Men’s Soccer Continues Home Winning Streak, Defeats Niagara 2-1

The Cleveland State Men's Soccer team opened their season on the road last week, losing to St. Bonaventure 1-0 in a Wednesday night contest. On Sunday, the Vikings reversed their fortunes and continued their home winning streak, defeating Niagara 2-1 in regulation.

The Vikings jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first half, scoring goals in minutes 24 and 37, the second coming on a free kick after Niagara's goalkeeper was assessed a yellow card. Manuel Conde and John Vargo scored for the Vikings, who played well in the first half, but were too sloppy later in the game, according to Head Coach Ali Kazemaini.

"We've been training hard...hope to see results on Sunday," said Kaze- maini, before the Vikings' victory. "We need to keep working on ball possession—we want to control the middle; that's our style." Results of the training were evident against Niagara, as the Vikings moved to 12-0-3 in their last 15 home games.

This season, the Vikings will rely heavily on the youth of their squad, after graduating 12 seniors at the end of last year. While many teams face rebuilding after a large graduation, Kazemaini and his players have high expectations for their season.

"[We] expect a lot from the younger guys, but realize that they've got to get adjusted to the physicality of the game," said Kazemaini.

Audric Kilroy, one of three seniors on this year's team added, "We have a lot of young guys expected to take up big minutes."

The team also has five players nursing injuries that may keep them out for parts of the first few games.

One of those players is junior midfielder/defender Justin Mancine who just found out that he has a partially torn quad, which Kazemaini said is "a substantial injury." He will take a week off before beginning rehab. The "target time [for recovery] is a month, could be longer, or could be shorter," said Mancine.

"Mancine is tough to lose because he's such a versatile player," said Kazemaini. The injuries already encountered mean the Vikings will have to rely greatly on their depth and younger players. Despite the challenges, there is belief throughout the team that this season holds high promise.

"We are feeling good about the rest of the year. We want to make it known that Cleveland State plays great soccer," said Kilroy. "[We are] looking for- ward to winning a conference championship this year. That is 100 percent our goal."

Kilroy suggested the team played below its own standards during pre- season losses to Ohio State, Cincinnati, and the early season defeat against St. Bonaventure. A lack of focus, along with extra second-half time for players who will not be in-season regulars during the exhibition schedule, could have contributed to the losses.

"We played our first game at St. Bonaventure; a 1-0 loss. We gave that game to them, didn't capitalize on our chances," said Kilroy. Regarding Ohio State and Cincinnati, Kilroy added, "gave them both games."

The Vikings came into the season picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League based on early polls, but have their own idea of what will be an acceptable outcome for this year.

"[After the pre-season rankings], teams underestimate us, but that's only driving us. Nobody is [letting that get to them] right now," said Kilroy.