City Stars Nip Crew, 2-1
Published on July 31, 2007 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Cleveland City Stars News Release
CLEVELAND, OHIO It was standing room only at Krenzler Stadium in downtown Cleveland as the Cleveland City Stars, the city's new professional soccer team, hosted the MLS Columbus Crew in an exhibition match at CSU. The 2-1 victory for the Crew does not necessarily give an accurate picture of the Stars competitiveness as CCS Head Coach Martin Rennie used this non-league game as an opportunity to give his bench players some minutes and to evaluate a couple of players who are just returning from injury before the postseason.
The City Stars are undefeated at Krenzler and have already qualified for the playoffs, both tremendous accomplishments for their inaugural campaign. Perhaps this exhibition match will be just what the Stars need to get northeast Ohio soccer fans excited about their new professional soccer club.
For the fans that have been faithfully following the Stars throughout this season, it was a chance to see their boys play against a major league soccer team and gauge just how talented they really are. As it turns out the Crew won the first half and the City Stars won the second half.
A quick goal in the 8th minute gave the Crew an early lead which they were able to build on 12 minutes later on a blast from outside the 18 yard line from former Cleveland City Stars standout Andrew Peterson. It would be the only scoring of the game by the Crew who had several more shots, but nothing on target.
The Stars came out of the locker room hungry for some action of their own. Less than a minute into the second half, Ian Leibbrandt and Adam Moffat teamed up to give the fans a bit of excitement, connecting on a give and go which #7 Leibbrandt took a touch on before blasting it far post past a diving goalie to put the Stars on the scoreboard.
The rest of the match was a defensive battle. The City Stars had difficulty breaking through the back line to get a clean shot on goal for most of the first half. A change of tactics and personnel gave the Stars enough speed to take defenders on individually and they were able to penetrate the box more frequently. The Crew played fast, hard charging soccer but were off the mark in the second half taking fewer shots and scoring none.
If nothing else, tonight was a good practice for the Stars' next game which will be played this Friday, August 3rd, 2007 at 7:00 pm at Krenzler Field. The exhibition match with the Crew was exciting but not nearly as important as Friday's game. The Harrisburg City Islanders handed the City Stars a last minute draw in their first meeting and currently sit in second place in the USL-2 standings. A win over the City Islanders would position the Stars nicely for the postseason and improve the likelihood of Cleveland hosting its semi-final match.
Friday is the final home game of the regular season. "We are very excited as a team for Friday's game," commented Stephen Rigby who recently returned to the line-up after recovering from a knee injury for most of the season. "We know we hold our playoff fate in our hands and we just want to focus on our next game," he continued. "If we stay turned on for the whole game we should be able to walk away with a win," said Ian Leibbrandt, who scored tonight's only goal for the Stars. "If we come out flat in either half, they are a team that will jump on any chances we give them," he explained.
A full house would certainly help the team stay turned on for the full 90 minutes. If you haven't already made plans to head out to the stadium for Friday's game, there is still time to purchase tickets. Don't wait to buy them at the gate, though. This is a match you won't want to miss. Call the office at 216-916-6586 for ticket information or log on to www.clevelandcitystars.com Friday's game is also Fan Appreciation Night and the first 100 fans through the gate will receive a free Cleveland City Stars t-shirt.
Come out and see what the excitement is about. Get to know the players before they become champions. Then you can celebrate with them as they make their way to the finals!
United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 31, 2007
- City Stars Nip Crew, 2-1 - Cleveland City Stars
- Murphy and Mollon Earn Season Honors - Charlotte Eagles
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