Nov. 3, 2011
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Match 18
Detroit (5-11-1, 1-5-1 SL) at Cleveland State (8-8-1, 4-2-1 HL)
Date: Friday, November 4, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Krenzler Field (2,000) - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Detroit leads, 14-7-1
Last M'tg: @ Cleveland State 2, Detroit 1 (11/9/10)
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will host Detroit in the regular season finale for both clubs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 4). The Vikings, currently tied for second in the Horizon League with 13 points, are in play for the second seed and can slide to as low as fourth. At the very worst, Cleveland State will host an opening round game in the Horizon League Championships when they begin on Tuesday (Nov. 8). With a win or tie against Detroit and a Wright State loss at Butler, CSU would earn a bye in the first round. A win Friday guarantees CSU of at least a top-three finish. Detroit, 1-5-1 in league play, is eliminated from postseason competition and will see its season come to an end on Friday.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Cleveland State ended its two-match losing skid and responded by winning both contests last week. Below is a quick recap of both matches:
Match 16: Cleveland State 2, Butler 1 (Oct. 26, Indianapolis, Ind.) Butler took an early lead in the seventh minute and took that 1-0 lead into halftime. CSU's Jordan Hart scored an unassisted goal in the 53rd minute to even the score at 1-1 and then Aaron Adkins won it in the 65th minute when he headed home a Brian Donnelly corner kick. Brad Stuver made three saves.
Match 17: Cleveland State 2, Canisius 1 (Oct. 30, Cleveland, Ohio) Aaron Adkins opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when he chased down a ball from Mike Derezic and slid it past the keeper. Canisius tied it in the 55th minute on the first goal of the season from Denver Spearmen. Adkins scored his team-best ninth goal and fourth game-winner of the season off an assist from Manuel Conde in the 67th minute.
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 (8-7-1, 61 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 17 games in the back, as well as Justin Mancine (14 starts) and Al James (12 starts). Brian Donnelly has moved around but the experienced defender has started 12 games for the Vikings. Sophomore Justin Cree (nine starts), senior John Gulden (three starts) and senior Chris Koy (three starts, one assist) have added experience and depth. Senior Manuel Conde (three 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, one assist) who has started the first 14 games of his college career and excited the coaching staff with his level of play. The Vikings forwards have scored 20 goals in the 2011 season, with Aaron Adkins scoring a team-best nine goals. Admir Suljevic has missed time due to injury but still has scored six goals, and Jordan Hart (four goals) and Cazz Warren (once) have found the back of the net. Adkins and Suljevic are the most well known of the bunch but Caleb Eastham (seven starts) and Hart (12 starts) are also very experienced for sophomores at the forward spot for the Vikings.
LEAGUE LEADERS: With nine goals, Aaron Adkins is tied with UIC's Ivan Stanisavljevic for the most in the Horizon League. With 19 points, Adkins trails only Stanisavljevic in that category. While playing in only 12 matches, Admir Suljevic is tied with Green Bay's Tony Walls for sixth in the league with six goals and is also tied for sixth with 15 points. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver is tied for second in both shutouts (four) and saves (61) while ranking fifth in the Horizon League with a 1.35 goals against average.
RPI RANKINGS: Despite being tied for second in the league with 13 points, the Vikings are fifth in the Horizon League when it comes to the RPI rankings released by the NCAA on Nov. 1. UIC, 2-4-1 in the league, tops the group at 62nd, while Green Bay is 88th. Wright State is 95th and Valparaiso, the league's regular season champion, is 97th. Cleveland State is 136th, six spots ahead of Butler who checked in at 142nd. Milwaukee is 154th, with Loyola at 175th. CSU's lone opponent this week, Detroit, rounds out the league at 185th.
DYNAMIC DUO: With nine goals from Aaron Adkins and six from Admir Suljevic, Cleveland State has the second most prolific scoring duo in the league behind only UIC's Ivan Stanisavljevic and Eric Frazier. Josh Williams and Slavisa Ubiparipovic scored six goals apiece for Cleveland State 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 15 goals in a season. In 2003, Stephen Ademolu (12) and Spencer Lappin (five) combined for 17 goals. In each of the last five Horizon League matches, either Adkins or Suljevic has recorded a point.
REVENGE ON THEIR MIND: With CSU playing for the chance to earn a bye, Detroit has a chance to play spoiler. The Titans have added incentive as the Vikings ended Detroit's season in 2010 with a 2-0 win in the first round of the League Championships.
FAREWELL, SENIORS: Friday will mark the final home match for five seniors on the CSU roster: John Wargo, Brian Donnelly, John Gulden, Christopher Koy and Manuel Conde. Over the past four seasons, the Vikings have won 33 matches and gave coach Ali Kazemaini his first winning season at CSU in 2008. The Vikings have gone 21-6-4 at Krenzler Field since the start of the 2008 season. No win was bigger than the victory over No. 1 Akron last year with all five of these young men in the starting lineup.
NEXT UP: CSU has qualified for the six-team Horizon League Championships that begin on Tuesday (Nov. 8). CSU has a shot at a bye in the first round if Butler defeats Wright State and the Vikings get past Detroit. A win on Friday assures CSU of a top-three finish. If the Vikings do have to play on Tuesday, it will be at Krenzler Field.
