Aug. 30, 2006
Contact: Brian McCann
Match 3
Cleveland State (1-1-0) at Valparaiso (1-1-0)
Date: Friday, Sept. 1, 2006
Time: 4:00 p.m. CDT
Site: Eastgate Field (500), Valparaiso, Ind.
Series: Valpo Leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Valpo 5, CSU 2 (9/11/05 at CSU)
Match 4
Cleveland State at IUPUI (1-0-1)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Kuntz Stadium (4,500), Indianapolis, Ind.
Series: IUPUI leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: IUPUI 2, CSU 0 (9/12//04 at CSU)
SETTING THE SCENE: After playing extremely well in splitting a pair of matches to open the regular season last week, the Cleveland State women's soccer team returns to action this week when it continues its current five-game road swing with a pair of matches in the state of Indiana. The Vikings open the week on Friday, Sept. 1 with a 4:00 p.m. CDT contest at future Horizon League member Valparaiso. The weekend concludes on Sunday (Sept. 3) when CSU plays a 1:00 p.m. EDT match in Indianapolis, Ind. at IUPUI. The Vikings carry a 1-1 record into the week after opening the 2006 season by routing Delaware State, 6-0, on Sunday (Aug. 27) before dropping a 2-1 double overtime decision on Monday (Aug. 28) at Kent State.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings opened the 2006 season last week by splitting a pair of matches. Here is a synopsis of those games:
Match 1: CSU 6, Delaware State 0 (Aug. 27, Krenzler Field)
Shayna Bäck scored the first two goals of the match and Ashley Walchack added three second half markers as the Vikings routed Delaware State to claim the first win in program history. Lisa Conway had a goal and set a school record with three assists while Erin Withrow made five saves in goal to record her second career shutout.
Match 2: Kent State 2, CSU 1 (2OT) (Aug. 28, Kent, Ohio)
KSU's Brittany Fracasso scored on a rebound with 6:19 left in double overtime as the Vikings dropped a 2-1 decision to the Golden Flashes. Shayna Bäck scored the lone CSU goal to knot the game at 1-1 and the two teams played over 80 minutes of scoreless soccer. Erin Withrow made eight saves.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings have started their third season of women's soccer with a pair of solid performances that leads you to believe that they have benefited from the growing pains over the first two seasons. With nine starters and 13 letterwinners returning, head coach Derrek Falor has the deepest and most-experienced roster available since he came to CSU. CSU is still young, owning a 24-player roster that includes 11 freshmen, seven sophomores, five juniors and just one senior. Sophomore Erin Withrow, who led the Horizon League with 122 saves last year, emerged from preseason as the starter in goal and has done well, allowing just two goals in the two matches this year (0.93 gaa). The preseason move that has paid the biggest dividends came when Falor moved sophomore Abbie Kakias to the central defender slot, a move that has solidified the young defender lineup that includes sophomore Maggie Pugliese, who returns after missing all of last season with a knee injury, and freshmen Allie Riczo and Danielle Ultican. The area of the field that has shown the most improvement since last year is at the midfield with the five returning starters combining to record all 17 points this year. The unit is led by junior Heather Clapacs (2 assists), a two-time second team All-Horizon League choice, while juniors Amber Rasmussen and Shayna Back (3 goals) have combined to start 74 games over the last two years. Rounding out the midfielders are sophomores Ashley Walchack (3 goals) and Lisa Conway (1 goal, 3 assists), who finished third and fifth on the team in scoring last year. The Viking offense was dealt a big blow just before preseason practice when junior Jennifer Wieand tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and will be sidelined for the season. The injury created the opportunity for freshman Heather Wagner, who scored 29 goals with 29 assists during her prep career. Wagner has taken five shots in the first two matches.
CONWAY NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: One day after scoring a goal and setting a Viking record by handing out three assists in the win over Delaware State, sophomore midfielder Lisa Conway was honored for that effort by being named the school's first-ever Horizon League Player of the Week in women's soccer. Conway, who had a school-record equaling three assists last year, is the CSU career leader with six assists.
BACK TO THE MIDFIELD: After playing most of her first two seasons on defense, junior Shayna Bäck has thrived since moving to the outside midfield slot during preseason, scoring three times in the first two games. She tallied the first two goals in the Delaware State contest and provided CSU with its only marker at Kent State. The results of the position switch were evident during the preseason when Bäck had a goal and an assist in the exhibition match against Saginaw Valley State. Prior to this year, Bäck had not scored a point in 34 career games.
WALCHACK'S RETURN SPARKS OFFENSE: The return of Ashley Walchack to the lineup gave the Viking offense a big boost in the opener as the sophomore set a school record for goals in a match with three - all in the second half -- against Delaware State. Walchack finished second on the team in scoring a year ago despite missing the final seven matches of the year.
WITHROW POSTS SHUTOUT, TAKE OVER SAVES LEAD: The first two matches of the season have been memorable ones for sophomore goalkeeper Erin Withrow. Withrow, who led the team with 122 saves last year, made five saves against Delaware State to post her second career shutout -- and first in a CSU victory. She came back the next day to make eight saves at Kent State to raise her career total to 135, one more than the school career record of 134 held by teammate Ashley Kidwell.
NEXT UP: The Vikings will play in their first in-season tournament ever when they play matches against Nicholls State (Sept. 8) and South Alabama (Sept. 10) at the KELME Port City Classic in Mobile, Ala.
