Oct. 18, 2004

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 16 Cleveland State (0-15) at DePaul (8-7-1)
Date: Friday, October 17, 2004
Time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
Site: Wish Field (1,000), Chicago, Ill.

Match 17 Cleveland State (0-15, 0-4) at Butler (5-8-2, 3-3)
Date: Sunday, October 24, 2004
Time: 12:00 Noon EDT
Site: Varsity Field (4,000), Indianapolis, Ind.

SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings take to the road for a pair of matches this week as the 2004 regular season winds downs. CSU plays its final non-conference match of the year when the Vikings face DePaul on Friday, October 22 beginning at 2:00 p.m. CDT at DePaul's Wish Field. The Vikings then head to Indianapolis for a 12:00 noon matchup with Butler on Sunday (Oct. 24). Cleveland State opens the week winless in 15 matches this year and 0-4 in league play. DePaul, which is coming off wins over Houston (4-0) and TCU (3-0) last week, is 8-7-1 on the year. Butler is 5-8-2 overall and in fourth place in the Horizon League with a 3-3 mark.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings played just one match last week, dropping a 3-1 decision to Youngstown State. Here is a synopsis of that match:

Match 15: Youngstown State 3, CSU 1 (Oct. 17, Mentor High School) Youngstown State answered an Amber Rasmussen game-tying goal with the game-winner just 21 seconds later as CSU fell, 3-1, to the previously winless Penguins. The Vikings set a school record with 19 shots, 14 of which were on goal.

FRESHMEN ORIENTATION: With 14 of the 21 players on the CSU roster being classified as freshmen, the Vikings never find themselves without an abundance of rookies on the field. In fact, in the 15 matches this year, CSU's non-freshmen have combined to start just 32 times (out of a possible 165). CSU has started 10 freshmen three times this year, including in each of the last two matches. Senior Katie Burke the lone non-freshmen in the lineup in all three contests.

A MATCH BETWEEN OLD FRIENDS: Friday's match at DePaul will be a reunion of sorts for Viking coaches Derrek Falor and Lauren Geiger, each of whom have DePaul ties. Geiger was a four-year regular in goal for the Blue Demons from 1999-02, graduating in the spring of 2003 with a degree in psychology. Falor worked as an assistant coach from 2001-02 for DePaul head coach John Wilson before coming to CSU to start up the Viking program. Falor's ties with Wilson go back much farther. The duo coached against each other at the Northwest Soccer Camps in 1984, they played against each other in high school -- Falor at Shorecrest High and Wilson at Everett High in Washington -- and both graduated from Western Washington University, Falor earning his sheepskin in 1992 and Wilson in 1993.

RASMUSSEN FINDS THE NET: Before she came to Cleveland State this fall, freshman Amber Rasmussen amassed an amazing total of 139 goals during her four seasons playing at Bristol High School in North Bloomfield, Ohio. It took her 15 matches, but she finally put her first marker on the scoreboard as a Viking, scoring from 15 yards out early in the second half against Youngstown State. Rasmussen, who assisted on each of the first two Viking goals this year, shares the team scoring lead with four points.

A ROAD DOUBLEHEADER FOR CSU: Sunday's match at Butler will mark the first time that the Viking men's and women's soccer teams will play road matches at the same school on the same day. The Cleveland State women will take on the Bulldogs beginning at 12:00 noon followed by the men's match at 2:30 p.m. This will be the second doubleheader of the year for CSU, the first coming last Sunday when the Vikings hosted Loyola (men) and Youngstown State (women) at Mentor High School.

WELCOME BACK BACK, JESSICA: The Vikings received a big boost from the training room last week when freshman defender Shayna Back and senior midfielder Jessica Larsen returned to action after each missed multiple contests. Larsen missed the previous five matches with an ankle injury while tonsillitis kept Back off the field for four straight contests.

SHOTS & SAVES: On by-product of the Viking offensive struggles this year has been an increasingly larger number of shots by CSU opponents and consequently, saves by Viking netminders. Cleveland State has been outshot, 422-88 for the year with CSU goalies combining to make 172 saves in the 15 games (11.46 spg). Allie Zajaros has made 76 saves in 10 games in goal, including a school-record 18 against Bowling Green on Oct. 1. It was the most saves by a goalie in the Horizon League this year and the third-highest total in league history. Ashley Kidwell leads the team with 96 saves in 10 games, including double figure save totals in three of the last four contests. She made a career-high 15 stops at Detroit on Oct. 8.

CLAPACS LEADS MIDFIELD ATTACK: One offensive bright spot for the Vikings this year has been the play of freshman midfielder Heather Clapacs. Clapacs, who leads the team with 33 shots and 16 shots on goal, has emerged as CSU's best possession player. She set school records for shots (9) and shots on goal (7) in the Youngstown State match.

CAPTAINS: Seniors Katie Burke and Jessica Larsen are serving as captains of the inaugural Viking squad, being selected for the honor because of their effort and attitudes last year during walk-on 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.

NEXT UP: The Vikings close out the regular season with a pair of matches next week, playing at UW-Green Bay on Friday (Oct. 29) before returning home for a Senior Day match against Loyola on Sunday (Oct. 31).