Posted: Apr 30, 2021
Cleveland State at VMI
Saturday, May 1 | 12:00 p.m.
Drill Field No. 2 | Lexington, Va.
Presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine
FINISH STRONG
The Cleveland State Vikings (2-7) wrap up their fifth season with Saturday's road match against VMI. The Vikings, who have dropped five of their last six games, are taking on the Keydets for the second time this season after topping VMI 16-4 on April 3 inside the Krenzler Bubble. The Keydets (1-9, 0-6) won their first game of the campaign but have dropped nine straight since, including an 0-6 mark in Southern Conference play. The matchup between Cleveland State and VMI earler this season was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
UTES SPOIL SENIOR DAY
Battling a future ASUN Conference opponent for the fourth time this season, the Vikings faltered late in an 11-9 setback against Utah inside the Krenzler Bubble last week. Cleveland State was within 9-8 with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Utes pulled away with a 3-0 run to seal the win. Jason Sullivan had one of the best games of his career, factoring in on six of nine goals with three tallies and three assists. The Vikings led in most categories including shots (42-32), grounds balls (37-25), turnovers (15-24) and clear percentage (96 percent) but came up short in their final home game of 2021.
START FAST AND DON'T LOOK BACK
A quick start has been key to the Vikings success throughout program history but perhaps even more so in 2021. Cleveland State has trailed after the first quarter in all seven of its losses and has taken a lead into the second frame in both of its wins. Since the program's inception, the Green and White have lost 32 of 35 games in which the opponent leads after one quarter. Furthermore, the Vikings have not won a game in which the opposition scores first in 2021, going 0-6 in such contests.
SULLIVAN SHINES
Jason Sullivan also shined against VMI with a pair of goals and five assists, making him the first Viking to hit the seven point mark in a contest since Tristan Hanna on February 22, 2020 against Air Force. Sullivan is also only the third Viking to dish out five assists in a match and the first since Michael Wilson distributed six helpers in a 10-9 win over Lafayette on March 12, 2019.
Last week Sullivan became only the second player in program history to record six-or-more points in multiple games across a single season with a six-point effort against Utah, scoring his first career hat trick while distributing three assists.
BAKER'S BIG DAY
Chase Baker netted a career-high five goals in a 16-4 win over VMI on April 3, becoming the first Viking with at least five goals in a match since Tristan Hanna poured in seven tallies in a record-setting performance during Cleveland State's 12-11 overtime win over No. 16 Air Force on Feb. 22, 2020. Baker, who has reached the five-goal mark twice in his career, also becomes only the second player in program history to accomplish the feat at least twice, joining Michael Wilson (3x).
REWRITING RECORD BOOKS
Sophomore goalie Kevin Sobey has had one of the best seasons ever by a Vikings keeper and is on pace to etch his name into the program record book. Sobey's .532 save percentage would be the best mark of any Viking, surpassing Caleb Espinoza's .521 percentage in 2017. Furthermore, his 12.0 saves per game trail only Espinoza's 12.57 in the same 2017 campaign for most in program history. Sobey is also nearly halfway to Espinoza's career saves record (239) through only his first season as a starter.
TURN 'EM OVER
With six caused turnovers against Bucknell on March 7, redshirt senior Zach Whitenack became the Vikings' all-time leader in the category. Whitenack, who had 11 CT over a two-game stretch against Bucknell and Bellarmine earlier this season and sits at 51 career CT, including a career-high 21 in 2021, surpassed former Vikes Isaac Atencio and Skyler Jiminenz, who were previously tied for the lead with 37 each. His 21 CT this season set a new program record (prev. Skylar Jimenez, 18 CT, 2019) and his 2.56 CT per game are the highest total in a season in Vikings history.
IN THE RANKINGS - AS A TEAM
The Vikings are leading NCAA Division I in man-down defense at 85.7 percent, allowing only three EMO goals across 21 opportunities. Cleveland State is also 20th in caused turnovers per game (8.56), 30th in clear percentage (84.5 percent) and 31st in scoring defense (10.67 goals per game).
IN THE RANKINGS - INDIVIDUALLY
Redshirt senior Zach Whitenack is fourth in the country in caused turnovers per game (2.33) while goaltender Kevin Sobey has recorded 108 saves through nine games, which ties sophomore the 25th most saves per game in NCAA DI: 12.0. Sobey is 30th in save percentage (.532) and 32nd in goals-against average (10.64).
HERE COMES THE (A)SUN
Cleveland State announced Feb. 5 that its lacrosse program accepted an invitation to join the ASUN Conference as an affiliate member, effective for the 2022 season. This will be the first time that the Cleveland State lacrosse program has had a conference affiliation, as the Vikings have competed as an independent since their debut season in 2017. Cleveland State will join fellow Horizon League members Detroit Mercy and Robert Morris in addition to Air Force, Utah and Bellarmine in the new conference.
