Game Outlook 
Date/Time: Thursday, Aug. 25 | 7:00 PM
Location: Cleveland, Ohio | Krenzler Field
Teams: Cleveland State (0-0) vs. Canisius (0-0) 
Weather: 79 degrees, mostly cloudy
Live Stats
Cleveland State Roster | Canisius Roster

Opening Whistle
Cleveland State kicks off its 2022 campaign on Thursday, August 25 at 7 p.m. when they welcome Canisius to Krenzler Field.

First Game Out 
Cleveland State is 0-2-1 in season openers under head coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic. Since 2000, the Vikings are 7-12-3 in openers.

About Canisius
Canisius is under the direction of first-year head coach Michael Tanke. Last season, CU went 1-14-2 overall.  Sophomore Reilly Boyer returns to lead the Canisius defense. Goalkeepers, William Howard and Spencer Catalano are back in goal for the Blue and Gold. Howard ranked fourth in the nation in saves per game, averaging 5.71 stops across 14 contests.

All-Time Series
This will be the seventh matchup between the Vikings and the Golden Griffins with the Green and White owning a 5-0-1 advantage. The last meeting came in 2011 with CSU winning 2-1.

Horizon League Preseason Poll
Cleveland State was selected to finish second in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, as voted upon by league head coaches. Reigning Horizon League Champions, Oakland topped the Horizon League poll with six first-place votes for 93 points, while the Vikings brought in two first-place votes for 90 points. Milwaukee came in third with a first-place vote for 81 points and Wright State got the last first-place vote for 68 points.

A Look Back at Last Season
The Vikings are coming off a 2021 campaign where they won a program-best eight Horizon League games, including a perfect 5-0 #HLMSOC record at Krenzler Field. With their 8-2 league record the Vikings earned the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament and went on to earn a spot in the Championship Game for the first time since 2012.

Cleveland State returns Horizon League specialty award winners; Jannis Schmidt (Player of the Year), and Bojan Kolevski.