Men's Soccer To Face Butler In League Semi-Finals Athletics

Posted: Nov 11, 2008

Nov. 11, 2008

Match 19
2008 Horizon League Championship
Cleveland State (8-7-3) vs. Butler (13-2-4)
Date: Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
Time: 5:00 p.m. CST
Site: Flames Field (1,000), Chicago, Ill.
Series: Butler Leads 15-2-1
Last Meeting: CSU 1, @Butler 1 (11/2/08)

SETTING THE SCENE: After coming back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Wright State on Sunday, Cleveland State heads back to Chicago to face second-seeded Butler in the semi-finals of the Horizon League Championship. The match will be played on Friday, Nov. 13 beginning at 5:00 p.m. CST at Flames Field. The contest will be followed by top-seeded UIC hosting No. 5 Loyola at 7:30 p.m. CST.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings opened play in the Horizon League Championship last week. Here is a recap of that contest:

Match 18: CSU 2, Wright State 1 (Nov. 9, Krenzler Field)
Slavisa Ubiparipovic scored ona breakaway in the 76th minute to break open a tied game and give CSU a 2-1 win over Wright State in the second round of the league tourney. WSU had taken a 1-0 lead on a Brandon Fleak goal in the first half, but Josh Williams evened the match when he he scored on a header at the 69:01 mark. Nick Harpel made five saves for CSU.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Third-year head coach Ali Kazemaini has a young, talented roster with nine starters returning from last season's 3-12-3 team. With eight freshmen and three transfers added to the mix, Kazemaini has the depth at every position to improve upon last season. Junior defender Mitch Boyer (5 goals, 1 assist, 11 points) leads the backline after earning second team All-Horizon League honors for the second straight season leading the team in assists (4) and points (6). He is joined in the back by junior Josh Williams (3-3-9) as well as freshmen Justin Mancine, Chris Koy and junior Eric Tattersall. Sophomore Nick Harpel is back as the starting goalkeeper. He is second in the league in both saves per game (5.22) and total saves (94), while recording five shutouts. The midfield is extremely deep and Kazemaini can call on any number of players, led by Anthony Rucci, the lone senior on the roster. The key has been up front where the Vikings have almost doubled the 12 goals scored last season. Junior Slavisa Ubiparipovic (5-3-13), a Xavier transfer, was brought in to supply the offensive attack up front along with juniors Nenad Stojkovic (3-0-6) and Stephen Byer (3-0-6).

THE HEAD COACH: Former Viking All-American Ali Kazemaini is in his third season as the head coach at Cleveland State. He was hired in December of 2005 and immediately charged with returning the program to prominence. In his three years at the helm, Kazemaini claims a 17-29-8 mark, as his Vikings were the most improved team in Division I in 2006. Kazemaini boasts a career record of 193-105-20 as a head coach, which includes a 14-year stint as the head coach at John Carroll. He is a three-time OAC Coach of the Year and two-time region coach of the year, leading JCU to seven conference championships and four tournament titles.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: After opening the season by playing nine of its first 10 matches on the road, CSU has responded well to its return to Krenzler Field. The Vikings have won their last six home contests, the longest home winning streak since a seven-match run in 1989.

. . . A RECORD-BREAKING SEASON: The win over Wright State on Sunday allowed the Vikings to complete the home schedule without a loss for the first time in school history. CSU had a 6-0-1 mark in seven home matches this year with the .928 winning percentage breaking the old record of .800 set when the Vikings went 8-2 at home in 1989.

UBIPARIPOVIC & BOYER EARN ALL-LEAGUE HONORS: Junior forward Slavisa Ubiparipovic and junior defender Mitch Boyer have each been named to the 2008 All-Horizon League team. Ubiparipovic, a first team selection, earns the honor after leading the team in scoring with 13 points, scoring five goals with three assists. He was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Oct. 27 after scoring two goals with an assist in a win over Wright State. Boyer, who repeats as a second team selection, leads the team with five goals of which four have come on penalty kicks.

. . . MANCINE & BYER NAMED TO ALL-NEWCOMER SQUAD: In addition to the two players honored on the all-league team, freshman defender Justin Mancine and junior forward Stephen Byer were each named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team. Mancine has started 15 of the 18 contests this season on defense, handing out one assist and taking eight shots. Byer, who recently returned after missing seven matches with a leg injury, has started six of the 11 matches he has played in, scoring three goals.

WHAT DO THE COACHES KNOW: The fact that Cleveland State is the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League Championship is even more impressive considering that the Vikings were picked to finish dead last in the annual preseason poll of the league's head coaches. The 5-2-1 league mark this year is quite an improvement over the combined 5-24-2 record that CSU put together in league play over the last five seasons.

THE ONE GOAL TURNAROUND: Heading into the season, head coach Ali Kazemaini knew that in order to improve this year, the Vikings were going to have to improve on last year's 3-6-3 record in matches decided by a goal. CSU started the year with a less than steller 0-3-2 mark in one goal games, but has picked up the pace, winning four of the six matches during the current winning stretch to improve to 4-4-3 in one-goal contests this year.

HARPEL TAKES CHARGE: With just one goalie on the roster, the Vikings knew going into the season that they would win or lose based on the play of sophomore Nick Harpel. The Toledo native has thrived, ranking second in the Horizon League in both saves per match (5.24) and total saves (89) while posting a 1.49 goals against average with five shutouts. He has let up 27 goals in 17 matches, a figure that was skewed when he let up 10 goals in two matches in Chicago at the start of league play.

NEXT UP: A victory by the Vikings against Butler would send CSU to the championship match for the second time in school history on Sunday, Nov. 16.