Sept. 18, 2006

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Match 9
Indiana State (3-4) at Cleveland State (1-7)
Date: Friday, Sept. 22, 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Krenzler Field (1,680), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: First Meeting

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State plays its only match of the week when the Vikings return home for only the third time during the 2006 season to host Indiana State on Friday, Sept. 22 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field. Cleveland State (1-7) has struggled offensively of late, being shutout in four straight contests.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings were shutout in a pair of matches last week against Ohio schools, falling 1-0 at home on Friday (Sept. 15) to Akron and 3-0 at Cincinnati on Sunday (Sept. 17). Here is a synopsis of those matches:

Match 7: Akron 1, CSU 0 (Sept. 15, Krenzler Field)
Akron's Jessica Fix scored the lone goal off a deflection in the 34th minute and the Vikings were unable to net the equalizer as CSU fell by a 1-0 score for the third straight match. The Vikings limited the unbeaten Zips to just eight shots.

Match 8: Cincinnati 3, CSU 0 (Sept. 17, Cincinnati, Ohio)
Cincinnati's Erin McDonald scored her first two goals of the year and the Bearcats had a commanding 29-9 advantage in shots as CSU fell for the seventh straight match. Junior Heather Clapacs had four of the nine Viking shots.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings have shown significant improvement on the field in 2006, but the record doesn't adequately show the improvement that they have made since last year. With nine starters and 13 letterwinners returning, head coach Derrek Falor has the deepest and most-experienced roster available since he came to CSU. CSU is still young, owning a 24-player roster that includes 11 freshmen, seven sophomores, five juniors and just one senior. Sophomore Erin Withrow, who led the Horizon League with 122 saves last year, has lowered her goals against average by almost two goals a game (to 1.78). The defensive unit, which consists of senior Andreqa Loejos, sophomores Abbie Kakias, Maggie Pugliese and Natalie Wilson and freshman Danielle Ultican, has been strong. The area of the field that has shown the most improvement since last year is at the midfield as the three returning starters - juniors Heather Clapacs (2 assists) and Amber Rasmussen and sophomore Lisa Conway (1 goal, 3 assists) - have helped to control play and create offensive opportunities. Junior Shayna Bäck (4 goals, 1 assist), who played almost exclusively on defense during her first two seasons, leads the forward unit while sophomore Ashley Walchack (3 goals, 1 assist) and Allie Riczo have each made steady contributions.

KNEE INJURY SIDELINES KAKIAS: Junior Abbie Kakias, the anchor of the Viking defense this year, is sidelined indefinitely by a knee injury suffered during the South Alabama contest on Sept. 10. Knee injuries are nothing new to Kakias, who missed the entire 2004 season with a torn ACL in her left knee.

MISSING IT BY THIS MUCH: The 1-7 record that the Vikings take into the week is a little deceiving, especially when you consider that CSU has lost five of its seven matches by just one goal. The Vikings have lost by a 1-0 score four times, including a stretch of three straight contests that was snapped at Cincinnati on Sunday.

. . . BUT THE IMPROVEMENT SHOWS: Although it may be hard to look at a team with a 1-7 record and consider how much it has improved, that is truly the case with the Vikings this year as CSU has significantly improved their performance in every statistical category. Here is a comparison between the two seasons:

Goals Per Match: 0.52 in 2005, 1.10 in 2006
Goals Allowed Per Match: 3.53 in 2005, 1.72 in 2006
Shots Per Match: 7.6 in 2005, 13.5 in 2006
Shots Allowed Per Match: 18.2 in 2005, 15.4 in 2006
Saves Per Match: 7.8 in 2005, 5.0 in 2006
Corner Kicks Per Match: 2.0 in 2005, 2.9 in 2006

THE SCORING DROUGHT CONTINUES: After scoring nine times in the first four matches of the year, the Vikings have struggled to net results offensively, failing to score in their last four matches. The scoreless stretch is tied for the second longest in school history. CSU did not score in its first nine matches in 2004 and later that year had a three-game stretch without a goal. Last year, the longest scoreless stretch was three matches. The lack of offense is perplexing, especially considering that CSU scored nine times on 57 shots in the first four matches but has not scored on 45 shots over the last four contests.

BACK TO THE MIDFIELD: After playing most of her first two seasons on defense, junior Shayna Bäck has thrived since moving to the outside midfield slot during preseason. Bäck ranks among the Horizon League leaders in goals (4) and points (9), despite entering the season having never scored a point in 34 career games prior to this season. Bäck had at least one point in each of the first four matches this year, tallying the first two goals in the Delaware State contest, providing CSU with its only marker at both Kent State and IUPUI and assisting on the lone goal at Valparaiso. The streak goes even further back as Bäck had a goal and an assist in the exhibition match against Saginaw Valley State.

NEXT UP: The Vikings return to the road for three matches, playing a mid-week contest at Robert Morris on Tuesday (Sept. 26) before opening Horizon League play with contests at Detroit on Friday, Sept. 29 and at Butler on Sunday (Oct. 1). After that stretch, CSU will play six of its final seven matches at home.