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Defense Leads City Stars In 0-0 Draw With Charleston
Defense Leads City Stars In 0-0 Draw With Charleston
| Defense Leads City Stars In 0-0 Draw With Charleston |
Friday July 17, 2009 The Cleveland City Stars continued their undefeated streak on Friday and drew the Charleston Battery 0-0. The City Stars defense and keeper Hunter Gilstrap held strong for 90 minutes against the 3rd-place Charleston offense. The City Stars played one of the strongest halves of the season and outshot the third-place Battery 6 to 1. The first chance of the match came in the 9th minute, when midfielder Joshua Boateng broke through a crowd of four Charleston defenders to rip a shot on goal. Charleston keeper Dusty Hudock was well-prepared however, and scooped up the shot. Five minutes later forward Jason Hotchkin got a chance of his own, and his shot was powerful enough to pop out of Hudock's hands and incite a scramble before the keeper managed to recover the ball. Defender Stephen Cruickshank contributed to the shot count in the 21st minute. Racing up the sideline, he split two defenders and played the ball perfectly to midfielder Pato Aguilera at the top of the box. Aguilera managed to turn and get off a shot, but it wasn't powerful enough to sneak by Hudock. The Battery got one of their only chances of the half in the 31st minute. Forward Darren Spicer received the ball just even with the City Stars back line, strategically staying onside before breaking clear of the pack at full speed. The breakaway looked bad for the City Stars, but defender Troy Roberts wasn't going to concede a goal. He chased down the sprinting Spicer and forced the ball outside, clearing the ball just a few feet from the corner flag. Midfielders Leo Gibson and Boateng retaliated four minutes later, when Gibson skillfully beat his defender inside the Battery box. After some clever footskills, he crossed the ball to Boateng waiting at the top of the box. Unmarked, Boateng took a rocket shot that had so much power it sailed over the Charleston crossbar. The Stars weren't done yet though, and Boateng earned another chance in injury time when his beautiful shot across the goal was barely saved by Hudock. The would-be goal and resulting deflection led to a City Stars corner kick, but Hotchkin played a long ball to the backpedaling midfielder Warren Kanu who headed the ball wide of the back post.  The second half was more of a give and take, with both teams finding opportunities and taking shots. In the 55th minute, Charleston forward Dan Antoniuk found an opening and ripped a shot at the Stars goal. Luckily defender Troy Roberts was in the right place and bodied his way in front of the ball, deflecting it out of the box. Unfortunately Battery midfielder Stephen Armstrong was waiting, and he took his chance on goal. Defender Stephen Cruickshank was in the right place, and made the second clear in under 10 seconds. In the 62nd minute, defender Ibrahim Kante also showed off his defensive prowess when Charleston's Frankie Sanfilippo got a breakaway on the Stars goal. Kante caught up to the midfielder and expertly bodied him off the ball, forcing him outside and out of scoring position so Gilstrap could scoop up the ball. The Stars turned the table after that, and picked up the pace of the offensive game. In the 79th minute, midfielder Ryan Stewart launched a huge cross to the far side of the field for midfielder Alioune Gueye to run on to. Gueye reached the ball after a terrific sprint, but was forced out of bounds at the corner. Boateng also had an opportunity from the corner, and in the 86th minute he dribbled into the near post of the Charleston goal, before being overwhelmed by keeper Hudock and two of his defenders. Even defender Anthony Stovall got involved in the offensive effort, taking a beautiful shot from 40 yards out in the 87th minute.  Unfortunately the City Stars were unable to capitalize and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. This is the second shut-out game in a row for Gilstrap, and the second back to back tie for the improving squad. The City Stars hit the road next week to take on Montreal on Wednesday, July 22nd at 7:45 p.m. before traveling to Rocheter on Saturday the 25th at 7:35 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on USLlive.com. The City Stars next home game is Saturday, August 1st at 7 p.m. when the Stars rematch the Vancouver Whitecaps. Tickets are available by calling 330-425-2003 or online at www.clevelandcitystars.com. Starting Lineups: Cleveland; GK Hunter Gilstrap, D Anthony Stovall, D Troy Roberts, D Ibrahim Kante, D Stephen Cruickshank, M Joshua Boateng, M Alioune Gueye, M Warren Kanu, M Leo Gibson (F Israel Sesay 76'), F Jason Hotchkin (D Anthony Peters 85'), F Pato Aguilera (M Ryan Stewart 62') Charleston: GK Dusty Hudock, D Nelson Akwari, D O'Brian Woodbine (D Yeniel Bermudez 80'), D Matt Bobo, D Frankie Sanfilippo, M Scott Buete , M Chris Williams, M Stephen Armstrong (M Tsuyoshi Yoshitake 70'), M Kenji Treschuk (M Tyler Hemming 47'), F Darren Spicer (F Tom Heinemann 66'), F Dan Antoniuk Attendance: 1,328 |