Stars Dominate Western Mass In 3-1 Victory
Published on July 4, 2008 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Cleveland City Stars News Release
The Cleveland City Stars returned home from a mid-week U.S. Open Cup match in Chicago to host the Western Mass Pioneers in a beautiful Independence Day matinee at Krenzler Stadium Saturday afternoon. After two straight scoreless draws in league play sandwiched around the loss to the Chicago Fire, Cleveland coach Martin Rennie made a switch to the lineup, opting for a 4-4-2 look over the team's traditional 4-3-3. The switch paid off for Rennie as his Cleveland team outlasted Western Mass 3-1.
The new alignment did not fare well for Cleveland at the start as Western Mass came out in the first minute and quickly surprised the City Stars. Neil Krause controlled the opening kick and started a run down the left sideline before finding Jeff Deren who beat the Cleveland defense straight into the box and tucked the ball into the right side of the net for the 1-0 Western Mass lead.
The City Stars were unable to threaten the Western Mass defense until late in the first half when Ian Leibbrandt fired a shot into the upper right corner in the 42nd minute. The shot tested every inch of 6'6" Western Mass goal keeper Matt Glaeser but Glaeser was able to stretch out and push the ball around the right post to preserve the 1-0 lead heading into the half.
In the 57th minute Ryan Stewart entered and immediately made an impact. Stewart flashed to the top of the box and controlled the ball in traffic before dropping a perfect ball back to the attacking Mark Schulte. Schulte was tackled viciously in the box, setting up a penalty kick for the City Stars. Schulte stayed on the ground in obvious pain for nearly four minutes. Floyd Franks took the resulting PK and deposited the ball into the right corner for the equalizer as Glaeser extended to his left. In the 71st minute Federico Molinari was given a red card after an altercation at the top of the Western Mass box. Cleveland's Franks was given a yellow card for his role in the activities. A Western Mass assistant coach was also sent off following the ensuing argument.
Cleveland capitalized on the man advantage in the 77th minute as Derek Potteiger controlled the ball out of the air and fired a great strike through the Western Mass defense and into the open right corner of the net for the 2-1 Cleveland lead.
In the 85th minute the City Stars put the match away off a nice run up the left wing by Luke Williams. After beating the defense, Williams cut to his right and led Stewart into the scoring area. The drawn up Glaeser could do nothing as Stewart beat the keeper and tapped the ball in for a 3-1 lead. The goal was Stewarts first professional goal.
"This was a agreat opportunity for me coming off the bench," said Stewart. "I just wanted to help the team and today was a chance to do that. We knew we could come back because we had them pinned back and we were on the attack. If a team plays like that with the talent that we have, it's impossible to hold them back."
Stewart celebrated his goal by sprinting towards the Green Army and waving to the fans.
"The fans make the game and you always want to make them feel a part of you and thank them for coming out. They were great today and they were a big part of this victory."
Krause showed the frustration that he and his Western Mass teammates were feeling as he was sent off with a red card in the 86th minute, forcing the Pioneers to play two down for the remainder of the match.
Cleveland rebounded after the first minute shocker to dominate the contest, finishing with 17 shots on goal to one for Western Mass.
With the victory the City Stars improve to 7-2-5 with 26 points. Cleveland returns to action next Saturday at 7 pm in a showdown with third place Crystal Palace Baltimore.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 4, 2008
- Kickers celebrate 3-0 win - Richmond Kickers
- Stars Dominate Western Mass In 3-1 Victory - Cleveland City Stars
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