Oct. 17, 2005

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 16
Cleveland State (0-15, 0-4) at Wright State (7-4-3, 1-1-2)
Date: Friday, Oct. 21, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Alumni Field (500), Fairborn, Ohio
Series: WSU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: WSU 6, CSU 0 (10/6/04, Strongsville, Ohio)

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State heads down the home stretch of the 2005 season when it plays the first of three road matches to end the regular season. The Vikings travel to Fairborn, Ohio to face Wright State on Friday, Oct. 21 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at WSU's Alumni Field. CSU then closes the regular season next week with contests at Loyola (Oct. 28) and Youngstown State (Oct. 30).

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings closed the home portion of their 2005 schedule with a non-conference match against Southern Utah. Here is a synopsis of that contest:

Match 15: Southern Utah 2, CSU 0 (Oct. 15, Krenzler Field)
Southern Utah scored a pair of second half goals within an eight-minute span to break open a scoreless match and pull away for the win. Lisa Conway had five of CSU's 16 shots and Erin Withrow recorded 11 saves, her fifth match with double-figure save totals.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: As Cleveland State heads into the final weeks of the 2005 season, the Vikings are still looking for the first win in program history. Still, CSU bears little resemblance to the inaugural Viking squad that went 0-20 a year ago, and the improvement has become more and more visible every match. In its last two league matches, Cleveland State dropped a pair of one goal decisions to Detroit (2-1) and Butler (2-1), the teams picked to finish second and third, respectively in the Horizon League this year. The improvement has come at the midfield where sophomores Heather Clapacs, an honorable mention All-Ohio choice last year, and Amber Rasmussen and freshman Lisa Conway have helped to control play and create offense. Although battered by injuries this year, the defense has been aided recently by a pair of walkons, sophomores Ashley Spahn and Andrea Loejos, who have stepped into the starting lineup and provided stability. Offensively, Spahn leads the team with three goals while sophomore Jennifer Wieand and redshirt freshman Abbie Kakias have tallied five points each.

JUNIOR NIGHT?: One by-product of the youth of the Vikings this year is that even though CSU closed its home schedule against Southern Utah last Saturday, there was no Senior Night ceremonies before the match because the Vikings had no seniors. The closest thing that CSU has to a senior is junior Melissa Wood, who is in her fourth year at Cleveland State but has another year of eligibility remaining. The rest of the roster is evenly split with 10 freshman and 10 sophomores.

FIVE ELIGIBLE FOR ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HONORS: The emphasis that Cleveland State places on performing academically as well as athletically was apparent last week as five Vikings were eligible to be nominated for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors. The quartet consisted of junior Melissa Wood and sophomores Samantha Casey, Heather Clapacs, Amber Rasmussen and Jennifer Wieand. All five qualify because they have cumulative grade point averages of 3.20 or higher, are starters or important reserves and are sophomores. The Academic All-America team is selected by the membership of the College Sports Information Directors of America.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Despite going winless in matches against Detroit and Butler two weeks ago, the improvement that the Vikings have made since last year was obvious simply by comparing the final scores of those matches. CSU lost at Butler, 6-0 last year but took the Bulldogs to overtime before dropping a 2-1 decision. The improvement is even more dramatic against Detroit, a team that CSU lost 13-0 to last year. In that game, Titan Mary Parker, who went on to earn Horizon League Player of the Year honors, racked up five goals and two assists. In the rematch on Oct. 7, a 2-1 Titan win, Parker took five shots but was held scoreless.

WITHROW REACHES THE CENTURY MARK: An 11-save performance by Erin Withrow against Southern Utah on Saturday has allowed the freshman to become the second goalie in school history to record 100 saves in a season. Withrow, who has an even 100 saves in 15 matches this year, had her fifth double-figure save effort of the year against the Thunderbirds. She has stepped up her performance over the course of the last eight matches, recording 73 saves to take over the Horizon League lead. Withrow enters the week with four straight double-figure save matches. She made 11 saves against UW-Green Bay (Oct. 2), a career-high 12 stops against Detroit (Oct. 7) and 11 more saves against both Butler (Oct. 9) and Southern Utah. Youngstown State keeper Jessica Yarter is second in the league with 75 saves.

BRINGING THEIR A-GAME: The improved offensive performance of the Vikings this year is largely due to the quartet of sophomore Amber Rasmussen (1) and freshmen Ashley Walchack (2), Ashley Spahn (3) and Abbie Kakias (2), who have combined to score eight of the nine Viking goals this season. The A-theme is not a new one. Last year, Rasmussen had a hand in all four CSU goals, finishing as the team's scoring leader with one goal and three assists.

CSU FINDS OFFENSIVE BALANCE: The improved offensive play of the Vikings this year is a byproduct of the improved depth up front. Through 15 matches, six players have recorded double figure shot totals. Jennifer Wieand leads the way with 24 shots, 15 of which have been on goal. She is followed by Abbie Kakias (18), Heather Clapacs (17), Lisa Conway (16), Ashley Walchack (14) and Ashley Spahn (12). Last year, only three players reached double figures in the stat, with Clapacs leading the way with 43 shots.

NEXT UP: The Vikings close the 2005 regular season with road matches at Loyola (Oct. 28) and Youngstown State (Oct. 30) next week.