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Vikings Travel To Butler With Horizon League Title On The Line

Vikings Travel To Butler With Horizon League Title On The Line
Posted: Oct 27, 2008

Oct. 27, 2008

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 17
Cleveland State (7-7-2, 5-2) at Butler (11-2-3, 4-0-2)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Butler Bowl (2,500), Indianapolis, Ind.
Series: Butler leads, 15-2
Last Meeting: Butler 2, @CSU 1 (10/19/07)

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State closes the regular season at Butler this week in a match that could determine the Horizon League Championship. When the Vikings and Bulldogs square off at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the Butler Bowl, it will pit two of the top three teams in the Horizon League this year. CSU enters the final week in first place with 15 points by virtue of a 5-2 record (3 points for a win, 1 for a tie). Butler is second at 4-0-2 (14 points) with UIC in third at 4-1-1 (13 points). The Vikings need a win over Butler along with either a tie or loss by UIC in either of its last two matches to secure CSU its first-ever Horizon League regular season crown.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings played a pair of contests last week in the next-to-last week of the regular season. Here is a recap of those contests:

Match 15: Ohio State 1, CSU 0 (Oct. 22, Columbus, Ohio)
Patrick Roan scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute as 17th-ranked Ohio State slipped by CSU, 1-0, to snap the Vikings five-match win streak. CSU was out-shot, 21-6, but all six Vikings shots were on goal. Nick Harpel made a season-high 11 saves in the contest.

Match 16: CSU 3, Wright State 0 (Oct. 25, Cleveland, Ohio)
Slavisa Ubiparipovic had two goals and an assist in a three-goal first half barrage by the Vikings as CSU routed Wright State, 3-0. Stephen Byer, who was back in the lineup after missing four matches with a leg injury, opened the scoring in the 7th minute and Ubiparipovic added his first marker at the 10:23 mark. Nick Harpel made five saves in goal for his fifth shutout of the year.

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 (5 goals) leads 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 as well as freshman Justin Mancine, Chris Koy 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 have improved upon their 12 goals scored last season. Junior Slavisa Ubiparipovic (3-3-9), a Xavier transfer, was brought in to supply the offensive attack up front along with juniors Nenad Stojkovic (3-0-6) and Stephen Byer (3-0-6).

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 16-29-7 mark, as his Vikings were the most improved team in Division I in 2006. Kazemaini boasts a career record of 192-105-19 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. The Vikings have won all five home contests, the longest home winning streak since a seven-match run in 1989.

. . . A RECORD-BREAKING SEASON: The win over Wright State on Saturday allowed CSU to improve to 5-0-1 at home this season, marking the first unbeaten home season in school history. The .917 home winning percentage is ahead of the old record of .800 set when the Vikings went 8-2 at home in 1989. The record isn't set yet as it is likely that CSU will play at least one more home match this year, that coming in the Horizon League Championship.

WIN STREAK SNAPPED AT FIVE: The loss at Ohio State on Wednesday ended CSU's win streak at five straight matches, the longest since the Vikings won eight in a row to start a stretch that saw the Vikings go 11-0-1 as part of a 14-3-2 season.

UBIPARIPOVIC NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Slavisa Ubiparipovic, who has been a challenge for opposing defenses and PA announcers all season long, was never better than against Wright State on Saturday when he had a hand in all three Viking goals in a 3-0 win. He assisted on Stephen Byer's opening goal and than added a pair of markers in the first half. Ubiparipovic, a transfer from Xavier, is second on the team with nine points, scoring three goals with three assists. He was honored for his play by being named the Horizon League Athlete of the Week.

THE ONE GOAL TURNAROUND: Heading into the season, head coach Ali Kazemaini knew that in order to improve this year, the Vikings were going to have to improve on last year's 3-6-3 record in matches decided by a goal. CSU started the year with a less than steller 0-3-2 mark in one goal games, but has picked up the pace, winning four of the six matches during the current win streak to improve to 4-4-2 in one-goal contests this year.

HARPEL TAKE CHARGE: With just one goalie on the roster, the Vikings knew going into the season that they would win or lose based on the play of sophomore Nick Harpel. The Toledo native has thrived, leading the Horizon League with 5.25 saves per match while posting a 1.54 goals against average with five shutouts. He has let up 26 goals in 16 matches, a figure that was skewed when he let up 10 goals in two matches in Chicago at the start of league play.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will begin play in the upcoming Horizon League Championship. CSU can finish anywhere from first to fourth, opening play as early as Nov. 6 or as late as Nov. 14.