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Contact: Kevin Zeise
Nov. 3, 2003
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's soccer team begins postseason play on Saturday with the Horizon League Quarterfinal in Detroit. The sixth-seeded Vikings fell at Detroit on Oct. 1, 2-1 in overtime, when the two schools met in the league contest earlier this season.
About the Vikings
Cleveland State (6-12-1, 2-5 Horizon) enters post-season play as the sixth-seed in the Horizon League Championships. The Vikings have struggled in the second half of the season, having lost their last four matches and nine of their last ten.
Akron 1, CSU 0 - In a defensive game on a slick field, the Vikings fell at Akron by a 1-0 count. A goal in the 17th minute of the match was the only blemish on the scoreboard, but CSU could only manage five shots on goal for the game.
UW-Green Bay 3, CSU 1 - David Stewart (Ingleside, Texas) scored his third goal of the season just seven minutes into the match, but the Viking defense couldn't hold the first-half lead, surrendering three goals in the second period.
About Detroit
The third-seeded Titans also enter the league tournament struggling, having lost three of their last four matches. Detroit tied Bowling Green in their season finale on Nov. 2 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Vikings fell to the Titans, 2-1 on Oct. 1 in Detroit, with Detroit scoring the game-winner just over five minutes into the first overtime. George Kithas leads the Titans in scoring with 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists.
Vikings In Post-Season Play
Last season saw Cleveland State make the deepest run in league tournament play in school history, advancing to the Horizon League Championship game. The Vikings ended the regular season with a 5-2 league mark and the second-seed in the league tournament before beating UW-Green Bay, 3-2 at Krenzler Field in the league quarterfinal. The semifinal found the Vikings defeating UIC, 5-2, before falling in the championship game to the host Panthers of UW-Milwaukee, 8-0. The Vikings are 4-8 all-time in the Horizon League tournament since joining the league in 1994, owning wins over Northern Illinois in 1996, Detroit in 1997 and UW-Green Bay and UIC last season.
Series Notes
Detroit holds a 3-8-1 edge all-time against the Vikings, including the Oct. 1 win in Detroit. Cleveland State has never won at Detroit's Titan Field in five attempts, and has scored just two goals in those five matches.
Head Coach Pete Curtis
In his fourth season as head coach, Pete Curtis has a record of 22-51-2. He guided the Vikings to a 10-11 mark last season, including a berth in the Horizon League championship game, and was named the Horizon League co-Coach of the Year. Curtis has a career record of 118-139-12 in his 14 seasons as a head coach. He is assisted by John Harr, in his first season, and Andy Carl, in his sixth season.
Horizon League Playoffs
Three other matches will be played on Saturday to determine the four semifinalists in the Horizon League Championships. The top-seeded Panthers of UW-Milwaukee will host UW-Green Bay, the eighth-seed, while Butler will play host to Loyola in a matchup of 2 vs. 7. The 4-5 game features Wright State heading to UIC. The semifinals and finals will be held at the home field of the highest remaining seed.
Tying One On
The Oct. 16 draw with Bowling Green was the first tie in over three and a half years for the Vikings. The last tie came on Sept. 1, 2000, against Western Michigan in Pete Curtis' first game as head coach. In between ties, the Vikings have had five games go into overtime and be decided in the extra sessions.
Rally Time
The Oct. 16 tie with Bowling Green was another in a series of memorable come-from-behind games for the Vikings this season. Trailing 2-0 with 20 minutes to play, the Vikings scored twice in five minutes to even the score and send the game to overtime, where it ended deadlocked. Cleveland State also rallied from a 2-1 deficit with two goals in the final 10 minutes to defeat Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, and came back three times before ultimately claiming a 5-4 win against UIC on Sept. 20.
Glad October's Over
The month of October was not kind to Cleveland State. After going 6-2 in September, including winning four straight matches on the road, the Vikings dropped their first four games in October before snapping that skid with the Oct. 16 tie with Bowling Green. CSU entered the month with a 6-4 mark, but went 0-7-1 in October.
Following The Leader
The Oct. 24 match against Butler snapped one streak for the Vikings, but not in the way coach Pete Curtis would have liked. Stephen Ademolu (Windsor, Ontario, Canada/Herman) scored a goal in the 3-2 loss to Butler, the first time he has scored in a Viking loss this season. On the other side of the ledger, the Vikings have not won a match in which Ademolu has not found the back of the net. Of his 12 goals on the year, 10 have come in the six CSU wins, with Ademolu also scoring in the 2-2 draw with Bowling Green on Oct. 16. Ademolu has 27 points on the season on 12 goals and three assists.
Dangerous Even When Not Scoring
Even though he wasn't credited with the goals, Stephen Ademolu has created three other goals on the season for Cleveland State. Ademolu has been fouled three times in the penalty area, leading to three penalty kicks. The Vikings have converted all three this season, with David Carmichael (Paisley, Scotland/Penilee) scoring two and Benny Eck (Ottendorf, Germany/Freidrich-Fischer-Schule) finishing the third.
We're Going Streaking
The Vikings won four straight road games at Robert Morris, Loyola, Niagara and Xavier after starting the season 0-2. That streak is tied for the second-longest road win streak in school history, tying the 1981 campaign that saw the Vikings record wins at Bowling Green, UW-Milwaukee, Marquette and Ohio State. The record for consecutive wins away from home is six, set during both the 1977 and 1979 seasons.
The Drought Is Over
Stephen Ademolu's three-goal output against Robert Morris on Sept. 3 earned him Horizon League Player of the Week Honors for the week ending Sept. 7. That marked the first time a CSU soccer player has received the award since Colin Knott claimed it on Sept. 8, 1997. Ademolu then won the award again two weeks later after tallying an eight-point game against UIC in the home opener on Sept. 20.
Senior Salute
The Oct. 24 match with Butler marked the final regular-season game at Krenzler Field for three seniors. Defenders Benny Eck, Jim Sears (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) and Matteo Zappa (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) each made their final appearance at the downtown pitch.
Tournament Honors
Spencer Lappin and Stephen Ademolu were each named to the all-tournament team at the Duquesne Classic. Lappin scored a pair of goals in the tournament, while Ademolu collected an assist in the tournament's final match against Duquesne.
50 Years of Soccer
The 2003 campaign is the 50th season of soccer at Cleveland State University, a milestone that was marked during the Sept. 20 home opener against UIC. More than 50 former players and coaches were on hand for the festivities, which included an alumni game and recognition of alumni at halftime of the CSU-UIC match.
Up Next
With a win over Detroit, the Vikings would advance to the Horizon League Semifinals on Nov. 14, to be played at the home field of the highest remaining seed. A loss to the Titans would end the season for Cleveland State.
