CLEVELAND, Ohio – According to a poll of Horizon League head coaches, the Cleveland State University men's soccer team has been selected to finish fifth in the League table in 2018.
UIC, which claimed two-thirds of the first-place votes, was picked as the League's preseason favorite. Green Bay, Wright State and Milwaukee were tightly bunched in spots two through four, respectively, and each garnered one first-place vote. Oakland, Northern Kentucky, Detroit Mercy and IUPUI rounded out the poll in spots six through nine, respectively.
Cleveland State returns 16 student-athletes from last year's roster and welcomes 13 newcomers to the squad, including three transfers.
Ten Vikings return that started at least eight matches last season, with all of those players having competed in at least a dozen matches in 2017. CSU's top three leaders in points all return while three defenders that started at least 10 matches are back in the fold for 2018.
Cleveland State will have a new primary goalkeeper in 2018 as newcomers Nicklas Rulle and Austin Mitchell join returnees Alex Gyerman and Skylar Jeppesen.
Sophomores Ben Hryszko, Dan Manolache and Thomas M'Barek combined to start 36 matches on defense last year as true freshmen. M'Barek, a center back who earned All-Freshman Team honors from the League last year, will captain the side in 2018. Hryszko played as an outside back last year while Manolache has the versatility to play center back or outside back. Sophomore Colin Kane competed in nine matches on defense last year while sophomore Brandon George now has a year of collegiate action under his belt. Four newcomers—Keagan Brown, junior college transfer Rushoy Brown, Ryan Kolonick and Saahb Kular—will also fight for time on the back line.
Senior Antonio Burgoa and juniors Thomas Bielanski and Vlad Jandric all started at least 13 matches last year, and all have experience in a defensive midfield role. Burgoa and Jandric, an All-Horizon League honoree from last season, were the two most versatile players on the roster last season, capable of performing in nearly any area of need from defense to an attacking option. Sophomore Stephen Milhoan, a local product that transferred from Xavier, and freshmen Tommy Paltani and Jannis Schmidt are also capable of playing in the center of the park.
Senior Noah Pio, who posted five goals and five assists last season while earning All-League accolades, leads CSU's contingent of attacking midfielders and forwards. Junior Lawrence Karpeh had three goals and two assists last year while redshirt senior Brent Nanchoff (11 matches in 2017), senior Gianluca DiFranco (17 matches) and junior Gabriel Pewu (18) all have significant collegiate experience playing up front. Sophomore Zack Kluever will look to make more of an impact in 2018 with a year of experience under his belt. Junior Hayden Parente, an offseason transfer, and freshmen Ivan Babic and Stjepan Mijic-Barisic will look to break into the lineup as well.
Head coach Kirk Harwat led the Vikings to the Horizon League Tournament semifinals in his first season at the helm in 2017. It was CSU's sixth trip to the semis in the current tournament format, the most among all League schools.
With its exhibition matches complete, Cleveland State will lift the lid on its 2018 campaign this Friday, Aug. 24, at Northwestern.
