Sept. 13, 2004

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 7
Cleveland State (0-6) at Canisius (0-4)
Date: Friday, September 17, 2004
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Demske Sports Complex (1,200), Buffalo, N.Y.

Match 8
Cleveland State (0-6) at St. Bonaventure (5-1)
Date: Sunday, Setpember 12, 2004
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Site: McGraw-Jennings Field (1,000), Saint Bonaventure, N.Y.

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State opens a four-match road trip this week with a pair of contests in the state of New York. The Vikings open the week in Buffalo, N.Y. when they face Canisius on Friday, September 17 beginning at 7:00 p.m. CSU then heads to St. Bonaventure for a 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 19). The Vikings dropped to 0-6 on the year after dropping a pair of matches last week. Canisius is 0-4 after dropping matches to Buffalo (4-0) and St. Francis, Pa. (1-0) last week. St. Bonaventure used wins over St. Peter's (8-0) and Marist (4-2) last weekend enroute to winning its own Addidas Invitational and improve to 5-1.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings saw their record drop to 0-6 following a pair of shutout losses last week. CSU played one of its better matches of the season against IUPUI on Sunday, posting a season-high matching 10 shots. Here is a synopsis of last week's matches:

Match 5: South Alabama 9, CSU 0 (Sept. 10, Foltz Field)
Seven different Jaguars scored as part of a nine goal barrage, including three that came in the first half to put the match away early. USA outshot the Vikings, 34-4.

Match 6: IUPUI 2, CSU 0 (Sept. 12, Foltz Field)
IUPUI tallied a goal in each half and strong defense to claim a 2-0 win. The Jaguars, who held a 25-10 shot advantage, used goals by Maggie Mistovich and Samantha Sliney to secure the win. Jennifer Wieand led the Vikings with four shots on goal while Ashley Kidwell made a career-high 11 saves.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State continues to show progress as it works its way through its inaugural season of women's soccer. The Vikings turned in their best all-around performance of the year in a 2-0 loss to IUPUI on Sunday, recording 10 shots and playing solid defense. The Vikings have received strong play from the goalie tandem of Ashley Kidwell and Allie Zajaros, who have each recorded 30 saves while facing a combined 161 shots. Maggie Pugliese and Shayna Back have emerged as defensive leaders while Jennifer Wieand (10 shots) and Heather Clapacs (9) have paced the offense.

ZAJAROS A TWO-WAY PLAYER: Freshman goalie turned defender Allie Zajaros continues to show her versatility and skill on the soccer field. Zajaros, who started four of the first five games in goal, left the South Alabama with 25:47 left only to return at the 18:12 mark as a defender, turning in a solid performance in the final minutes. She remained on defense in the loss to IUPUI, starting and playing all 90 minutes. Zajaros shares the team lead with 30 saves this year, including a school-record 13 against Duquesne last week.

THE BEST LAID PLANS. . . : The Robert Burns quote in To A Mouse is accurate when describing the Viking defense this year as all four defenders that CSU head coach Derrek Falor anticipated starting this fall have missed games because of injury. The biggest blow came late in the spring when Abbie Kakias tore the ACL in her right knee, necessitating season-ending surgery. Freshman Rachel Johnson remains out indefinitely with a leg injury after playing in only the first two matches of the year. The other two starters, Shayna Back and Maggie Pugliese have each missed one game. Back sat out the South Alabama game after receiving a red card vs. Duquesne while a mild concussion suffered in practice sidelined Pugliese for the Marshall contest. It is no coincidence that the two most lopsided contests this year came in games (Marshall & South Alabama) in which just one of the four anticipated starters played.

A KRENZLER FACELIFT: Krenzler Field, which has served as the home for Cleveland State soccer since 1985, will undergo renovations over the course of the next six months to convert it to a facility capable of hosting events year round. Planned improvements include the addition of an all-purpose FieldTurf playing surface and a removable air-supported dome that will cover it during the winter months. Work on the $2.2 million project will begin immediately. The playing surface is expected to be completed in early October with the dome being completed by December. FieldTurf, a revolutionary playing surface that combines the properties of natural grass with the durability of artificial turf, has been installed on almost 1,000 playing surfaces in 20 countries around the world. The removable 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.

. . . WITH THE GOOD, COMES THE BAD: The improvements to Krenzler Field have necessitated moving the first four women's soccer home matches of the season to Foltz Field in Strongsville. The matches affected include the August 27 season-opener against Kent State and the contests against Duquesne (Sept. 5), South Alabama (Sept. 10) and IUPUI (Sept. 12).

CAPTAINS: Seniors Katie Burke and Jessica Larsen will serve as captains of the inaugural Viking squad, being selected for the honor because of their effort and attitudes last year during walk-on practices. "I couldn't ask for a better pair of captains this year," head coach Derrek Falor said. "They both worked incredibly hard last year, have previous collegiate soccer experience to rely on and exhibit the leadership skills that you would expect from fourth-year players." Burke played at Slippery Rock in both 2000 and 2001 before transferring to CSU while Larsen played at Mount Union in both 2001 and 2002.

NEXT UP: The Vikings leave New York and head to Indiana to close their four-match road swing. CSU plays at IPFW on Friday, Sept. 24 before heading to Valparaiso on Sunday, Sept. 26.