Aug. 23, 2004

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 1
Kent State (12-5-3 in 2003) at Cleveland State (0-0)
Date: Friday, August 27, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Foltz Field (1,000), Strongsville, Ohio
Tickets: $5 for adults, $3 for youth 12 and under
Directions
Fans please note that you may need to bring blankets and/or lawn chairs as there is limited bleacher seating. Match 2
Cleveland State (0-0) at Toledo (8-11-0 in 2003)
Date: Sunday, August 29, 2004
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Findlay Athletic Complex (500), Toledo, Ohio
SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings make their formal entry into intercollegiate soccer when CSU hosts Kent State on Friday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Foltz Field in Strongsville. The Vikings continue their opening weekend two days later, travelling to Toledo for a 1 p.m. match with the Rockets on Sunday, August 29. Head coach Derrek Falor, who joined the staff in February of 2003, has overseen the development of the team, the 17th intercollegiate sport offered at Cleveland State. REVIEWING MERCYHURST: The Vikings dropped a 3-1 decision at Mercyhurst on Sunday (Aug. 22) in their only preseason match of the preseason. Cleveland State scored its only goal in the 58th minute when freshman Jennifer Wieand took a long pass from freshman Maggie Pugliese, dribbled through a pair of defenders and past goalie Karen Eade before banging a shot home from 10 yards to trim the score to 2-1. Head coach Derrek Falor played his entire roster, using the match as an opportunity to try many different playing combinations. "This was just about what I expected," Falor said. "There were some very positive signs at times but we weren't able to sustain our level of play in any area of the game for a long enough period to say that we are ready for our opener this week. I was happy that we were able to make adjustments and show improvement as the match progressed. By the end of the third period, we were being much more aggressive and consequently, we made some plays that we didn't make earlier in the day. That's a good sign." PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The inaugural edition of the women's soccer team has been built around a recruiting class of 12 student-athletes, most of whom hail from the Greater Cleveland area. The group is joined by nine walk-ons, including seven that took part in practices last year. Of the 11 expected starters for the season opener, eight were a part of the recruiting class with the other three coming from walk-on practices last year. FLASHY FORWARDS: Although the Vikings start a pair of freshman up front, the duo have a history of scoring goals, posting some impressive offensive numbers in high school. Jennifer Weiand, who scored the only CSU goal in the exhibition match at Mercyhurst, tallied 42 goals with 12 assists (96 points) as a senior at Alden (NY) High, finishing her career with school records for goals (101), assists (43) and points (245). Linemate Amber Rasmussen scored 42 goals as a senior at Bristol High in North Bloomfield, Ohio, ending her career with 139 goals. CAPTAINS: Seniors Katie Burke and Jessica Larsen will serve as captains of the inaugural Viking squad, being selected for the honor because of their effort and attitudes last year during walkon practices. "I couldn't ask for a better pair of captains this year," head coach Derrek Falor said. "They both worked incredibly hard last year, have previous collegiate soccer experience to rely on and exhibit the leadership skills that you would expect from fourth-year players." Burke played at Slippery Rock in both 2000 and 2001 before transferring to CSU while Larsen played at Mount Union in both 2001 and 2002. VIKINGS PICKED SEVENTH: Cleveland State has been picked to finish tied for seventh in the Horizon League this year in a preseason poll of the league coaches. Defending champion UW-Milwaukee was tabbed as the preseason favorite, garnering five of the eight first place votes (coaches did not predict the finish of their own team) and 47 total points. Butler, which finished in a second place tie with UW-Green Bay last year, was a close second in the voting, earning one first place vote and 41 points. Detroit was picked to finish in third place with 35 points, earned two first place votes and Cleveland State and Youngstown State finishing tied for seventh with 10 points each. 2004 Horizon League Pre-Season Women's Soccer Poll (Balloting by the Horizon League Coaches) 1. UW-Milwaukee (5), 47 points
2. Butler (1), 41 points
3. Detroit (2), 35 points
4. Loyola, 28 points
UW-Green Bay, 28 points
6. Wright State, 25 points
7. Cleveland State, 10 points
Youngstown State, 10 points
KAKIAS OUT: Freshman Abbie Kakias, who was slated to fill one of the four starting slots on defense, will miss the entire season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee earlier this summer. Kakias, who will most likely be able to participate in limited drills later this fall, will redshirt this year and have four seasons of eligibility left. A KRENZLER FACELIFT: Krenzler Field, which has served as the home for Cleveland State soccer since 1985, will undergo renovations over the course of the next six months to convert it to a facility capable of hosting events year round. Planned improvements include the addition of an all-purpose FieldTurf playing surface and a removable air-supported dome that will cover it during the winter months. Work on the $2.2 million project will begin immediately. The playing surface is expected to be completed in early October with the dome being completed by December. FieldTurf, a revolutionary playing surface that combines the properties of natural grass with the durability of artificial turf, has been installed on almost 1,000 playing surfaces in 20 countries around the world. The removable dome, a product of Yeadon Domes, will cover the entire length of Krenzler Field, approximately 94,000 square feet, with a 60-foot ceiling. It will be made of a heavy-duty vinyl coated flame-resistant polyester architectural fabric. . . . WITH THE GOOD, COMES THE BAD: The improvements to Krenzler Field have necessitated moving the first four women's soccer home matches of the season to Foltz Field in Strongsville. The matches affected include the August 27 season-opener against Kent State and the contests against Duquesne (Sept. 5), South Alabama (Sept. 10) and IUPUI (Sept. 12). The Coaches: • DERREK FALOR (Western Washington '92) At CSU: 1st year (0-0), Overall: 7th year (56-47-10) In his seventh season as a collegiate head coach, Falor has been responsible for every aspect of building the CSU program, doing so over an 18-month period since being hired in February of 2003. He previously served as head coach at Western Washington from 1995-2000, compiling a 56-47-10 mark posting five second place conference finishes. A 1992 graduate of Western Washington, he later earned a master's degree in sports psychology from the school in 1995. Kent State • ROB MARINARO (Clemson '92) At KSU: 24-26-5 (4th year), Overall: 24-26-5 (4th year) Toledo • BRAD EVANS (Wooster '92) At UT: 22-29-3 (4th year), Overall: 89-55-4 (9th year) NEXT UP: The Vikings continue their 12-match non-conference slate with a pair of contests next week, travelling to Marshall on Sept. 3 (Friday) before returning home to face Duqueson on Sept. 5 (Sunday) at Foltz Field.