Opening Whistle
The Vikings play host to a first-time opponent for a second straight time against Mercyhurst on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Last Game Out
Cleveland State battled to a hard-fought 3-3 draw with Akron on the road Monday night. The Vikings opened the scoring in the second minute on an own goal before the Zips tallied goals in the seventh and 13th minutes to lead 2-1 at halftime.
Oskar von Esebek retied the game in the 49th minute with his first collegiate goal. Akron reclaimed the advantage in the 75th minute, but the Green and White answered back a minute later on a Matteo Correia goal.

About the Lakers
Mercyhurst, who recently transitioned to the Division 1 level, carries an 0-3 overall record. The Lakers are coming off a trip to California over Labor Day weekend, falling to UC Irvine in its most recent game, 3-1.

Ryan Mrvcic and Dylan Sumner are the lone scorers with a goal apiece. Gonzalo Onrubia Delgado started the first two games in goal before Danilo Abayo started the most recent one.

Series History
This will be the first-ever meeting between these two teams.

Strong Start
Cleveland State's 2-0-2 mark through four games is the second-best start under coach Ubiparipovic with the best coming in 2022, 3-1-0.

Ubiparipovic Background
Sinisa Ubiparipovic enters his sixth year as the head men's soccer coach at Cleveland State University. In his five seasons, the Vikings are 35-33-11 overall (.513 winning percentage) and 22-16-7 (.567 winning percentage) in league play.

Preseason Poll
Cleveland State was picked to finish second in the Horizon League Preseason Poll. Oakland is slotted in the top spot with three first-place votes for 75 total points. The Vikings are second with a first-place vote for 73 points. Green Bay received three first-place votes and IU Indianapolis got one to tie each other for third place.

Up Next
Cleveland State plays its first Horizon League game of the year on Saturday, September 14 at Oakland. The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m.