Aug. 16, 2005
CLEVELAND - The second season of women's soccer at Cleveland State University officially began on August 11 when head coach Derrek Falor welcomed 22 student-athletes to campus for the start of preseason practice. The group included 10 returning letterwinners off last year's inaugural Viking squad, seven of whom were starters.
Leading the returning starters are sophomores Heather Clapacs, Amber Rasmussen and Jennifer Wieand.
Clapacs, one of two players to start all 20 matches a year ago, earned second team All-Horizon and honorable mention All-Ohio honors last year after leading the Vikings with 43 shots. Rasmussen and Wieand were the top two scorers on the CSU squad.
Rasmussen, a 2004 Horizon League All-Newcomer pick, had a hand in all four Viking goals during the year, leading the team in scoring with one goal and three assists. Wieand, the other player to start every contest, led the team with two goals.
"It will be a much different year of Vikings soccer," head coach Derrek Falor said. "I think last season our team didn't really know what to expect being new to the league, but now we know and we are ready."
"The players are excited to come back and work on some of the things that we talked about at the end of last season," Falor added. "They want to show the league what they are capable of doing."
Falor will work the Vikings through two-a-day practices for the next week, playing an exhibition match against Mercyhurst College on Thursday, Aug. 18 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Lost Nation Park in Mentor. Following two more days of practice, CSU will play its final exhibition match of the preseason on Sunday, Aug. 21 at Robert Morris.
"I saw tremendous growth last season in the 12 weeks since our first practice, both on the field and off," Falor said. "They worked hard, fought through the adversity of being a first-year program and represented Cleveland State University well. It would have been very easy for them to just give up as the losses mounted, but they didn't. They played with effort and intensity for 90 minutes in every match and that shows what they are capable of doing in this league."
"Now we have to build on our showing last season and translate that into some victories. We are no longer a first year program and our play needs to reflect it," Falor added.
The Vikings will open the 19-match 2005 regular season at Kent State on Aug. 28, the first four straight road matches, before returning home to host Valaparaiso on Sunday, Sept. 11 in the first match to be played on the recently renovated Krenzler Field.
"We are excited to play on one of the better fields in the country," Falor said. "It is a great experience for this team and really utilize our home-field advantage."
