Sept. 17, 2007

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match 8
Cleveland State (2-5) at Indiana State (2-5)
Date: Friday, Sept. 21, 2007
Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
Site: ISU Soccer Complex, Terre Haute, Ind.
Series: ISU leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: ISU 2, @CSU 1 (9/22/06)

Match 9
Cincinnati (2-3-1) at Cleveland State
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Site: KrenzlerField (1,680), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Cincinnati leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: @UC 3, CSU 0 (9/17/06)

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State continues its non-conference schedule with a pair of matches this week. The Vikings take to the road on Friday (Sept. 21) for a 5:00 p.m. contest at Indiana State before returning home to start a three-match homestand starting against Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 23 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings ended a four-match road swing and played at home during another non-conference weekend. Here is a synopsis of those contests:

Match 6: Akron 1, CSU 0 (Sept. 14, Akron, Ohio)
Akron's Britni Back, the younger sister of Viking Shayna Back, got loose on a cornerkick and scored the lone goal of the contest in the 65th minute as host Akron outlasted the Vikings, 1-0. The Zips had an 11-4 edge in shots with CSU goalie Kelly Zinkiewich making five saves in goal.

Match 7: Canisius 2, CSU 1 (Sept. 16, Krenzler Field)
Stephanie Karst scored in the 77th minute to break a 1-1 tie and give Canisius a 2-1 victory over Cleveland State. Minutes earlier, Shayna Back scored her team-high fourth goal of the year at the 72:57 mark to even the contest. Kelly Zinkiewich made five saves while CSU was out-shot, 12-6.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The fourth season of Viking women's soccer has begun with promising results as CSU owns a 2-5 record with both wins coming on the road. With eight starters and 15 leterwinners from last year's team that won a school-record three matches, head coach Derrek Falor has the most depth and experience in program history. The strength of the squad is on offense where the tandem of senior Shayna Back (4 goals, 2 assists, 10 point), junior Jennifer Wieand (3-2-8) and freshman Sylvia Olsby (2-3-7) have helped the Vikings to significantly increase their scoring. Heather Clapacs leads the midfielders, being joined by newcomers Jessica McCloy and Marley Greiner to give CSU a solid group of playmakers. Depth on defense has been a problem in each of the last three seasons, but Falor has as many as eight skilled defenders to call upon this year. Led by returning starters Amber Rasmussen and Natalie Wilson, the unit has good experience to build on. Additionally, junior Abbie Kakias and transfer Emily Arpidone (Virginia Commonwealth) have helped to fortify the backline. CSU has a new face in goal as freshman Kelly Zinkiewich (41 saves) takes over as the starter.

FOUR STATES, FOUR MATCHES: The 1-0 loss at Akron on Friday (Sept. 14) ended a stretch that saw the Vikings play four consecutive road matches in four different states, ending with a 2-2 record. The trip started with a 5-4 overtime win at IPFW (Indiana), proceeded to a loss at Temple (Pennsylvania) and a 3-0 win at Delaware State (Delaware) before returning to Ohio to face Akron. CSU entered the road trip having never won a match away from home in the history of the program. The streak ended at 32 matches (0-31-1) when CSU won at IPFW on Sept. 4. The Vikings then further put that streak to rest when they blanked Delaware State, 3-0, on Sunday (Sept. 9).

. . . ROAD FIELD ADVANTAGE?: In an unusual twist this year, the Vikings own a 2-2 record on the road but have gone winless in their three home matches. In addition, CSU has scored nine goals on the road this season and just two at home.

INJURIES: With depth always an issue for the Vikings, injuries have popped up recently that have hurt CSU. Sophomore midfielder Allie Riczo is out indefinitely (undisclosed) while both Jessica McCloy (ankle) and Maggie Pugliese (concussion) missed time last week. Senior midfielder Samantha Casey has yet to play this season because of a recurring leg ailment.

SCORING STREAK ENDS: The loss at Akron ended the Vikings' school-record streak of having scored in four straight matches. The streak started with a 2-1 home loss to DePaul and continued through the 3-0 win at Delaware State. Scoring is up again this year as CSU enters the week having scored 11 goals in seven matches this year. The Vikings scored 16 times in 20 matches last year.

WELCOME BACK JEN: The return of junior Jennifer Wieand after missing the entire 2006 season following knee surgery has given the Viking offense a big boost this year as she is second on the team with three goals and two assists for eight points. Wieand, who earned the Horizon League Player of the Week honors on Sept. 10, entered last season as CSU's career scoring leader with three goals and three assists (nine points) and her absence from the lineup limited an offense that was still significantly more efficient from the season before. Wieand leads the league in shots (24), is second in shots per match (3.43), fifth in points (8) and sixth in points per game (1.14).

BACK TO HER OLD TRICKS: Senior forward Shayna Back is off to another great start, scoring in four of the last matches to take over the team scoring lead with 10 points (4-2-10). Back, who was held scoreless in 34 matches while playing on defense in each of her first two seasons, led the Vikings in both goals (6) and points (14) last year. She enters the week ranking third in the league in points and fourth in points per game (1.43).

NEXT UP: Cleveland State remains at home for a pair of matches next week, playing host to Robert Morris on Sept. 28 before opening the Horizon League schedule vs. Green Bay on Sept. 30.