Mitch Boyer Named Horizon League Player of the Week

Posted: Nov 02, 2009

Nov. 2, 2009

Cleveland, Ohio - Cleveland State senior defender, Mitch Boyer, who keyed the Viking defense in their 1-0 shutout against league foe Butler, was selected as the Horizon League Men's Soccer Player of the Week for the period of Oct. 26-Nov. 1.

The league office made the announcement on Monday (Nov. 3).

"This is a great honor for Mitch to get, especially after being injured for a major part of the season," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "He brings a calmness to the back that allows us to focus on our offense during matches. Although he isn't quite at 100% yet, he doesn't want to miss any matches since it is his senior year and this is good because he provides the stability in our defensive line that we need right now."

After sitting out five games due to injury, Boyer returned to the lineup on Saturday to lead the Viking defense to their sixth shutout of the season, when they beat then Horizon League leader, Butler 1-0. He has also led CSU to two straight undefeated seasons at Krenzler Field (11-0-2) dating back to Sept. 12, 2008.

This is the second time that a CSU men's soccer player has been awarded player of the week honors during the 2009 season, the first coming when Justin Mancine earned the accolade on September 28. The honor is Boyer's second of his career, first earning the award last year (10/6/08).

With the honor, Boyer becomes eligible for the Horizon League Network's "People's Choice" award, which will be announced on Thursday afternoon. Fans can log onto www.HorizonLeagueNewtork.tv to vote for their favorite athlete of the week out of the volleyball, women's soccer and men's soccer winners.

The Vikings enter the last week of regular season play ranked second in the conference standings, with a chance to capture their first ever regular season Horizon League crown. They return to action on Saturday (Nov. 7) when they travel to Valparaiso for a 2:00 p.m. EDT contest.