Nov. 4, 2010

Contact: Dan Carr

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has selected Cleveland State goalkeeper Brad Stuver as its national player of the week after the sophomore helped lead the Vikings to their 2-1 win over top-ranked Akron last Saturday (Oct. 30).

The NSCAA made the announcement late on Wednesday (Nov. 3).

"This is great for Brad and for our program," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "There is a certain level of talent we would like to bring into our program, and to do that, we need players of Brad's caliber to be recognized nationally. This announcement is very good news."

Stuver recorded five saves in the Vikings' win, handing Akron its first regular season loss since 2008. The Zips had entered the match with the nation's top scoring offense, scoring 42 goals on the season, but Stuver held them to only a penalty kick goal. Stuver had guessed right on the direction of the kick, but could not get to the ball in time.

"Everyone knows that, to be successful, you must have a good goalkeeper," Kazemaini said. "Not only is Brad a very good goalkeeper, but I think he can actually continue to get better."

The NSCAA chooses its players of the week from a nomination pool comprised of all the players of the week from the various NCAA Division I conferences. Stuver was honored as the Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday.

Stuver will also be recognized at halftime of the NSCAA Game of the Week, shown on the Fox Soccer Channel. This week's match is a contest between UAB and Memphis that will be aired at 8:00 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 5).

Cleveland State's men's soccer team concludes its regular season with a match at Butler on Friday (Nov. 5) at 10:00 a.m. The Vikings will then play in the Horizon League Championship playoffs beginning next week, with first round matches scheduled to be played at higher seeds' home fields on Tuesday (Nov. 9).