Sept. 19, 2005

Contact: Brian Wolff

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Match 7
Cleveland State (0-5-1) at Duquesne (4-1-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Rooney Athletic Field (4,500) (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Series: Duquesne Leads, 1-2-1
Last Mtg.: CSU 2, Duquesne 1 (9/15/04 at Mentor High School)

SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's soccer team will wrap up its season-long three-match road trip when it travels to Duquesne for a contest on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7:00 p.m. The Vikings are still looking for their first win on the season after dropping their last five games by a combined score of 29-6.

REVIEWING THE WEEK: The Vikings finished two matches on the road, including their Horizon League opener. Here is recap of the week:

Match 5 - Robert Morris 2, Cleveland State 0 (Sept. 14, Moon Township, Pa.)
Robert Morris used a two-goal second half to defeat the Vikings 2-0. Ismail Ismail led the Vikings with four shots on the match and Anthony DeMarco made eight saves, including six in the first half.

Match 6 - UW-Green Bay 5 Cleveland State 1 (Sept. 18, Green Bay, Wis.)
Nick Weiner scored the first goal of his career to cut the UW-Green Bay lead to one in the 31st minute, but three unanswered goals gave the Phoenix a four goal lead. Anthony DeMarco eclipsed the double-digit mark in saves for the first time with 10.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings have struggled as of late with a roster that features 13 new faces. CSU started a season-high nine first-year players in its loss to Akron, six in the home-opener against Marshall. , and seven newcomers in each of its last two matches. The defense, which has the most experience on the field, has been continually tested as the Vikings have been outshot, 124-53. CSU has had trouble putting the ball in the net as of late, only scoring one goal in their two contests last week. Despite leading the team in shots, Ismail Ismail has yet to score and has only put five of his 13 shots on goal. Freshman Anthony DeMarco has seen most of the time between the pipes this season, leading the Horizon League with 39 saves. In the history of Cleveland State men's soccer this is latest in a season the team has still been winless.

SCOUTING THE DUKES: The Dukes enter the match with a 4-1 record and winners of their last three. They are coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over Marshall this past weekend. Duquesne is led by sophomore Travis MacKenzie, who leads the team with seven points. In net, Zach Varga has let up only three goals in five games.

NEW FACES ALL AROUND: The 2005 Vikings came into this season with 13 newcomers, many of whom play significant roles on the team. CSU started a season-high nine newcomers on Friday, Sept. 9 at Akron, with the only returners being All-Horizon League second team members Craig Coleman and Cormac Finn. The newcomers have 43 starts between them which is 65% of the team's starts. The Vikings have the fewest amount of returning starters from last season in the Horizon League.

IT'S A TRAPP: Sophomore Steve Trapp scored the first two goals of his career on Sunday, Sept. 11 in the home-opener against Marshall. Trapp has a team-high six points, adding an assist on Sept. 18 at UW-Green Bay. Trapp is the first Viking to tally two goals in a match since Spencer Lappin did it against Marshall on Sept. 19, 2004.

ZAMBRA SCORES FIRST CAREER GOAL: Nobody on the 2005 Vikings has spent as much time with the program as Mark Zambra and the team captain finally scored his first goal as a Viking on Sunday, Sept. 11. He put a shot past Marshall goalkeeper Greg Walter for the marker during the 59th minute of play. Zambra redshirted during the 2003 season while he fulfilled eligibility requirements. Last season he started all 17 matches that he played in, putting two shots on goal against Marshall.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL: The 2005 Vikings have members that hail from six different countries, including citizens from the United States, Canada, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand and Norway. In addition, two of the three CSU coaches are from the United Kingdom in head coach Pete Curtis and graduate assistant Steve Kehoe. The Vikings have the most international players of any team in the Horizon League.

HEAD COACH Pete Curtis: Pete Curtis is in his sixth year at Cleveland State after five years at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. Curtis is the eighth coach in the history of CSU men's soccer. Curtis was named Horizon League co-coach of the year in 2002 and last season put one player on the All-Horizon League first team and two players on the second team.

KRENZLER REDEDICATION SET FOR OCT. 2: After undergoing nearly $3 million in renovations since last year, Krenzler Field will be officially rededicated during the home doubleheader on Sunday, Oct. 2. The improvements to Krenzler Field, which has served as the home for Cleveland State soccer since 1985, include the addition of an all-purpose FieldTurf playing surface and a removable air-supported dome that will cover it during the winter months. The dome, a product of Yeadon Domes, will cover the entire length of Krenzler Field, approximately 94,000 square feet, with a 60-foot ceiling. It will be made of a heavy-duty vinyl coated flame-resistant polyester architectural fabric.

UP NEXT: CSU begins a brief two-match homestand on Thursday, Sept. 29 against defending league champion UW-Milwaukee at 7:00 p.m. The Vikings will be back in action Sunday, Oct. 2 as part of a doubleheader with the Cleveland State women's team. The men play at 3:00 p.m. and are preceeded by the women's team who will kickoff at 12:30.