixteen current players have scored at least one point during the month of October in their career, led by senior Josh Williams who has recorded 19 points. The rest of the group includes; Slavisa Ubiparipovic (13), Mitch Boyer (8 pts), Marco DiFranco (7), Admir Suljevic (7), Aaron Adkins (6), Stephen Byer (4), Eric Tattersall (2), Bryan Henson (2), Jeff Baker (1), John Wallace (1), Brian Donnelly (1), Kevin Malone (1), Mike Barton (1), John Wargo (1) and Justin Mancine (1).

FRESHMEN PERFECTION: The Vikings are a perfect 5-0-1 when the freshmen duo of Admir Suljevic and Aaron Adkins record goals in a contest this season, 3-0-1 with Adkins' four goals and 2-0 with Suljevic's three career goals. The team is also 3-0 when both freshmen record at least one point in the same match; St. Bonaventure (9/1) 3-0, Adkins (1g) and Suljevic (1a), Detroit (10/18) 4-3, Suljevic (2g, 1a) and Adkins (2a) and Wright State (10/24) 2-0, Adkins (1g) and Suljevic (1g).

1,000 MINUTE CLUB: Six Vikings have been on the field for more than 1,000 minutes of action this season, including seniors Josh Williams, Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Marco DiFranco, junior Audric Kilroy, sophomore Justin Mancine and freshman Admir Suljevic. The group has tallied 15 out of the 21 CSU goals (.714) and 16 of the 20 assists (.800). At least four of them have been starters in all 16 matches for the Vikings this season, with all six starting in ten contests.

STUVER SAVES: Brad Stuver still holds the Horizon League record for the most saves in a single match this season with his 10 save effort at Milwaukee (10/2). Stuver is tied for seventh in the Horizon League with 38 saves, and is tied for fourth with 16 saves in conference matches only. He posted his first career shutout last Saturday at Wright State (10/24) recording three saves during the contest. The shutout is the fifth of the season for the Vikings, the second highest season total in the past 10 years with at least two matches still to play. Last season CSU posted six shutouts in 20 matches.

BUTLER HISTORY: Four CSU seniors have been responsible for scoring seven of the nine points that the Vikings have posted in four matches against Butler in the past three seasons. Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Marco DiFranco have each recorded one goal, with Mitch Boyer tallying two assists and Josh Williams adding one. Nick Harpel has played in the net for three out of the four matches recording 11 saves, helping CSU to a 2-1-1 record through the four matches.

HALLOWEEN NOTE: All Viking fans who embrace this weekend's holiday and wear a Halloween costume to Saturday's match against Butler will receive FREE admission to the contest.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will close out the regular season by traveling to Valparaiso, Indiana on Saturday (Nov. 7) to face the Crusaders in a 1:00 p.m. match.