Nov. 7, 2011
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Match 19
No. 6 Loyola (5-11-1, 3-5 HL) at No. 3 Cleveland State (9-8-1, 5-2-1 HL)
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Krenzler Field (2,000) - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Loyola leads, 12-7
Last Meeting: @ Cleveland State 4, Loyola 0 (10/8/11)
SETTING THE SCENE: Third-seeded Cleveland State will host sixth-seeded Loyola in the opening round of the Horizon League Championship at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 8). This will be the second time these two teams meet after Cleveland State beat Loyola 4-0 on Oct. 8 thanks to a hat trick from Aaron Adkins. The Vikings won the Horizon League finale 2-0 over Detroit on Friday (Nov. 4) to enter the postseason with a 9-8-1 overall mark and 5-2-1 in league play. Loyola hasn't played since Wednesday (Nov. 2) when they beat UIC 1-0 to conclude the regular season at 5-11-1 and 3-5 in the Horizon League. If CSU wins, they would play No. 2 Wright State at 5:00 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 11) in Valparaiso, Ind. If Loyola wins, they could play either top-seeded Valparaiso or No. 2 seed Wright State. Both semifinal matches and Sunday's (Nov. 13) championship match will be played at Valparaiso.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Cleveland State closed out the regular season with a 2-0 win over Detroit on 'Senior Night'. Below is a quick recap of the match:
Match 18: Cleveland State 2, Detroit 0 (Nov. 4, Cleveland, Ohio) The Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute thanks to the seventh goal of the season from Admir Suljevic. The sophomore forward, playing for the first time since Oct. 14, took a pass from Jordan Hart and slammed it past Detroit goalkeeper Anthony Shepherd. CSU tacked on a second goal when Suljevic hit Aslinn Rodas who knocked it over to Jordan Hart. Hart scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Vikings some breathing room. Brad Stuver made two saves to secure his fifth shutout of the season and secure the club the third overall seed in the Horizon League Championships.
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 (9-7-1, 63 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 five shutouts this season and led the league in saves (36) in Horizon League matches. The backline is led by sophomore Zach Ellis-Hayden (one goal, two assists) who has started all 18 games in the back, as well as Justin Mancine (15 starts) and Al James (12 starts). Brian Donnelly has moved around but the experienced defender has started 13 matches for the Vikings. Sophomore Justin Cree (10 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 forcing John Wargo to redshirt, the club has needed major minutes from Aslinn Rodas (one goal, four assists) and freshman Mike Derezic (one goal, one assist) who has started the first 15 matches of his college career and excited the coaching staff with his level of play. The Vikings forwards have scored 22 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 seven goals, and Jordan Hart (five 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 (13 starts) are also very experienced for sophomores at the forward spot for the Vikings.
LEAGUE LEADERS: With nine goals, Aaron Adkins finished second in the Horizon League in goals behind only UIC's Ivan Stanisavljevic (10). Admir Suljevic scored seven goals to tie for fourth, but he missed five matches due to injury and wound up second in the league in goals per game (0.54). Adkins and Suljevic tied for second in the league with 19 points, and Suljevic (1.46) led the league in points per game. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver recorded five shutouts, the second most in the league. Of his 63 saves, a league-best 36 came in league matches.
VIKINGS HONORED: Six Vikings earned All-Horizon League honors when the league office made the announcement on Monday afternoon. The Vikings had a league-best three first team selections in Aaron Adkins, Manuel Conde and Admir Suljevic. Aslinn Rodas and Brad Stuver earned second team honors, while freshman Mike Derezic was named to the all-newcomer team.
DYNAMIC DUO: With nine goals from Aaron Adkins and seven from Admir Suljevic, Cleveland State has the second most prolific scoring duo in the league behind only UIC's Ivan Stanisavljevic and Eric Frazier. You would have to go back to the 2003 campaign to find the last time a duo scored more than 16 goals in a season. In 2003, Stephen Ademolu (12) and Spencer Lappin (five) combined for 17 goals. In each of the last six Horizon League matches, either Adkins or Suljevic has recorded a point.
REVENGE ON THEIR MIND: The Vikings handed Loyola its worse league loss of the season, blanking Loyola 4-0 on Oct. 8. The Ramblers lost a pair of non-league matches by the same 4-0 score.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Tuesday's match will be the 25th league tournament match in the history of the Viking soccer program. CSU is 7-15-2 in league tournaments, including time spent in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. Twice the Vikings have tied, and they are 1-1 when the outcome is decided by penalty kicks. The Vikings and Ramblers have met in the postseason twice, with Loyola winning 3-2 in 2006 and 1-0 in 2008. Since joining the Horizon League in 2001, the Vikings are 5-9-2 in the postseason.
CLICKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: Loyola has won just five matches all season, but they enter Tuesday with a short two-match winning streak. Cleveland State and Wright State carry the longest unbeaten streaks into the league tournament as both clubs were winners in three straight to close the regular season. Loyola is third in that category after knocking off Milwaukee and UIC to end the year.
NEXT UP: A win over Loyola would send the Vikings into the semifinals on Friday (Nov. 8) against Wright State, a match that would get started at 5:00 p.m. and be held at Valparaiso.
