Oct. 23, 2006
Contact: Brian McCann
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Match 19
Youngstown State (2-13, 0-6) at Cleveland State (3-15, 0-6)
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Krenzler Field (1,680), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: YSU Leads, 1-0-1
Last Meeting: CSU 0, YSU 0 (10/30/05 at YSU)
Match 20
2006 Horizon League Championship
Cleveland State at UW-Milwaukee or Loyola
Date: Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006
Time: TBA
Site: TBA
Series: UW-Milwaukee Leads, 5-0; Loyola Leads, 3-0
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State closes the 2006 regular season at home on Wednesday night (Oct. 25) when the Vikings host Youngstown State on Senior Night. CSU then travels to either Loyola or UW-Milwaukee for a first round match-up on Saturday (Oct. 28) in the Horizon League Championship. The site and game time will be determined once the regular season ends following games on Oct. 25. The Vikings used a 2-1 win over IPFW on Sunday to snap a four-match losing streak and improve to 3-15 overall. Both CSU and Youngstown State enter Wednesday's contest winless in six league matches this year.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings split a pair of matches last week, falling 4-0 at UW-Green Bay on Friday before rallying for a 2-1 win over IPFW at home on Sunday. Here is a synopsis of those contests:
Match 17: UW-Green Bay 4, CSU 0 (Oct. 20, Green Bay, Wis.)
UW-Green Bay's Stephanie Gross tied a school record by scoring four goals as the Phoenix upended the Vikings, 4-0. CSU struggled offensively, managing just six shots.
Match 18: CSU 2, IPFW 1 (Oct. 22, Krenzler Field)
Shayna Bäck scored a pair of goals within 95 second of each other in the second half and Ashley Kidwell made six saves for her first career win as CSU rallied for a 2-1 win over IPFW on a cold, wet and windy night. Lisa Conway assisted on both CSU goals.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings have shown significant improvement on the field in 2006, but the record doesn't adequately show the improvement that they have made since last year. With nine starters and 13 letterwinners returning, head coach Derrek Falor has the deepest and most-experienced roster available since he came to Cleveland. CSU is still young, having 11 freshmen, seven sophomores and five juniors on the roster. Sophomore Ashley Kidwell, who holds the school record with 134 saves in 2004, has taken over in goal, claiming her first career win on Sunday against IPFW. The defensive unit, which consists of junior Amber Rasmussen, sophomore Abbie Kakias and Natalie Wilson and freshman Danielle Ultican, has been steady. The area of the field that has shown the most improvement since last year is at the midfield as the three returning starters -- juniors Heather Clapacs (3 assists) and Shayna Bäck (6 goals, 2 assists) and sophomore Lisa Conway (2 goals, 6 assists) -- have helped to control play and create offensive opportunities. Two freshmen start up front, Heather Wagner (2 goals) and Allie Riczo at midfield.
SENIOR NIGHT: Senior Andrea Loejos will be recognized in a pre-match ceremony as part of Wednesday's Senior Night match against Youngstown State. Loejos, a defender from Lakewood, Ohio, is one of the team captains this year. She joined the team as a walkon in 2005 and has started 19 of the 28 matches that she played in over the last two seasons.
CSU & YOUNGSTOWN STATE PLAY FOR NO. 7 SEED: Wednesday night's regular season finale against Youngstown State will determine the first round opponent for both teams in this week's Horizon League Championship. With both teams sporting 0-6 league marks this year, the winner will claim the No. 7 seed and play at second-seed Loyola on Saturday (Oct. 28). The losing team will be the No. 8 seed and have to play at regular season champion UW-Milwaukee in the opening round. If the match ends in a tie, then YSU would claim the No. 7 seed because it has scored more goals in league play than CSU.
. . . IT COULD BE A LOYOLA SATURDAY: If the Vikings win on Wednesday against Youngstown State, it would set up a scenario which would have both the CSU volleyball and both soccer teams playing at Loyola in the same day. The men's soccer team is scheduled to take on the Ramblers at 2:00 p.m. in a Horizon League Championship quarterfinal match and the volleyball team plays at 5:00 p.m.
SHAYNA IS BACK: Junior Shayna Bäck picked an opportune time to break out of an offensive slump, scoring a pair of second half goals against IPFW to lead CSU to its third win of the season. The Viking scoring leader with a school-record 14 points this season, Bäck had not scored a point in eight matches heading into Sunday night's contest. Bäck ranks among the Horizon League leaders in goals (6) and points (14), despite entering the season having never scored a point in 34 career matches prior to this season.
. . . BACK TO BACK: The two goals by Shayna Bäck against IPFW came just 95 seconds apart, narrowly missing the school record for the fastest two goals in a match. Ashley Walchack holds the mark with a pair of tallies 88 seconds apart against Delaware State.
CONWAY MAKES HER MARK OFFENSIVELY: Sophomore midfielder Lisa Conway continues to be a catalyst of the Viking offense this year. She shares the Horizon League lead with a school record six assists, the last two coming on both Shayna Bäck goals on Sunday against IPFW. Conway leads the team with 42 shots, one shy of the school record 43 taken by Heather Clapacs in 2004. She has 64 shots in her two seasons, trailing only the record 88 shots by junior Heather Clapacs.
NEXT UP: If the Vikings win their opening round match of the Horizon League Championship, CSU would advance to the semi-finals, which will be played on Friday, Nov. 3 at the top remaining seed in the tourney.
