Men's Soccer Begins Horizon League Play At Home
    The Vikings Will Host Loyola And UIC
    Slavisa Ubiparipovic

    Slavisa Ubiparipovic

    Sept. 21, 2009

    Contact: Renee Adam

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    Match 7
    Loyola (3-1-1) at Cleveland State (2-3-1)
    Date: Friday, Sept. 25, 2009
    Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
    Site: Krenzler Field (400), Cleveland, Ohio
    Series: Loyola leads, 5-11-0
    Last Meeting: Loyola 5, CSU 0 (9/28/08), at Loyola Soccer Park

    Match 8
    UIC (1-2-3) at Cleveland State
    Date: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009
    Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
    Site: Krenzler Field (400), Cleveland, Ohio
    Series: CSU leads, 17-13-2
    Last Meeting: UIC 5, CSU 0 (9/26/08), at Flames Field

    SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's soccer team returns to Krenzler Field this weekend to begin Horizon League play. The Vikings will start league play against Loyola and UIC, the top two teams in the preseason poll. CSU will host Loyola, the number two team, on Friday (Sept. 25) at 7:00 p.m. and UIC, the preseason favorite, on Sunday (Sept. 27) at 1:00 p.m. The Vikings are 2-3-1 going into this weekend after splitting their contests this weekend, beating Niagara, 2-1 and falling to Buffalo, 1-0.

    REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings were in action twice last week. Here are reviews of those contests:

    Match 5: Buffalo 1, CSU 0 (Sept. 18, UB Stadium)
    The lone goal of the match came when Buffalo was able to score late in the second half, with a header that beat Nick Harpel in the net. Despite the 1-0 outcome, shots on goal were pretty much even throughout the match with Buffalo having the slight 7-6 lead. John Wargo tallied two shots on goal, while Admir Suljevic, Josh Williams, Marco DiFranco and Bryan Henson each recorded one.

    Match 6: CSU 2, Niagara 1 (Sept. 20, Niagara Field)
    Stephen Byer scored the first goal for the Vikings with a header from inside the box, giving CSU a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Niagara was able to tie the match at 1-1. The Vikings secured a 2-1 lead five minutes before halftime when Josh Williams recorded the game winning goal. Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Marco DiFranco recorded the assists on the plays.

    2009 SEASON PREVIEW: With 11 seniors returning, including eight that have been in the 2009 starting lineup so far, the men's soccer team is bringing experience and depth to the field this season. 2008 All-league first team honoree senior Slavisa Ubiparipovic returns up front leading the team in points (7) and tied for second on the team in goals (2) and assists (3) after six matches this season. He is joined by freshmen Aaron Adkins (2g, 4pts) and Admir Suljevic (2a, 2pts) who both earned high school All-America honors following their senior campaigns, giving the Vikings a loaded front row. Experience is the key to the midfield this season, as all three starters return: Marco DiFranco, who leads the team with four assists this season, Josh Williams who is leading the team in goals with three and Kevin Malone. The entire defense returns for 2009 after posting six shutouts last season. Leading the charge this year are seniors Eric Tattersall, Mitch Boyer (1g, 2pts) and Anthony Baraldi and junior Audric Kilroy. They have played in a combined 22 matches so far this season, allowing nine goals. Goalkeeper Nick Harpel has played in three contests so far, recording 21 saves and one shutout. Backing up Harpel this season have been freshmen goalies, Brad Stuver and Almir Suljevic.

    SENIOR TAG TEAM: Seniors Josh Williams and Marco DiFranco have teamed up twice so far this season to score off of a corner kick play. The first goal came against Santa Clara in the UC Irvine College Classic when Williams got the ball from a corner kick by DiFranco. They teamed up a second time this weekend in the 2-1 victory over Niagara, when DiFranco found Williams in the box on his only corner kick of the contest, which proved to be the game-winning goal.

    ...AND WILLIAMS CONTINUES: Senior Josh Williams has tallied a goal in three of the first six matches for the Vikings. He now leads the team in goals with three and is second on the team in points with six. Williams' three goals is tied for his season best with at least 12 matches left in 2009. He tallied three goals during his junior season, one in his sophomore season and two his freshman year.

    GOALIE GALORE: The Vikings are enjoying the additions of freshmen goalies Brad Stuver and Almir Suljevic to the roster for the 2009 season. Last year Nick Harpel was the lone goalie on the roster, playing every minute in the net for CSU. All three goalies are getting their fill of the net, but Harpel is still the main goalie for the Vikings so far. He has been the keeper in three contests and has recorded 21 saves and a shutout against St. Bonaventure in the regular season opener. Stuver has played in three matches recording nine saves, while Suljevic saw action in one match and tallied four saves. All three keepers combined have allowed nine goals through six matches.

    SENIOR SCORING MACHINES: Seven of the nine CSU goals scored this season have been recorded by seniors. Josh Williams has tallied three goals, Slavisa Ubiparipovic has netted two goals, and Stephen Byer and Mitch Boyer have each scored one. Williams leads the senior class with nine career goals, while Ubiparipovic and Boyer each have seven and Byer has four.

    LEAGUE LEADER: Senior Marco DiFranco is tied for the lead in assists in the Horizon League with four. He recorded two assists against Santa Clara and one each against IUPUI and Niagara.

    NEXT UP: The Vikings travel to Wisconsin for two matches when they face Milwaukee and Green Bay. CSU will face Milwaukee on Friday (Oct. 2) at 7:00 p.m. and Green Bay on Sunday (Oct. 4) at 1:00 p.m.