Nov. 8, 2010
Contact: Dan Carr
Complete Release in PDF Format 
No. 5 Detroit (8-8-2, 4-4-0 HL) at No. 4 Cleveland State (8-9-1, 4-3-1 HL)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Krenzler Field (2,000) - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Detroit leads, 14-6-1
Last Meeting: @ Detroit 2, CSU 0 (10/15/09)
SETTING THE SCENE: For the third consecutive season the Cleveland State men's soccer team will begin the Horizon League Championship at home, hosting Detroit on Tuesday (Nov. 9) at 7:00 p.m. CSU finished the year 4-3-1 in the Horizon League and tied with Loyola for third in the overall standings. Detroit finished fifth in the league with a 4-4 mark, but beat the Vikings, 2-0, in Detroit on Oct. 15. A victory over the Titans would send CSU to Indianapolis to play either Butler or Green Bay in the semifinals on Friday (Nov. 12).
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Cleveland State closed out the regular season with a road match at Butler. Below is a recap of that contest:
Match 18: CSU 0, Butler 0 (2OT) (Nov. 5, Indianapolis, Ind.)
Goalkeeper Brad Stuver had a career day, making seven saves against the nation's seventh-best scoring offense, and the Vikings defenders played tough for 110 minutes, earning the team's fourth shutout of the season. CSU became the only Horizon League team to blank Butler this season.
2010 SEASON PREVIEW: After defeating top-ranked Akron and tying No. 6 Butler, the Vikings are heading into the postseason with the confidence that they can beat anybody. Head coach Ali Kazemaini has taken a group of young players who lacked collegiate playing experience and has turned them into one of the top teams in the Horizon League. Two of the top returning players from last season, Admir Suljevic and Justin Mancine, have been inactive for most of the year while battling injuries, and newcomers have accounted for more than half of the team's starts this year, but the Vikings' season has still been quite successful, with Cleveland State earning the right to host a playoff match for the third straight year. Manuel Conde, Aaron Adkins, John Wargo and Aslinn Rodas. have led a balanced offensive attack with three goals and two assists for eight points apiece. Adkins, Rodas and Audric Kilroy, who has an assist, have been the team's leading forwards. In the midfield, a solid rotation of Conde, Wargo, Jeff Baker, Brian Donnelly (who has a goal and an assist on the season) and Cameron Eisses (who has also scored a goal this year) have helped CSU control the ball all over the field. Defensively the Vikings have been led by freshmen Justin Cree and Zach Ellis-Hayden, with sophomore John Gulden and junior Christopher Koy giving strong performances in the last few weeks. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver, a three-time Horizon League Player of the Week honoree and the conference's season save leader (74), has given Cleveland State a dependable and sure-handed leader in the net.
TAKING ON THE BEST: The past two weeks the Vikings have faced two of the best teams in the country, Akron and Butler, and have more than held their own. CSU handed Akron, which had entered the contest unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country, a 2-1 defeat on Oct. 30. The Vikings then played on the road against No. 6 Butler on Nov. 5, holding the Bulldogs scoreless in a 0-0 tie.
THE MAN IN PINK: Goalkeeper Brad Stuver, donning a pink jersey for most games this year, ended the regular season with yet another dominant performance. He recorded seven saves and shut out a Butler offense that had entered the match ranked sixth in the nation in total goals and seventh in goals per game. Stuver finished the regular season as the Horizon League's save leader with 74, having made four more stops than UIC's Steve Purdy, who is second with 70. The 0-0 tie with Butler was Stuver's third shutout of the season.
...AND EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brad Stuver's seven save performance against Butler earned the sophomore Horizon League Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, making the sophomore the only player to accomplish that feat. This is the third time this year that Stuver has been named player of the week, the most of any player in the conference. Stuver previously earned the honor on Oct. 11 after helping the Vikings to shutouts against Pittsburgh and Valparaiso, and again last week (Nov. 1) following a five save performance against Akron.
ELLIS-HAYDEN RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY: After helping the Vikings hold Butler scoreless on Friday, freshman defender Zach Ellis-Hayden was named to CollegeSoccerNews.com's National Team of the Week. Ellis-Hayden made a clutch save on a shot that went past Stuver towards the net, getting in front of the ball just in time to make the save and preserve the shutout.
CSU TOURNEY HISTORY: Cleveland State owns a 5-9 record in postseason play since 2001, but is 3-0 in tournament matches played at Krenzler Field. The Vikings defeated Green Bay, 2-1, in 2002, beat Wright State, 2-1, in 2008 and won an overtime shootout against UIC last year. All three were first round contests.
PROTECTING THIS HOUSE: The Vikings have done a very good job of protecting their home field this season, owning a .778 winning percentage in games at Krenzler Field this year. Cleveland State went 7-2 overall and 3-1 against Horizon League competition at home, outscoring opponents 13-6.
NEXT UP: A win against Detroit would send the Vikings to Indianapolis to face either Green Bay or Butler in the Horizon League Championship Semifinals on Friday (Nov. 12). If Milwaukee defeats Loyola in the other first round match, the CSU would play Green Bay at 12:00 noon. If Loyola wins, the Vikings would play Butler at 2:30 p.m.
