City Stars Suffer 4-1 Defeat to Charleston Battery
August 11, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Cleveland City Stars News Release
CHARLESTON, SC: The Cleveland City Stars battled hard against the Charleston Battery on Tuesday but fell 4-1. Leo Gibson scored the only goal for the Stars with a well-placed penalty kick.
Charleston came out of the gates quickly and found the back of the net in only the 2nd minute of the game. After a poor clearance, midfielder Scott Buete took advantage and launched a powerful shot from outside the City Stars box, catching goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap off his guard.
Despite several good chances, including a beautiful ball played goal by Leo Gibson, the City Stars were unable to capitalize before the Battery retaliated in the 20th minute. Defender Ibrahim Kante applied pressure to stop Buete from another attempt on goal, but fouled him in the process, earning the Battery a penalty kick. Midfielder Tsuyoshi Yoshitake stepped up to take the penalty and sliced the ball into the lower corner of the goal, beating Gilstrap to bring the score to 2-0.
The Battery made it's presence known again just 4 minutes later when midfielder Ian Fuller played a ball to an unmarked Stephen Armstrong directly in front of the City Stars goal. Armstrong's expert header found the back of the net for the Battery's 3rd goal of the match.
The City Stars seemed to come out of shock after the 3rd goal, and began applying pressure on the Charleston goal. After several good plays involving Gibson and forward Ricardo Pierre-Louis, defender Warren Kanu found his way into the Battery box. He was met roughly by Charleston defenders and was shoved out of bounds, earning Cleveland a well-deserved penalty kick. Midfielder Leo Gibson took the shot and placed it directly below the crossbar to deny the Battery a shutout.
The second half was a midfield battle, with both teams having equal opportunities. Goalkeeper Gilstrap had several impressive saves and fended off shots from Buete and forward Randi Patterson. In the 72nd minute, Patterson broke free of the pack and took a hard shot on the Cleveland goal, losing his shoe in the process and narrowly missing Gilstrap. Undaunted, Gilstrap scooped up the ball to make the save.
In the 87th minute Charleston's Yoshitake and late substitute Dan Antoniuk teamed up to make a final stand on the City Stars goal. After a skilled flick backwards to Antoniuk, Yoshitake sprinted forward for a give-and-go before shooting the ball past Gilstrap to make the final score 4-1.
The City Stars return home next week on Tuesday, August 18th at 7 p.m. when they seek redemption against the Montreal Impact at Middlefield Cheese Stadium. Tickets are still available by calling 330-425-2003 or by going online at www.clevelandcitystars.com.
USL First Division Stories from August 11, 2009
- City Stars Suffer 4-1 Defeat to Charleston Battery - Cleveland City Stars
- Beavers Announce Game Time Change For August 19 - Portland Timbers
- Timbers Set For Roadtrip To Montreal, Rochester - Portland Timbers
- Keita Named USL First Division Player of the Week - Portland Timbers
- Patterson, Low, Richardson make USL-1 Team of the Week - North Carolina FC
- USL Week 18 pro honors announced - USL-1
- Impact Faces The Portland Timbers Wednesday At Saputo Stadium - Montreal Impact
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
