Dec. 15, 2005

Contact: Brian McCann

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ali Kazemaini, one of the most decorated players in Cleveland soccer history, has been named the head men's soccer coach at Cleveland State University. CSU Director of Athletics Lee Reed made the announcement on Thursday.

"There is a real opportunity to build something special here," Kazemaini said. "Once we get a few of the local players in here and they have a good experience, it will open a lot of other doors.

"There is an abundance of talented players within a 50-mile radius of Cleveland. It's my goal to go after them and have them make CSU home. I'm excited about what we can do here."

Kazemaini, who earned All-America honors as a member of the Viking soccer team in both 1981 and 1983, has served as the head men's soccer coach at John Carroll University for the last 14 years, compiling a 176-76-13 record.

"The return of Ali Kazemaini to Cleveland State is a giant step towards restoring the Viking soccer program to the level of success that it enjoyed when he was a player back in the 1980's," Reed said.

"Ali is a winner. He won as a collegiate player, he was successful in his pro career and he has consistently won during his long head coaching tenure at John Carroll. I now look forward to seeing him use what he has learned over the last two decades to make Cleveland State a winner once again."

A native of Tehran, Iran, Kazemaini came to Cleveland State in 1980 and played on teams that compiled a 42-21-12 record, making one NCAA Championship appearance.

Kazemaini, one of two players in Vikings history to lead the team in scoring four straight years, currently ranks fifth in CSU history in goals (41), sixth in total points (102) and ninth in assists (20).

Kazemaini began his CSU playing career in fine fashion, leading the team in goals (6), assists (4) and points (16) in 1980. He came back the following year to double his scoring totals, tallying team highs in all three categories with 12 goals, eight assists and 32 points to earn second team All-America and first team All-Ohio accolades, helping CSU to a 14-5-2 record.

Kazemaini capped off his collegiate career in 1983 by earning second team All-America honors for the second time in his career, tallying 12 goals with four assists for 28 points to again lead CSU in every scoring category. He is one of a handful of Vikings to earn first team All-Ohio recognition three times during his career.

A two-year letterman in tennis (1982-83), Kazemaini was recipient of the CSU Varsity "C" Club Athlete of the Year in 1981 while being tabbed as the player of the year in soccer three times and twice in tennis.

Selected to play on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, Kazemaini had to forego playing in the Los Angeles games when immigration paperwork couldn't be approved in time.

Undaunted, Kazemaini turned professional. He was selected in the first round of the 1983 Major Indoor Soccer League Draft by the Cleveland Force and in the fourth round of the North American Soccer League Draft by the San Diego Shockers.

Kazemaini chose indoor soccer and was immediately successful, being chosen as the MISL Rookie of the Year in 1984-85. He played professionally for 11 years.

As his professional career wound down, Kazemaini pursued coaching, an aspect of the sport that he had worked in during the off-season for over a decade, participating in numerous coaching clinics and player camps.

Kazemaini took over as head coach at John Carroll in 1992 and the Blue Streaks immediately benefited, going 15-2-1 and winning the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship in his rookie year.

The accomplishments quickly piled up. He won seven OAC regular season titles during his 14 seasons, earning a league tournament berth 12 times and claiming four tournament championships. He guided his teams to the NCAA Playoffs in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005, advancing to the round of 16 in 2003.

For his efforts, Kazemaini was named the OAC Coach of the Year three times (2000, 2001 & 2005) and the NCSAA/Addidas Regional Coach of the Year twice (2000 & 2001).

During his tenure at John Carroll, Kazemaini coached players who won all-league honors 42 times, all-region accolades 21 times and 31 All-Ohio choices. In the classroom, eight of his players were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams with two earning Academic All-America honors.

Kazemaini inherits a Viking team that has struggled the last two years, compiling a 5-31-2 mark over the last two seasons, including an 0-18-1 record in 2005. CSU has lost seven league matches by one goal over the last two years.