Cleveland State vs. Green Bay
Wednesday, March 24 | 12:30 p.m.
Krenzle Bubble | Cleveland, Ohio

Presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine

 Live Stats | Game Notes

Free Kicks

The Cleveland State women's soccer team (3-4-0) looks to end their first losing streak of the season as they play host to Green Bay on Wednesday afternoon inside the Krenzler Bubble. Last week, Cleveland State outshot Northern Kentucky 9-5 and held a 4-3 advantage in corners but came up on the wrong end of a 2-0 shutout. Elena Gutlove rattled off a game-high three shots while Stevie Holbrook made two saves in her first action since returning from a one-game absence due to injury. The Vikings sit at 3-4-0 on the year, good for seventh in the #HLWSOC standings.

 

...mark the Vikings' fourth straight win over Green Bay, a streak that dates back to the 2017 season. It would also give the Vikes 10 wins all-time against the Phoenix as they currently lead the head-to-head series with a 9-7-0 record, making Green Bay only the second opponent the Vikings have topped at least 10 times. Cleveland State could also potentially pull back to .500 in #HLWSOC and improve on its 2-1-0 mark on home turf.

 

Green Bay (1-2-0) didn't begin its season until March 3 after having its first four matches cancelled. The Phoenix have played over each of the last three weeks, most recently falling 2-1 at Oakland last Wednesday morning in an affair that saw Green Bay find the tying goal on a penalty kick in the 57th minute before losing on an Oakland goal with less than a minute to play. Cam Castelan leads the Phoenix in scoring with a goal and an assist while goalkeeper Isabel Dunning owns a 1-2 record to go with a .647 save percentage.

 

Cleveland State will play two of its final three matches at home. After Wednesday's contest with Green Bay, the Vikings will play at Robert Morris on March 30 before closing the regular season with a home match against Detroit Mercy on April 5. Each of Cleveland State's final three opponents rank among the bottom four teams in the Horizon League standings.

 

Maddie Young is tied for the second in the #HLWSOC scoring race with 11 points on the year while Elena Gutlove ranks eighth with eight points thanks to three goals and a pair of assists. Young and Kathryn Ramicone are tied for seventh in assists with three each. Young is tied as the conference's top goal-scorer with four tallies and Gutlove is tied for third with three. Young needs only one more marker to become one of 18 Vikings to net five goals in a single season.

 

Six Vikings have started all seven matches to date. Defensively, seniors Essence Canady and Ali Martin have held things down on the back end. Canady has started in 45 of her career 47 appearances and, if she plays in each remaining match, will reach 50 games in a Vikings jersey. Freshmen Kathryn Ramicone and Bella Ceepo have recorded seven starts apiece as midfielders while Elena Gutlove and Maddie Young have been a consistent part of Cleveland State's scoring effort up top.

 

Young and Gutlove rank first and second, respectively, in shots on goal in #HLWSOC. Young has rattled off 16 attempts on net, averaging a conference-high 2.29 per match.  Young rattled off nine shots against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 25, the second-highest single game shot total by a Viking in team history. Gutlove also accomplished the feat on Feb. 10 against Wright State. The Vikings own four of the five highest indidivual single-game shot toals in the Horizon League in 2021 and each of the two highest team totals (28 and 25).

 

Cleveland State is first in the Horizon League in shots (103) and shots on goal (54). The Vikes are tied for the conference lead in corners (41), rank tied for fourth in goals (11) and tied for third in assists (11). As a team, Cleveland State is outshooting the opposition  51-35 after the opening half, including 5-1 in overtime periods. Overall, the Vikings average 15.7 shots per match compared to only 10.8 by the opposition.

 

With a 3-2 win over Youngstown State on March 4, the Vikings moved to 11-6-1 against the Penguins, their most matches and victories against an opponent since the program was founded in 2004. Overall, Cleveland State has taken six of its last seven matches against their in-state rivals.