Sept. 8, 2008

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Release in PDF Format

Match 5 Niagara (3-1) at Cleveland State (1-3)
Date: Friday, Sept. 12, 2008
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Krenzler Field (1,680), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: CSU leads, 4-2-2
Last Meeting: CSU 2, @Niagara 1 (9/2/07)

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (1-3) returns home for the only time during the first month of the season, hosting Niagara on Friday, Sept. 12 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field. It is the first of only two weeks this season that the Vikings will play only one match. CSU enters the week with a 1-3 mark after finishing second last week at the Missouri State Tournament, defeating host Missouri State (2-0) before falling to Drake (3-0) in the title contest.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings made their second straight tournament appearance in as many weeks. Here is a synopsis of those contests:

Match 3: CSU 2, Missouri State 0 (Sept. 5, Springfield, Mo.)
Marco DiFranco and Stephen Byer each scored goals and Bryan Henson handed out a pair of assists as the Vikings defeated the host Bears, 2-0. DiFranco scored in the 20th minute on a 20-yard shot that deflected off a defender while Beyer's goal in the 73rd minute came off a corner kick. Nick Harpel made four saves in recording the shutout.

Match 4: Drake 3, CSU 0 (Sept. 6, Springfield, Mo.)
Drake scored two first half goals and limited the Vikings to just four shots as CSU fell to the Bears, 3-0, to finish second at the Missouri State Tournament. Nick Harpel made eight saves in goal but it was not enough as Drake took control of the match with a goal at the 10:01 mark.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Third-year head coach Ali Kazemaini has a young, talented roster with nine starters returning from last season's 3-12-3 team. With eight freshmen and three transfers added to the mix, Kazemaini has the depth at every position to improve upon last season. Junior defender Mitch Boyer returns to lead the backline after earning second team All-Horizon League honors for leading the team in assists (4) and points (6). He is joined in the back by junior Josh Williams, who will transition from forward, as well as freshman Justin Mancine and junior Eric Tattersall. Sophomore Nick Harpel is back as the starting goalkeeper. He ranked fourth in the league in save percentage (.767) and fifth in saves (69), while recording four shutouts. The midfield is extremely deep and Kazemaini can call on any number of players, led by Anthony Rucci, the lone senior on the roster. The key will be up front where the Vikings will need to improve upon their 12 goals scored last season. Junior Slava Ubiparipovic, a Xavier transfer, was brought in to supply the offensive attack up front. Freshman Alfred Majer and junior Jeff Baker will also see action as forwards.

THE HEAD COACH: Former Viking All-American Ali Kazemaini is in his third season as the head coach at Cleveland State. He was hired in December of 2005 and immediately charged with returning the program to prominence. In his three years at the helm, Kazemaini claims a 10-25-5 mark, as his Vikings were the most improved team in Division I in 2006. Kazemaini boasts a career record of 186-101-18 as a head coach, which includes a 14-year stint as the head coach at John Carroll. He is a three-time OAC Coach of the Year and two time region coach of the year, leading JCU to seven conference championships and four tournament titles. THREE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Cleveland State was rewarded for its success at the Missouri State Tournament when the trio of juniors Marco DiFranco and Slava Ubiparipovic and sophomore Audric Kilroy were each named to the all-tournament team. DiFranco earned the honor after scoring a goal and adding an assist in the 2-0 win over Missouri State. Kilroy returned to the lineup after missing the first two matches due to injury and started both contests on defense while Ubiparipovic spearheaded the Viking offense with four shots in the two matches.

FRIDAY WAS A WIN-WIN SITUATION: When the Vikings won at Missouri State on Friday (Sept. 5) and the women's soccer team claimed a victory at Robert Morris earlier in the day, it marked just the second time in school history that both soccer teams won on the same day. The other time came on August 27, 2006 when the women defeated Delaware State, 6-0, for the first win in program history and the men followed with a 3-1 win over Canisius in a doubleheader at Krenzler Field.

HENSON ASKS `CAN I ASSIST YOU?': Despite coming into the season without an assist in 26 career games, junior Bryan Henson has turned into the playmaker for the Vikings this season, assisting on all three CSU goals to date. He shares the team scoring lead with Marco DiFranco, who has one goal and one assist for three points.

HARPEL POSTS FIFTH CAREER SHUTOUT: Goalkeeper Nick Harpel has started his sophomore campaign out right, allowing just six goals in the first four contests for a 1.50 goals against average. He made a pair of saves against Missouri State on Friday in recording his first shutout of the season and the fifth of his career. He has 23 saves this year and 89 in his two seasons at CSU.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (AND AGAIN): Of CSU's 17 regular season home matches this year, the Vikings will only play six of them at home. To make matters worse, CSU plays just one of its first nine matches at home, that coming against Niagara on Sept. 12. The best chance to see the Vikings play at home is early October when they play four matches at Krenzler Field in an eight-day stretch (Oct. 3-11).

THE LONE SENIOR: Anthony Rucci has the distinction of being the lone senior on this year's 24 person roster. Rucci, who will most likely anchor the midfield, has scored one goal in his career. The roster does not lack experience, as junior Nenad Stojkovic is in his fourth year with the program after redshirting last season. There are also 11 other juniors on the roster.

A LOCAL FLAVOR: The CSU soccer roster has an Ohio feel to it as 21 of the 24 players call the state home, including 15 from the Greater Cleveland area.

NEXT UP: The Vikings continue the stretch of eight road contests in the first nine matches when CSU travels to St. Bonaventure on Sept. 19 and Akron on Sept. 21.