MATCH #8
Cleveland State (4-3-0, 4-3-0) at Oakland (4-1-2, 4-1-2)
Thursday, March 18 | 2:30 p.m.
Rochester, Michigan | Grizz Dome
Watch | Live Stats
THE OPENING KICK
Cleveland State looks win its third straight match following a pair of 1-0 victories over Milwaukee and Purdue Fort Wayne over the last two weeks. With three games remaining, the Vikes (4-3-0) are currently in position to qualify for the #HLMSOC Championships in mid-April but will need a strong finish with two of their final three matches on the road, including a pair of showdowns with teams currently above them in the league standings.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Oakland (4-1-2), which is looking to defend its perfect 4-0-0 mark on home turf, is coming off a come-from-behind victory over Milwaukee that saw the Golden Grizzlies fall behind 3-2 before finding the back of the net twice within a span of just over five minutes to notch a 4-3 decision. Oakland, which is unbeaten over the last three weeks, ranks second in #HLMSOC with 14 points, trailing only Northern Kentucky. Oakland is led in scoring Dylan Borczak, whose seven goals pace the conference. Goalkeeper Finn Jurak owns a .529 save percentage over five outings.
AGAINST THIS OPPONENT
Oakland leads the head-to-head series with 7-3-0 record since the first matchup in 2012. After Cleveland State won three of four matches from 2015-17, the Golden Grizzlies have claimed the last two meetings, including a 1-0 win in 2019.
LAST TIME OUT
Omeed Naeemy made three saves to power the Vikings' to their fourth shutout of the campaign in a 1-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne last Friday. Jannis Schmidt's 40th-minute tally proved to be the difference as Cleveland State held a commanding 17-9 advantage in shots, including a combined 10 from Schmidt and Pablo Kawecki, who recorded the lone assist of the afternoon.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
In all four of their wins this season, the Vikings have shutout the opponent. Goalkeeper Omeed Naeemy, who has started every match thus far, ranks tied for seventh nationally in clean sheets while the Vikings own a Horizon League-best 0.86 goals-against average. Overall, Naeemy owns two of the top five highest single-game save totals in the Horizon this season with an eight-save effort against Green Bay on Feb. 4 as well as six stops at Milwaukee on March 6.
ROOKIES STEPPING UP
Against PFW, freshman midfielder Julian Pellegrini and sophomore defender Danilo Bakoc made their first career starts. Bakoc played all 90 minutes in his second appearance of the year filling in for senior captain Thomas M'Barek while Pellegrini recorded a pair of shots, including an early effort on goal, while logging 82 minutes. Pellegrini has appeared in every match thus far and is one of four Vikings goal-scorers.
#HLMSOC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Vikings won the league's weekly award in back-to-back weeks, with junior Jannis Schmidt being awarded Nike #HLMSOC Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 19 after his two-goal performance against Detroit Mercy, while redshirt sophomore Saahb Kular was named Defensive Player of the Week after propelling the Vikes to their first shutout against Robert Morris on Feb. 10. Last week, Naeemy took home Defensive Player of the Week honors with a three-save shutout against PFW.
RISING IN THE HORIZON
Junior Jannis Schmidt currently ranks second in the #HLMSOC in goals scored (five) and third in points (12) and is responsible for half of the Vikings' 10 tallies. Forward Bojan Kolevski checks in tied for sixth with three markers while both players share the league lead in game-winners (two). while Omeed Naeemy leads the conference in save percentage (.824), goals-against average (0.81), minutes (666:15) and shutouts (four).
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 was 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.
