Cleveland City Stars Suffer 3-1 Defeat to Richmond

Published on July 19, 2008 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Cleveland City Stars News Release


The Cleveland City Stars lost 3-1 on Saturday night to a Richmond Kickers squad that was firing on all cylinders. Interestingly, this is the first time a regular season meeting between the two teams did not end in a draw.

Both teams entered the match in a tie for second place in the USL-2 standings. Since the two top teams in the league are awarded a first round playoff bye and home-field advantage in the semi-finals, it is clear both teams were taking this game very seriously.

With regular starters Sallieu Bundu and Floyd Franks out for tonight's game, coach Martin Rennie handed a debut to new loanee George Josten. Josten comes to the City Stars on loan from the Columbus Crew of MLS and will hopefully add a spark to the City Stars attack.

This crucial match got off to a bad start for the City Stars when captain Mark Schulte was cautioned with a yellow card in just the 6th minute. Things got even worse in the 18th minute, as Richmond forward David Bulow fired a shot past Hunter Gilstrap from close range to give the Kickers a 1-0 lead.

Sascha Gorres nearly extended Richmond's lead a few minutes later, but his shot from a free kick struck the post and fortunately bounced to safety.

After so nearly falling into a 2-0 deficit, the City Stars rebounded and proceeded to play much better. Cleveland had several great chances to level the match before heading into the locker room at halftime. Their best chance came in the 33rd minute when forward Ian Leibbrandt rocketed a left-footed shot just wide of the Richmond goal.

Guarding their 1-0 lead, Richmond adopted an extremely defensive strategy in the second half. The introduction of substitutes Adam Ruud and Dana McGregor gave the City Stars offense a momentary boost, but it was just not enough.

David Bulow's penalty kick in the 70th minute extended the Kickers lead to 2-0, and moments later the lead would grow to 3-0 courtesy of a City Stars own goal.

That double salvo of Richmond goals was especially disheartening because the City Stars had controlled the flow of the match since halftime. "This was a game between two great teams," said Martin Rennie. "But the game really swung in Richmond's favor when they were awarded the penalty kick. Now it is our job to try to bounce back next week with a home win and keep fighting for 1st or 2nd place."

The City Stars played hard throughout the rest of the second half and were finally able to break down the Richmond defense, as Ryan Stewart notched a goal in stoppage time. But that was all the City Stars attack was able to produce.

"We didn't get off to a very good start but the guys did not get down on each other," said Stewart. "The game was really open until the penalty kick and that was the turning point. But we will get back to training this week and get a result next weekend."

Even with the loss tonight, the news for the City Stars is not all bad as the club has officially clinched a playoff spot. Now the team will be focused on finishing in the best league position possible in order to receive a bye during the first round of the playoffs - as well as have the chance to play their play-off matches in front of the Green Army at Krenzler Field.

This loss dropped Cleveland's record to 8-3-5 for a total of 29 points. The City Stars now sit in 3rd place in the USL-2 standings.

The Cleveland City Stars will look to get back to their winning ways on Saturday night against the Bermuda Hogges. This match will be played at 7 PM in Krenzler Stadium, where the City Stars have never lost in the regular season.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 19, 2008


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