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The Cleveland State Vikings are the fifth team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the second independent. The Vikings finished 4-10 in their second year of play in 2018, which consisted of only Division I teams after having some D2 and D3 teams on their 2017 schedule.
Here’s their entire 2019 schedule:
Cleveland State’s 2019 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
| 1/26 | Hill Academy | Cleveland State | Scrimmage |
| 2/2 | Cleveland State | Ohio State | |
| 2/9 | Michigan | Cleveland State | |
| 2/16 | Bellarmine | Cleveland State | |
| 2/23 | Cleveland State | Air Force | At University of Denver |
| 2/24 | Cleveland State | Denver | |
| 3/2 | Cleveland State | Mercer | |
| 3/9 | Cleveland State | Marquette | First ever meeting |
| 3/12 | Cleveland State | Lafayette | |
| 3/17 | Cleveland State | North Carolina | First ever meeting, At Tierney Field (Sparks, Maryland) |
| 3/23 | Penn State | Cleveland State | |
| 4/2 | Canisius | Cleveland State | |
| 4/6 | St. Bonaventure | Cleveland State | First ever meeting |
| 4/13 | Robert Morris | Cleveland State | |
| 4/20 | Cleveland State | Utah | First ever meeting |
| 4/24 | Detroit Mercy | Cleveland State |
Who’s In?
- Marquette Golden Eagles (3/9)
- North Carolina Tar Heels (3/17)
- St. Bonaventure Bonnies (4/6)
- Utah Utes (4/20)
Who’s Out?
- Duke Blue Devils (9-3 L)
- Hampton Pirates (19-6 W)
- Sacred Heart Pioneers (15-9 W)
Average Winning Percentage From 2018 Teams
- Overall: .481 (excludes St. Bonaventure and Utah, who are first-year programs this season)
Circle These Dates
- 2/9 (vs. Michigan): The Vikings have started out strong in both of their home openers against Michigan and Ohio State. The Wolverines are a rising program, as many saw in their upset win over Notre Dame last year.
- 2/23 (vs. Air Force @ University of Denver): Cleveland State was able to take advantage of an Air Force team that went through a lot in the fall. After beating Detroit Mercy to end 2017, the Vikings upset the Falcons in Colorado for their best win yet. They hope to do that once again.
- 3/2 (@ Mercer): Last year’s meeting was at Cleveland State, with the Vikings scoring five of the six second half goals to tie things up at nine. But the Bears came out of Cleveland victors thanks to a Michael Quinn overtime goal. This should be a tight game once again in Georgia.
- 3/17 (vs. North Carolina @ US Lacrosse Headquarters): UNC is a new addition to the Viking schedule as Duke comes off the schedule. The Tar Heels had a down year in 2018 but return plenty of young players. Still expect for this to maybe be a game early on.
- 4/2 (vs. Canisius): The Vikings appeared to be on their way to a good win over the Golden Griffins last season. But up one with 3:45 left in regulation, Canisius scored twice to give them a one-goal win. They also ended up winning the MAAC. Connor Kearnan is gone, which will probably benefit Cleveland State.
- 4/6 (vs. St. Bonaventure): Cleveland State will be looking at a team that is where the Vikings were when they started as a varsity program two years ago. The Bonnies are filled with freshmen and will be going through some growing pains as a first-year team. It’ll be good for Randy Mearns and company as well to see what his program can become.
For other schedules and team rosters, check out our Men’s Division I matrix.