Sept. 10, 2007

Contact: Brian McCann

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Match #5: Cal State Northridge (1-1) vs. Cleveland State (2-1-1)
Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 2007
Time: 4:30 p.m. PDT
Site: Peter Johann Field (2,500) - Las Vegas, Nevada
Series: First Meeting

Match #6: Cal Poly (3-0) vs. Cleveland State
Date: Sunday, September 16, 2007
Time: 11:00 a.m. PDT
Site: Peter Johann Field (2,500) - Las Vegas, Nevada
Series: First Meeting

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State continues its current five-match road swing when the Vikings head to Las Vegas, Nevada to play two matches as part of the UNLV adidas Inivtational. CSU will open tourney play on Friday, Sept. 14 with a 4:30 p.m. PDT contest against Cal State Northridge and then finish off the weekend on Sunday, Sept. 16 against Cal Poly at 11:00 a.m. PDT

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings continued their five-match road trip with games at Western Michigan and Kentucky. Here is a synopsis of those contests:

Match 3: CSU 1, Western Michigan 0 (Sept. 6, Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Bryan Henson scored in the 35th minute and Nick Harpel made eight saves as the Vikings recorded their second straight shutout. Henson took a pass from Josh Williams and blasted a shot from 18 yards out for the only goal of the match. CSU had a slight 17-16 edge in shots while improving to 2-1.

Match 4: CSU 1, Kentucky 1 (2OT) (Sept. 9, Lexington, Ky.)
Roshard Gilbert scored in the 24th minute off a pass from Marco DiFranco and Nick Harpel made six saves as CSU and Kentucky battled through two OT periods to a 1-1 tie. Tim Crone scored for UK in the 58th minute to even the match.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings are bolstered by the return of nine starters and 14 lettermen off last year's squad that posted the nation's largest improvement in wins from one year to the next. Add to the mix 10 first year players and CSU easily has its deepest lineup in at least the last decade. The offense is led by sophomore forwards George Kephart (5 goals, 2 assists, 12 points in 2006) and Josh Williams (2-0-4), both of whom started all 18 matches last year. The midfield trio of senior Roshard Gilbert (2-2-6 in 2005) and sophomores Bryan Henson (3-0-6) and Marco DiFranco (2-3-7) return to give CSU a solid group of playmakers, though Gilbert did not play in 2006. The defense was much improved in 2006, holding opponents to 31 goals in 18 matches (down from 65 in 2005). Sophomores Mike Barton, Mitch Boyer and Eric Tattersall each return as starters on defense and they will be joined by Rutgers transfer Kevin Malone, giving Kazemaini and young, but veteran, back line. Freshman Nick Harpel appears to have won the goalkeeper honors after allowing just one goal in three and a half matches, including shutouts of Niagara (2-0) and Western Michigan (1-0).

THE SOPHOMORES HAVE IT: The sophomore class has had the biggest impact on the 26-player Viking roster as 11 second-year players are on the roster with eight of those players currently owning a starting assignment. The sophomore class combined to make 110 starts a year ago, an average of seven players in the starting lineup each contest.

HARPEL'S SCORELESS STREAK ENDS: Freshman Nick Harpel appears to have a stranglehold on the starting goalkeeper position after limiting opponents to just one goal in 335 minutes in goal. Harpel, a native of Toledo, had his scoreless streak snapped at 282:40 when Kentucky scored in the 58th minute of Sunday's match. Through four matches, Harpel is 2-0-1 with a pair of shutouts (2-0 vs. Niagara & 1-0 vs. Western Michigan), leading the Horizon League with a 0.27 goals against average and a .955 save percentage.

IMPROVING BY LEAPS & BOUNDS: The 2006 Vikings proudly wore the moniker of being the most improved team in the nation (based on improvements in wins and losses). After going 0-17-1 in 2005, CSU improved to 6-10-2 a year ago, a 6.5 game improvement. Evansville also made a 6.5-game increase, jumping from 2-14-1 in 2005 to 9-8 last season, while both Harvard and Western Illinois each improved by 5.5 games.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Vikings may get a little homesick this season as CSU plays 12 of its 18 matches away from home. The lone non-conference matches at Krenzler Field this season are the season opener vs. St. Bonaventure and the Sept. 19 contest vs. Notre Dame (OH). The road slate features matches vs. Cal State Northridge (Sept. 14) and Cal Poly-SLO (Sept. 16 at UNLV and an Oct. 28 contest at second-ranked Duke. CSU was 3-4 at home last year.

. . . I GUESS IT DOESN'T MATTER: The lack of home matches hasn't affected the Vikings as CSU is 2-0-1 in road matches this year while also losing the only home contest of the year. The back-to-back road shutouts over Niagara and Western Michigan marked the first since late in the 1996 season that the Vikings shut out consecutive opponents. In that year, CSU beat Ohio State (Nov. 3) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 8) by identical 1-0 scores.

A LOCAL FLAVOR: Two years ago, the soccer roster consisted of seven players who lived outside of the United States and only five who hailed from the greater Cleveland area. It hasn't taken long for Ali Kazemaini to change that as the only members of the 2007 Vikings to live outside of the U.S. are seniors Tom Sadd (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Roshard Gilbert (Scarborough, Ont.) and 22 of the 26 players are from Ohio (including 11 from the greater Cleveland area).

NEXT UP: The Vikings return home for only the second time this season when CSU hosts Notre Dame College on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field.