Men's Soccer Will Close Out the Regular Season at No. 6 Butler Athletics

Posted: Nov 02, 2010

Nov. 2, 2010

Contact: Dan Carr

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Match 18
Cleveland State (8-9-0, 4-3-0 HL) at No. 6 Butler (15-0-1, 7-0-0 HL)
Date: Friday, Nov. 5, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m. EDT
Site: Butler Bowl (5,500) - Indianapolis, Ind.
Series: Butler leads, 16-4-1
Last Meeting: Butler 2, CSU 1 (11/13/09) (Horizon League Semifinals)

SETTING THE SCENE: Fresh off its win over top-ranked Akron, Cleveland State will get one more chance to face a top 10 team as the Vikings close out the regular season with a match at No.6 Butler on Friday (Nov. 5) at 10:00 a.m. The Vikings have already secured a spot in the Horizon League Championship postseason tournament, and can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the conference depending on the result of the Butler match and how the rest of the Horizon League teams fare in the final week of the regular season.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Cleveland State hosted Akron, the top-ranked team in the country, at Krenzler Field last Saturday. Below is a recap of that contest:

Match 17: CSU 2, Akron 1 (Oct. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
Freshman Jordan Hart scored his first collegiate goal with 6:48 left in the game to give Cleveland State a 2-1 lead that the Vikings never gave up as CSU handed Akron, the No. 1 team in the country, it's first regular season loss since the 2008 season. Aslinn Rodas scored the Vikings' other goal while Aaron Adkins and Caleb Eastham recorded assists. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver made five saves while holding the nation's best scoring offense to only one goal, scored on a penalty kick.

2010 SEASON PREVIEW: Entering the final week of the season, head coach Ali Kazemaini has taken a group of young players who lacked collegiate playing experience and has turned them into one of the top teams in the Horizon League. Two of the top returning players from last season, Admir Suljevic and Justin Mancine, have been inactive for most of the year while battling injuries, and newcomers have accounted for more than half of the team's starts this year, but the Vikings' season has still been quite successful, highlighted by their recent win over top-ranked Akron. Four Vikings have been leading the balanced offensive attack with three goals and two assists for eight points apiece: Maneul Conde, Aaron Adkins, John Wargo and Aslinn Rodas. Four other CSU players have scored a goal this season, including Justin Cree, Jordan Hart, Cameron Eisses and Brian Donnelly (who also has an assist), while Caleb Eastham has notched two assists in his first collegiate season. Seniors Audric Kilroy and Jeff Baker have played all over the field this season, leading the Vikings to a 7-2 home record, marking the third straight year Cleveland State will finish the regular season with a winning record at Krenzler Field. Defensively the Vikings have been led by freshmen Justin Cree and Zach Ellis-Hayden, with Brad Stuver, two-time HL Player of the Week honoree and the conference's season save leader (67) in goal. The Vikings currently sit in third place in the Horizon League standings, assured of playing in the Horizon League Championship playoffs for the 10th straight season, and could finish the year as high as second.

PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES: The Vikings are already assured a spot in the 2010 Horizon League Championship postseason tournament, but who and where they play is still undecided. CSU enters the week tied for third in the conference with Detroit and Milwaukee with 12 points. Green Bay, who the Vikings defeated earlier this season, is in second with 15 points, while Loyola sits in sixth place with 10 points. Depending on how the final week of the regular season shakes out, the following scenarios are possible:
• A CSU win over Butler on Friday combined with losses by Green Bay and Detroit would give the Vikings the second seed and a first round bye in the playoffs.
• A Green Bay win, a Detroit loss and a CSU win or tie would give the Vikings the third seed and homefield advantage for the first round match.
• A CSU tie against Butler and a Loyola loss would assure the Vikings either the third or fourth seed and home field advantage in the first round.
• A CSU loss would most likely drop the Vikings to fifth or sixth in the conference standings, although the possibility exists that they could still earn the third seed if Loyola and Detroit also lose. CSU, Detroit and Milwaukee would all finish tied for third, and the tiebreaker would go to the Vikings based on their having defeated second place Green Bay earlier in the season.

TAKING ON THE BEST: The road doesn't get any easier for the Vikings. After taking down the No. 1 team in the country last week, CSU will be facing another top-10 team in No. 6 Butler. The Bulldogs enter enter the match undefeated, with 15 wins and one tie.

SUPER STUVER: Goalkeeper Brad Stuver had another fantastic game last Saturday (Oct. 30), making five saves and holding Akron, the top scoring offense in the country, to only a penalty kick goal. Stuver leads the Horizon League in saves, having stopped 67 shots on the season, four more than Detroit's Brandon Waterstradt, who is second in the conference with 63.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stuver's five-save performance against Akron on Saturday (Oct. 30) earned him the Horizon League Men's Soccer Player of the Week honor for the period beginning Oct. 25. It marks the second time this season that Stuver has been given the honor, as he was also named player of the week for the week of Oct. 4-Oct. 10 after helping to the Vikings to shutout victories over Pittsburgh and Valparaiso.

NEXT UP: With the regular season complete, the Vikings will begin play in the Horizon League Championship. First round matches will be at campus sites on Tuesday, Nov. 9.