Opening Whistle
The Vikings are playing in the NCAA Tournament for an eleventh time and second under head coach Sinisa Ubiparipovic as the team heads to Marshall for its first-round game.

2025 Horizon League Champions
Cleveland State advanced to its third championship game under coach Ubiparipovic after shutting out Robert Morris in the semifinals, 2-0.

Following a scoreless opening half, Tom Mertz started the scoring in the 68th minute off a pair of passes from Paolo Roditti and Uzman Ramees. Six minutes later, Ramees capped off the 2-0 victory with an unassisted goal.

The Vikings won the program's third tournament title after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne in a double-overtime thriller, 1-0. Matteo Correia was the hero as the sophomore headed in the game-winner in the 103rd minute off a cross from Roditti, following a quick pass from Uros Jevtic.

NCAA Postseason History
The Vikings are 4-10 in the national tournament, with their most recent trip coming in 2022, when they fell to Pitt, 2-1.

Players Left Over From Last Trip
Ryan Poling, Josip Rimac, Isaac Ortega, and Jevtic are the only players who were a part of the last NCAA team, with Jevtic starting and playing the entire game as a freshman.
 
#HLMSOC Honors
After winning the program's second Horizon League Regular Season championship, the Cleveland State men's soccer team garnered numerous all-league honors, including four special awards and eight all-league honors.
 
Sinisa Ubiparipovic was named Coach of the Year, Uros Jevtic named Defensive Player of the Year, Ryan Poling named Goalkeeper of the Year, and Uzman Ramees named Freshman of the Year.
 
Jevtic, Poling, Peleg Armendariz, and Tom Mertz were named to the first team; Matteo Correia and Lennart Heck to the second team; and Ramees, along with Ognjen Bozovic, to the third team.
 
About Marshall
No. 12 Marshall was selected to its seventh straight NCAA Tournament after finishing as the runner-up in the Sun Belt Championship game to UCF, 3-1. The Herd head into the game with an 11-3-5 overall record and an 8-1-1 record on its home field.
 
Carl Romberg and Joao Roberto are tops on the team with five goals apiece, while Romberg is tied for the team lead in assists with five for 15 points. Yasha Schaerer is also tied for the team lead in assists with five. Eddie Demarco has started 12 of the 13 games in goal, accumulating an 8-3-2 record with five shutouts and 32 saves.
 
Series History
This will be the 12th game between these two teams, with Marshall holding an 8-3-0 advantage. These two teams last met in 2023, with the Herd winning at home, 5-0. The Vikings had previously won back-to-back meetings in 2013 and 2014 at home by scores of 2-1 and 2-0.

Up Next
The winner of Thursday's game advances to the second round on Sunday, November 23, at NC State with a 6 p.m. kickoff.