Men's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season Athletics

Posted: Oct 30, 2007

Oct. 30, 2007

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (3-12-2, 0-5-1 HL) will hit the road this weekend when it travels to Valparaiso to take on the Crusaders on Friday (Nov. 2) at 4:00 p.m. The Vikings will then be off for a week until the conference tournament begins on November 9.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings lost at home against Detroit, then lost to 23rd-ranked Duke on the road. Here is a synopsis of what happened:

Match 14: Detroit, 4, CSU 0 (Oct. 26)-Cleveland, Ohio. Butler scored a goal in the sixth minute and then scored three second half goals to down the Vikings 4-0 at Krenzler Field. The Vikings were outshot, 21-5, in the game.

Match 15: Duke 3, CSU 0 (Oct. 28)-Durham, N.C. 23rd-ranked Duke scored two first half goals and a second half goal to outlast the Vikings 3-0. The offsides trap was working for the Vikings as they drew Duke offsides eight times.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings are bolstered by the return of nine starters and 14 lettermen off last year's squad that posted the nation's largest improvement in wins from one year to the next. Add to the mix 10 first year players and CSU easily has its deepest lineup in at least the last decade. The offense has struggled to find the net through the season, scoring just 12 times with no player having more than two markers. The midfield is currently made up of sophomores Josh Williams and Anthony Baraldi and junior Anthony Rucci. The defense was much improved in 2006, holding opponents to 31 goals in 18 matches (down from 65 in 2005). The improvement has continued this year as sophomores Mike Barton and Mitch Boyer, senior Tom Sadd and freshman Audric Kilroy have anchored the unit. Freshman Nick Harpel (3-6-2, 1.55 gaa, 55 saves) and sophomore Dan Duric (0-6, 2.22 gaa, 16 saves) have platooned between the pipes.

VIKINGS AGAINST VALPARAISO: When the Vikings play Valparaiso, they will have to feel good about their chances. Their record of 8-1 against the Crusaders is the best record they own against any team on the 2007 schedule.

BOYER LEADS THE TEAM IN POINTS: Mitch Boyer continues to lead the team in points with six. The defender has made the most of his opportunities by dishing out four assists, which ranks him second in the league, while scoring a goal. Boyer is also third on the team in shots (20) and tied for third on the team in shots on goal (9).

VIKINGS AND ONE GOAL GAMES: The Vikings have had a tough time scoring in the Horizon League as they have only scored four goals. However, four of the losses were by one goal and overall the Vikings are 2-6 in one goal matches this year, including 0-4 in the Horizon League. In 2006, the Vikings were 3-2 in one-goal decisions and 0-5 in 2005.

ALL THREE WINS ARE SHUTOUTS: In all three Viking wins, Nick Harpel pitched a shutout which ranks him tied for fifth in the league in that category. Two of the shutouts were back-to-back against Niagara (Sept. 2) and Western Michigan (Sept. 5).

A LOCAL FLAVOR: Two years ago, the soccer roster consisted of seven players who lived outside of the United States and only five who hailed from the greater Cleveland area. It hasn't taken long for Ali Kazemaini to change that as the only members of the 2007 Vikings to live outside of the U.S. are seniors Tom Sadd (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Roshard Gilbert (Scarborough, Ont.) and 22 of the 26 players are from Ohio (including 11 from greater Cleveland).

VIKINGS AND THE OFFSIDES: When the Vikings played Duke, the CSU defense drew the Blue Devils offsides eight times, the most offsides CSU has drawn this season.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS: Like the Vikings, Valparaiso has had a tough time finding the net this season as they have been shutout six times compared to the Vikings nine. Crusader defensman Steve Shively is tied for the team lead with four points.

10 VIKINGS HAVE SCORED GOALS: Two Vikings have joined the goal scoring list for CSU. Tom Sadd and Eric Tattersall each scored goals for the Vikings recently, giving CSU a total of 10 different players who have scored goals. George Kephart leads the team in goals with two.

WILLIAMS SECOND ON THE TEAM IN POINTS: Josh Williams is second on the team in points with five. He has one goal and three assists as he had scored a point in two straight games before going scoreless against Detroit.

VIKINGS AND THE HORIZON LEAGUE: As the Horizon League tournament approaches next week, the Vikings will play the fourth seed. The Vikings will either travel to Butler, UIC, or Wright State as they are battling for the fourth seed and are seperated by two points. CSU tied UIC 1-1, lost to Butler 2-1, and was defeated by Wright State 2-1 this season.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will play in the Horizon League tournament next weekend (Nov 9). The team and times will be announced.