Oct. 1, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
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Match 12
Cleveland State (3-8, 0-1) at Loyola (5-5, 1-0)
Date: Friday, Oct. 5, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
Site: Loyola Soccer Park (500), Chicago, Ill.
Series: Loyola leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Loyola 3, @CSU 0 (10/6/06)
Match 13
Cleveland State at Wright State (7-3, 0-0)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Alumni Field (750), Fairborn, Ohio
Series: WSU leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: WSU 2, @CSU 0 (10/8/06)
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State takes to the road for the first time in league play when the Vikings start a four-match road swing that will cover the next three weeks. CSU opens the week on Friday, Oct. 5 with a 7:00 p.m. CDT contest at Loyola. The Vikings then head to Fairborn, Ohio to meet Wright State on Sunday, Oct. 7 starting at 1:00 p.m.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings split a pair of matches last week. Here is a synopsis of those contests:
Match 10: CSU 3, Robert Morris 1 (Sept. 28, Krenzler Field)
Jennifer Wieand scored a pair of goals and Shayna Back added the final CSU marker as the Vikings routed the Colonials, 3-1. Wieand's goals allowed her to tie the school record for goals in a season with six while Back's goal was her fifth. Kelly Zinkiewich made four saves in recording the win.
Match 11: Green Bay 1, CSU 0 (Sept. 30, Krenzler Field)
Chelsea Lyons scored on a breakaway 3:29 into overtime to give Green Bay a 1-0 win over CSU in the Horizon League opener for the Vikings. Both teams had 12 shots in the match, with Kelly Zinkiewich making eight saves in goal for CSU.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: At the halfway point of the fourth season of Viking women's soccer, CSU has shown much improvement from the 3-17 season of a year ago. With eight starters and 15 leterwinners back from last year's team that won a school-record three matches, head coach Derrek Falor has the most depth and experience in program history. The strength of the squad is on offense where the tandem of senior Shayna Back (5 goals, 3 assists, 13 point), junior Jennifer Wieand (6-2-14) and freshman Sylvia Olsby (2-3-7) have helped the Vikings to significantly increase their scoring. Heather Clapacs (1-1-3) leads the midfielders, being joined by newcomers Nicole Howard and Marley Greiner to give CSU a solid group of playmakers. Depth on defense has been a problem in each of the last three seasons, but Falor has as many as eight skilled defenders to call upon this year. Led by returning starters Amber Rasmussen , Maggie Pugliese and Abbie Kakias and transfer Emily Arpidone (Virginia Commonwealth), the defense has good experience to build on. CSU has a new face in goal as freshman Kelly Zinkiewich (64 saves) takes over as the starter.
WIEAND TIES SCORING MARK: A two-goal performance against Robert Morris on Friday night allowed junior forward Jennifer Wieand to tie the CSU season records for goals (6) and points (14). She currently shares those marks with teammate Shayna Back, who set them last season. Wieand, who missed all of last season following knee surgery, enters the week leading the Horizon League in shots (40) while ranking second in goals, third in points and fourth in points per match (1.27).
. . . AND NOT TOO FAR BACK: Senior forward Shayna Back is off to another great start, scoring points in six of the last nine matches to rank second on the team with 13 points (5-3-13). Back, who was held scoreless in 34 matches while playing on defense in each of her first two seasons, led the Vikings in both goals (6) and points (14) last year and is the CSU career record holder in both goals (11) and points (27). She begins the week ranking third in the league in goals (5), fourth in assists (3) and fifth in points (13).
CLAPACS FINDS THE NET: It took her 66 matches, but junior midfielder Heather Clapacs finally scored the first goal of her career when she blasted home a shot in the 74th minute against Cincinnati on Sept. 23. Clapacs, who holds the school record with 107 shots in 68 career matches, added her sixth career assist in the win over Robert Morris.
PROOF OF THE IMPROVEMENT: As the Vikings start the second half of the 2007 schedule, CSU has scored 16 goals in the first 11 matches, being shutout three times. Last year, CSU scored a school-record 16 times in 20 contests, being shutout 10 times.
. . . AND EVEN MORE PROOF: With 16 goals in 11 matches this season, the Vikings rank second in the Horizon League this year in goals, trailing only the 17 that Wright State has scored. In addition, CSU's 45 points (16 goals, 13 assists) are second only to the 48 that Loyola has scored this season.
NEXT UP: Cleveland State continues its four-match Horizon League road trip with an Oct. 12 contest at Youngstown State.
