GAME #9
Cleveland State (4-4) vs. No. 15 North Carolina (5-2)
Sunday, March 17 | Noon
Sparks, Md. | William G. Tierney Field
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OFF AND RUNNING
The Cleveland State University lacrosse team concludes a six-game road trip with a Sunday matinee. CSU is seeking what would be a fourth straight win facing a nationally ranked North Carolina squad.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
North Carolina owns a 5-2 mark and a top-15 ranking in the latest USILA poll. The Tar Heels' losses were by one goal to Johns Hopkins and by two goals to Denver. Senior long-stick midfielder Jack Rowlett was named a preseason All-American this season and has been a significant contributor since he started as a freshman on UNC's national championship team. Seven Tar Heels have at least a dozen points while Zachary Tucci has won over 57% of his faceoffs.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Cleveland State's win over Lafayette was significant in more ways than one. It marked the third consecutive victory for the Vikings, the young program's first three-game winning streak. All three of the wins have come on the road. In wins over Mercer and Marquette, the Vikings largely played with the lead, but the win over Lafayette was of the comeback variety.

FANTASTIC ON FACEOFFS
Danny Tesler has won more than 70% of his faceoffs in four straight games and five of the past six. He won 18-of-25 at Denver, 17-of-23 at Mercer, 11-of-15 at Marquette and 19-of-23 at Lafayette in the past four games. His 19 wins were the most ever by a Viking. He has won more than half of his faceoffs in seven of eight this season and ranks among the top 10 in DI in winning %.

FIRST TO SIXTY
Michael Wilson has 22 points in the past four games, including a school record eight last time out at Lafayette. He posted a CSU record six assists against the Leopards while reaching a half dozen points for the fourth time in the past calendar year. In doing so, he became the first Viking to surpass 60 career points.

(NOT) CLEAR SAILING
Through eight games this season, CSU has often forced its opponents into failed clears. The Vikings' foes are just 138-for-186 on clears this season with the 74.2% mark sitting well below the DI median of 82.0%. No Viking opponent has cleared above 80% since the season opener as CSU's foes have cleared at just 72.5% over the past seven games.

LAST WE MET
This will be the first-ever meeting between Cleveland State and North Carolina. It will be the fourth game against an Atlantic Coast Conference foe for CSU as it has played Duke twice and Virginia once.

CLEVELAND'S CARDIAC COMEBACK
Cleveland State overcame a four-goal deficit last time out, rallying to beat Lafayette. It was the largest comeback to date for the Vikings. CSU trailed by three goals with under six minutes left but outscored the hosts 4-0 over the closing stages to claim the win. CSU scored twice in the final two minutes to flip the script.

FROM HERE AND EVERYWHERE
In its last game, the Vikings started players from nine U.S. states and a Canadian province, the first such occurrence this season for CSU. The Vikings have started players from seven different states and Canada in four games and eight states and Canada in three games.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (AND AGAIN...)
Cleveland State is in the midst of a stretch of going over a month without playing a home game. The Vikings will play six consecutive games away from home in this stretch, two of which will come against nationally ranked foes. CSU is one of just two DI teams to play six straight games away from home in 2019.

WAITING FOR A WINNER
Jack Frickleton's goal with 1:02 to play at Lafayette proved to be the game-winning tally. It also had given the Vikings their first lead of the day. His goal now stands as the latest game-winning goal in Cleveland State history.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT
Noah Gleeson picked a good time to produce his first multi-goal game in nearly two years. Entering the Lafayette game with three shots on the season, Gleeson found the net twice, including posting a man-down tally. He also caused a turnover on Lafayette's final possession to clinch the win.

EQUAL NUMBERS 
With its win last time out at Lafayette, Cleveland State secured its fourth win of the season, matching its victory total from the 2018 campaign. CSU has seven games remaining this season.

DANNY BOY
Along with 19 faceoff wins last time out at Lafayette, Danny Tesler collected 14 ground balls, the most ever by a Viking. Tesler has led CSU in ground balls each of the last two years, finishing with 70 last season. He is one of 13 players to rank among the top 25 in DI in ground balls/game in each of the past two seasons and has a team-leading 54 ground balls this season.

WHAT HAPPENS WITH WENDEL
Junior Nick Wendel was one of CSU's most consistent offensive performers over the first two seasons. He has points in 24 of his last 28 games entering this week and has scored in 12 of his last 18 outings. Wendel posted his first multi-goal game of 2019 last time out.