Berea, Ohio-
Friday’s match was played at George Finnie Stadium on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University. Cleveland Soccer Club put on a wonderful display of chemistry with the starting 11 dismantling the visiting FC Buffalo midfield and defenders throughout the 1st half of play!
CSC, just after the opening kick was on the attack with an incredible through ball! It was played down the right wing setting up an early one-on-one goal for Ailton Silva to give Cleveland SC the lead, 1-0.
Later in the half, 40th minute of play, a pass played over the top for Brennan resulted in a miss communication between the Buffalo’s goal keeper and left back. Thus leading to a bizarre own goal to give Cleveland SC a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
In the 2nd half, Cleveland SC struck first by continuing the momentum of constant attacking pressure thanks to the control of possession by the midfield. Mikey Derezic put on an absolutely beautiful display of dribbling and control of the ball through the Buffalo defense to score on a precise strike past the keeper to give Cleveland SC a 3-o lead!
The remainder of the 2nd half, Buffalo showed signs of frustration with seven fouls, which five of them resulted in yellow cards. One foul in particular in the 68th minute was a full speed collision in midfield. It appeared that the Buffalo defender didn’t attempt to play the 50/50 ball through the air. The official issued him a yellow card as the Cleveland midfielder went down. Players from both teams converged and started chirping back and forth. Thankfully Cleveland’s midfielder got up and shook off the foul. His teammates ran in to defend him from the blatant foul. Cleveland was able to keep a cool and calm demeanor.
Later in the half, Buffalo had a free kick that resulted in a wonderful goal to put Buffalo on the scoreboard 1-3. Congratulations to Mikey Derezic…The Man of the Match! #WeAreCLE
Cleveland goalkeeper Pedro Alves put on another great display of play with nine saves on the night!
Cleveland SC remains atop of the Rust Belt Conference standings with 15 points. On Friday, they won their fifth straight game of the year. FC Buffalo with their fourth loss of the season has them sitting in third place in the Rust Belt Conference Standings.
A quick turnaround as CSC heads to Pittsburgh, Saturday, for a match against Hotspurs Soccer Club at 5pm. Hopefully, last night’s goals by both Silva and Derezic will give CSC the boost of confidence to win another match on the road. A win Sunday at Founders Field would continue their undefeated season! Hotspurs Soccer Club is heading into the match after a 5-1 victor over Buffalo.
The Final Score #WeAreCLE 3
Buffalo 1@SoccerCLE @NPSLSoccer @NEOSportsInside
Cleveland SC Remains Undefeated! pic.twitter.com/VnAQRVlMeI— Kevin McAndrews (@BigKevinSports) June 18, 2022
For more information visited the official club website www.clevelandsoccerclub.com
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