MATCH #1
Green Bay (0-0-0, 0-0-0) at Cleveland State (0-0-0, 0-0-0)
Thursday, Feb. 4 | 1:00 p.m.
Cleveland, Ohio | Krenzler Field
Live Stats
THE OPENING KICK
Cleveland State is set to kick off the unconventional season at home Thursday afternoon.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Green Bay was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll, but only 11 points separated the Phoenix from the fourth-place spot as the teams tabbed for the middle of the table were tightly bunched. GB went 6-7-2 overall last season but won five of their final seven regular-season fixtures. The Phoenix went 4-4-0 in league play and finished among the top four in the league table for the third year running. Senior Fredi Ortega led the team in goals (3) and points (8) last year while midfielder Ezau Millan returns after earning All-HL Freshman Team accolades in 2019. Senior Jamison Yoder returns for GB after starting 15 of 16 matches between the posts last year.
AGAINST THIS OPPONENT
Cleveland State is 17-22-6 all-time against Green Bay. The Vikings and Phoenix have met at least once every season since 1983. Green Bay has claimed one-goal wins (2-1, 1-0) in the past two seasons after the squads had played to 1-1 draws in each of the two prior campaigns. Cleveland State will be seeking its first win over the Phoenix since 2015 and its first on home soil since 2013. Cleveland State's run of scoring in nine straight matches against the Phoenix was broken in last year's setback in Wisconsin. No active Vikings has scored against Green Bay.
SEASON FORMAT
Horizon League schools will play a complete round-robin schedule in men's soccer with every league school scheduled to play each other once in the regular season. The league schedule sees each school slated for 10 matches over 11 dates of competition with each school having one bye week. The opening day of the men's soccer season is set for Thursday, Feb. 4. Matches will continue to be held every sixth calendar day until the regular season concludes Monday, April 5. Horizon League championship information, including dates and format, will be announced once finalized.
THE LONE SENIOR
Captain Thomas M'Barek is the lone senior on the Vikings' roster for the 2020-21 season. He has started 44 of a possible 49 matches in his career, including 31 of the past 32. The central defender scored his first collegiate goal last season.
HEY ROOKIE
True freshman Omeed Naeemy made an immediate impact upon stepping onto campus last season. He started all 15 games in between the posts and was the only goalie named to the HL All-Freshman Team. Naeemy led the league, and ranked among the top 30 in DI, with his .788 save percentage. He also sat second in the conference with a 1.10 goals against mark and posted four shutouts on the season. Naeemy became the first-ever CSU goalie to be named to the HL All-Freshman Team.
COACH VS. ALMA MATER
When Cleveland State kicked off against Akron last season, CSU head coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic was facing off against the side he played for collegiately. The first-ever player from Akron to be drafted in the MLS SuperDraft, Ubiparipovic was a two-time All-American for Akron and was named the 2006 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. He led the Vikings to a 3-1 victory over the Zips in his first-ever matchup against his alma mater.
POWERING PAST POWER FIVE
With its win at Ohio State last season, the Vikings claimed their second result during the campaign against a Power Five opponent. In fact, Cleveland State is now 3-0-1 in its past four matches against Power Five foes, all of which have come on the road. The Vikings have scored 11 total goals in these matches and came back from deficits in two of the matches to earn a result.
OH SO CLOSE
In every one of Cleveland State's losses last season, the Vikings came up one goal short. Only four times in CSU's 15 matches last season did a team won a match by more than one goal.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
During the 2019 season, Cleveland State allowed no more than one goal in 10 matches. The Vikings led the Horizon League in fewest goals allowed (17) and posted a 1.10 goals against average.
LEADER OF THE BACK
Senior defender Thomas M'Barek claimed multiple postseason honors last season, being named both All-Horizon League First Team and All-Ohio First Team. Anchoring the unit that allowed the fewest goals in the league, M'Barek claimed his second straight all-league honor from his center back position.
BEATING THE BUCKEYES AGAIN
Cleveland State claimed a 3-2 win at Ohio State last season as Gabriel Pewu had a brace and Lawrence Karpeh also scored. CSU went up 2-0 only to see the Buckeyes find the equalizers in a span of fewer than 30 seconds, neither of which came from the run of play. However, Pewu broke the deadlock fewer than three minutes later with his winning strike. With the victory, CSU won at OSU in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history.
ALRIGHT AGAINST ACC
In earning a 2-2 tie against Louisville to open last season, Cleveland State secured a result against an ACC side for the fourth year in the last five seasons. The Vikings took down Pittsburgh on the road during the 2018 campaign, 4-3.
STOPPING SO MANY SHOTS
It didn't take goalkeeper Omeed Naeemy long to find his way into the record book. Last season, the freshman made 16 saves against HL regular-season champion UIC in a game in which the Vikings were reduced to 10 men. His 16 saves tied the Horizon League single-match record and was the most by a league player in over 30 years. His 16 saves were also the highest total by a Viking in the past 25 years and, at the time, was the second-highest total produced by any Division I goalkeeper in the past five seasons.
STUDENT-ATHLETE
Senior Thomas M'Barek is more than a significant contributor on the pitch for CSU. He is also a star performer in the classroom as well. He was named to the league's All-Academic Team for a second time last season while also being tabbed Academic All-Ohio First Team. M'Barek was one of four DI men's players to be named both All-Ohio First Team and Academic All-Ohio First Team last season. The international business major owns a 3.97 cumulative grade point average.
LEADING THE CHARGE
Cleveland State is under the direction of second-year head coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic in 2020-21. Ubiparipovic, who attended high school and college in Northeast Ohio, was elevated after previously serving as the program's top assistant. He appeared in over 200 professional soccer matches, including an even 100 in the Major League Soccer (MLS) ranks with New York Red Bulls and Montreal Impact.
FREE KICKS:
- Thomas M'Barek was selected All-Horizon League First Team and All-Ohio First Team in 2019
- It was the second straight season that M'Barek earned all-conference honors
- Omeed Naeemy was named to the All-Horizon League Freshman Team last season
- Naeemy was the only league goalie to earn the honor last season
- Naeemy became the first Viking goalie to be named to the All-HL Freshman Team since it was started in 2013
- Cleveland State returns 13 student-athletes from last year's roster, 12 of which competed in a match
- Ryan Kolonick and Omeed Naeemy are the two returning Vikings to start all 15 matches last season
- Six Vikings return that started at least 12 matches last season, with five of those six competing in at least 14 of the squad's 15 fixtures in 2019
- Defenders Saahub Kular and Thomas M'Barek were the other two returning Vikings to start at least 14 matches in 2019
- CSU has nine newcomers on the roster, all of whom are true freshmen
- Cleveland State lost five seniors from last year's team, all of whom were regular starters
- Three of the five were ranked first, second and third in goals and points for CSU
- Jannis Schmidt (2G, 2A) and Andrew Nicholas (1G, 3A) are the top returners in terms of points
- CSU erased a deficit with back-to-back goals within 15 minutes of each other in three matches last season
- The Vikings also used back-to-back goals within 15 minutes of each other to turn a second-half tie into a lead against Akron
- CSU has now come from behind to earn a result at least once in 14 consecutive seasons and has achieved the feat on the road in nine straight seasons
- Cleveland State has earned a top-four seed in the HL Tournament seven times since the league went to a six-team playoff format, which is tied for the highest such figure among its league peers
- For the second straight season, Cleveland State earned road results against two Power Five foes in 2019
- The Vikings earned a 2-2 tie at nationally ranked Louisville and claimed a 3-2 victory over Big Ten foe Ohio State
- In the tie at Louisville, Cleveland State rallied from a 2-0 deficit with fewer than 20 minutes to play to earn a result
- Pablo Kawecki led all CSU true freshmen outfield players with nine appearances last season
- Cleveland State's overall winning percentage last season was its second-highest mark since 2012
- Each of CSU's last three matches that have gone to overtime has had a winner
- Cleveland State won its first four home matches last season, marking the first such occurrence since 1987
- CSU outscored its opposition 13-5 at home last season
- Ryan Kolonick and Omeed Naeemy (Defensive) and Jannis Schmidt (Offensive) are the returning Viking to earn HL weekly honors during the 2019 season
- Fifty eight of Cleveland State's last 84 goals have come in the second half. In fact, 20 of those goals have taken place in the 77th minute or later
