City Stars Battle Charlotte To 1-1 Draw
August 8, 2008 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Cleveland City Stars News Release
The Cleveland City Stars traveled to Charlotte Friday night for a rematch of last week's 1-0 victory and came away with a hard fought 1-1 draw against the USL-2 leading Charlotte Eagles. With the draw the Eagles clinched the regular season championship for the 2nd time in their 17 year history.
The match was evenly contested throughout the evening. The first half was a dead lock as both teams struggled to find openings.
With the score at 0, both teams created opportunities but were unable to capitalize. After a string of near misses, the Eagles finally broke through when Dustin Swinehart added to his league leading goal tally by slipping a shot past Cleveland's Eric Reed for a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
But lightning struck twice as less than one minute later, the City Stars connected with an equalizer when Sarkodie fired another beautiful cross, this time to the waiting Ryan Stewart who hammered the ball past Boss for the 1-1 tie.
"I was running up the midfield and I snuck inside without anybody marking me," said Stewart. "Kwame made a great pass and all I had to do was put the ball in the goal. We did a great job of playing to each other's strengths on that play and it was really good for our team to jump right back on them after they scored. We couldn't afford to let them sit back on us so that was a big goal."
After tying the score both teams had chances to steal the win but nothing materialized. The City Stars controlled the tempo for much of the second half before a late onslought from the Eagles.
The closest opportunity for the Stars was just after halftime as things began to open up for the City Stars. In the 49th minute Kwame Sarkodie attacked the Eagles right side before sending a cross past the touch line and into the path of Sallieu Bundu. Eagles keeper Terry Boss and Bundu arrived at the ball simultaneously and Bundu knocked the ball into the net for an apparent 2-1 Cleveland lead. After initially signaling the goal, the referee conferred with the side official before calling obstruction and taking back the goal.
"It's a battle each time we play each other so we know what to expect," said former Eagle Adam Ruud. "We had our chances at the end and I feel like we had their backs against the wall but couldn't get the ball in the net. It was a hard fought match so I guess you can be content with a draw but we felt like we could have got the win.
"We have another match tomorrow and we've been through this before on the road. We just need to focus on the mental aspect of the game because we have the ability to get it done. We'll rest up tonight and head into Wilmington looking to take care of business."
With the draw Cleveland is now 10-3-6. The City Stars next head to Wilmington for Saturday's 7:30 p.m. match with the Wilmington Hammerheads.
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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 8, 2008
- City Stars Battle Charlotte To 1-1 Draw - Cleveland City Stars
- Charlotte Clinches Regular Season Top Spot - Charlotte Eagles
- Palace Close Out Regular Season At Richmond Saturday - Crystal Palace Baltimore
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