Aug. 12, 2004

Contact: Brian McCann

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After almost 18 months of planning and preparation, women's soccer made its official debut as an intercollegiate sport at Cleveland State when Viking head coach Derrek Falor welcomed 21 players to the first practice of the preseason. "It felt real good to get out on the field this morning and see the team practice together," Falor said. "I have spent the last year and a half recruiting the players for this team, seeing them play individually and in groups of two or three. Today I was able to see exactly how they fit in as a team and continue the process towards building a successful program." Since being hired on February 3, 2003, Falor guided the women's soccer program closer and closer to competition. From a coach in an empty office 18 months ago, he has, in no particular order, developed a complete staff of coaches, conducted walk-on tryouts and practices among the CSU student body, arranged a competitive first year schedule and built a roster of student-athletes for the inaugural year. "I am real thankful that I was afforded 18 months to put this program together," Falor said. "It gave me the opportunity to plan appropriately, schedule well and recruit the best student-athletes out there. The planning will hopefully allow us to not be your typical first year program." Falor was ambitious in his planning and he is now ready for the hard work to pay dividends. The inaugural team has been built around a recruiting class of 12 student-athletes, most of who hail from the Greater Cleveland area. The group is joined by several first year walk-ons along with six holdovers from walk-on tryouts last year. When Falor talks about the first Viking women's soccer team, he openly admits that his expectations are based on a lot of guesswork and emotion. "Even though we haven't played together yet, all of the players were recruited with the same style in mind and I believe that the pieces will click together," Falor said. "A lot of our players have played together over the years at the club or high school level, mostly in groups of twos or threes. I've seen enough of that to know that things will flow together. "Because we held walk-on tryouts last year, we have group of eight players coming back this fall who have a sense of team and who have a sense for the organization and intensity that I will expect in practice," Falor said. "Those eight have been through a lot and will be expected to provide a lot to the team, both emotionally and maturity." Falor was aggressive in scheduling, building a 19-game slate for the first season that consists of a seven-match Horizon League slate and a dozen contests against regional opponents. The Vikings will play the first match in program history when they host Kent State on Friday, August 27.