Oct. 24, 2005
Contact: Brian McCann
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Match 17
Cleveland State (0-16, 0-5) at Loyola (6-8-1, 1-4)
Date: Friday, Oct. 28, 2005
Time: 4:00 p.m. CDT
Site: Loyola Soccer Park (500), Chicago, Ill.
Series: Loyola leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Loyola 3, CSU 0, 10/31/04, Strongsville, Ohio
Match 18
Cleveland State at Youngstown State (1-16, 1-4)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005
Time: 3:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Stambaugh Field (20,630), Youngstown, Ohio
Series: YSU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: YSU 3, CSU 1, 10/17/04, Mentor, Ohio
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State closes the 2005 regular season with road matches at the two teams that are closest to them in the Horizon League standings. The Vikings start the week on Friday, Oct. 28 with a 4:00 p.m. CDT match at Loyola. CSU then closes the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 30 at Youngstown State with a 3:00 p.m. contest at Stambaugh Field.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings played just one match last week, a Friday night matchup at Wright State. Here is a synopsis of that contest:
Match 16: Wright State 5, CSU 1 (Oct. 21, Fairborn, Ohio)
Wright State scored four goals in the first half, the last coming with just one second remaining in the opening stanza. CSU, which played even with the Raiders over the final 45 minutes, got on the board with a Michelle Sanker marker early in the second half. Erin Withrow made seven saves in goal
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: As Cleveland State heads into the final week of the regular 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 league matches earlier this month, 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 Jennifer Wieand and redshirt freshman Abbie Kakias have tallied five points each.
PLAYING FOR A TOURNEY SEED: The two matches this week will go a long way in determining CSU's first round opponent in next week's Horizon League Championships at UW-Green Bay. With a 6-0-1 record in league play, UW-Milwaukee has wrapped up the regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the tourney. At 0-6 this year, CSU is currently slated for the No. 8 seed and will play the Panthers in the opening round. That could change as the Vikings play the teams currently seeded sixth and seventh place. CSU could move ahead of both teams with a pair of wins this week while also most likely moving into the No. 7 slot with a win over either opponent.
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.
WITHROW PASSES THE CENTURY MARK: A seven-save performance by Erin Withrow at Wright State last week allowed the freshman to become the second goalie in school history to record more than 100 saves in a season. Withrow, who has 107 saves in 16 matches this year, has five double-figure save matches this year. She has stepped up her performance over the course of the last nine contests, recording 80 saves to take over the Horizon League lead. She had her string of four straight double-figure save matches end at Wright State when she could manage just seven stops. Youngstown State keeper Jessica Yarter is second in the league with 75 saves.
SANKER CELEBRATES START: Freshman midfielder Michelle Sanker scored the first goal of her career when she redirected a corner kick from Lisa Conway early in the second half at Wright State. Sanker, who was a starter in the match for only the second time this year, has taken eight shots in 13 matches this year.
CONWAY MAKES THE ASSIST: Freshman midfielder Lisa Conway continues have an impact on the Viking offense as she handed out her team-leading third assist of the year in the loss at Wright State. Conway, a starter in 10 of the 12 matches that she has played in, has been more aggressive offensively, taking 10 shots over the last four matches to move into second place on the squad with 19 shots this season.
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.
NEXT UP: The Vikings head to the 2005 Horizon League Championship, which will be played at UW-Green Bay, beginning on Friday, Nov. 4 with the championship match being played on Sunday, Nov. 6.
