Green Army

Cleveland City in USL-1: It's Official

2008-12-04T19:38:00.002-05:00

Today was the official announcement of City's promotion to the USL First Division. It was a nice press conference that got good media coverage. Chris Economides, USL First Division Senior Director, was on hand. He praised the team, saying that they are the example that all future franchises should follow. He also had high praise for the team's off-the-field work. Before this I never realized just how much work the team did in the community. They are truly dedicated to making the city a better place, as well as putting the highest quality product on the field.

After the meeting I spoke with GM Mark Geissbauer about the upcoming season. Here are the highlights...

-We ARE moving, but not to Byers. The team is considering:
Case Western
John Carroll
Baldwin-Wallace

-The team will honor all season tickets purchased up til now. So if you bought your tickets you will not see a price increase.

-They have a shortlist of 4 candidates as of now for the manager. All of the candidates have at least a UEFA "A-License." Mark expects there to be more applicants now that the team is in USL-1. They're looking to Europe for a coach, most likely from the UK or Germany. He also said that he expects there to be more applications now that the team is in the First Division.

-There will be player announcements very soon. The team has already been in contact with players from the past few seasons and are also scouting the world (mostly Europe and Africa) for new players. They also said that they will be signing higher caliber players since we're moving up a league.

-We have a 3-year contract with SportsTime Ohio to air our home games. Last season they got over 25,000 viewers per game. Pretty good for a Division Three team.

The GM also praised the role the Green Army has played in the team's undefeated regular season home record. There's also some more exciting news that I'm not allowed to print at this time. Hopefully it will be announced in the coming weeks.

What now for the City Stars? (Part I)

2008-11-24T22:10:00.004-05:00

I would venture a guess that most people that read this blog know by now that Cleveland City are (supposedly) moving up to the USL First Division for next season. GOALSeattle reported this first on Saturday until the league made them remove the post. The information came from the Seattle Wolves delegation who were in the USL-2 League meeting. Canada.com and Devo's Direct Kicks (soccer blog from Rochester) have also reported that we're moving up.

If we do move up, it will definitely be an exciting season. I think that we've got enough talent to be able to compete, assuming most of our team from last season returns. Also, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced that MLS rosters will be smaller and that the reserve league has been cut. That should also increase the talent pool for USL. There will be more talented players available and willing to play in the First Division.

With that being said, here's who I would like to see return for next season:

Goalkeepers
Eric Reed

Defenders
Mark Schulte
Anthony Stovall
Jeremy Tolleson
Musa Otieno

Midfielders
Godfrey Tenoff
Floyd Franks
Derek Potteiger
Ryan Stewart
Adriano Sella

Forwards
Sallieu Bundu
Luke Williams
Adam Ruud
Jason Hotchkins

With that being said, who would YOU like to see come back next season?

If you haven't seen this video, watch it now

2008-11-18T14:00:00.003-05:00

The Success of Cleveland City!

Yet again the video guys for the team put together a class video. And, Sallieu's goal is probably the best (and most important) goal he scored all season.

Getting back into the swing of things

2008-11-17T18:50:00.002-05:00

This blog may seem dead, but I'm bringing it back. I'll start doing some off-season musings in the next couple of days.

Cleveland vs. Bermuda post-game reaction

2008-07-28T23:14:00.003-04:00

Like the picture? I think it's funny. Sallieu had a great game against Bermuda this past weekend, netting two goals. We ended up winning 5-1. Despite this, it was not our best performance of the season. The boys looked really lackadaisical during the first half, especially after they went up 2-0. Now, I know they said differently on the telecast, but at the game, it seemed like we just sat back and let Bermuda control possession. Our marking was absolutely horrid on their goal. There were two men left unguarded in the box. That's unacceptable. Maybe it was the new defensive set up. I wonder why they made the decision to put Stovy at right back and JT at left back. I personally would've switched them; kept Stovy at left and moved JT to right. It makes sense to start Musa and Schulte in the center. They're easily the two best central defenders in the league. Musa also netted his first ever goal from the team, a nice header to put us up 4-1.

The re-arrangement of the defense also had a positive effect on Godfrey. Godfrey looked out of position all season at right back. He's naturally a midfielder and he finally got to play that position against Bermuda. He looked like a good player. He wasn't constantly getting beat. He worked well and put in a beautiful ball to Sallieu on the first goal. It was a great little chip over a defender that Sallieu put away with a "bullet header," as Glen Duerr said on the telecast.

One final note, it's about the telecast. I'm glad they started showing more of the Green Army. We made a lot of noise on Saturday night, especially in the second half. The ref was horrid; he even stared us down after we gave him a ripping for yet another horrendous call. He also missed a blatant red card in the second half. But, there were more shots of us on TV, which was nice. Maybe getting us on the air more will help recruit members. I also liked Glen's comment about us singing "7 Nation Army." I thought it sounded pretty good.

I hope he's not drunk

2008-07-26T16:15:00.000-04:00

Check out who's refereeing my game against Gimnastic in the Champions League. Someone better keep him away from the vodka.

7/26 Cleveland vs. Bermuda Match Preview

2008-07-26T00:34:00.002-04:00

We face off against Bermuda tomorrow, well, today technically. This is a game we should win easily. Bermuda has scored something like 12 goals all season and conceded over 30. Our misfiring offense should be able to put a couple past them. Still, we face an tough battle to finish 3rd, let alone 2nd. It all depends on how Crystal Palace does. It is still possible for us to finish in the top two, but we really need to win out.

I'd really prefer if Martin would just decide on one goalkeeper. I think that Reed is a little better than Hunter and I'd just stick with Eric. But, that's just my humble opinion. What do YOU think?

I'm disappointed

2008-07-26T00:23:00.003-04:00

So, some of you may not know that I'm a huge fan of Polish soccer. I've been following the Ekstraklasa and the lower leagues for awhile; I support Wisla Krakow and Lechia Gdansk, and to a lesser extent, Slask Wroclaw. Anyway, that's my boy Patryk Malecki of Wisla sporting the team's new away kit. He's got a little bit of sass in that picture and I also like how he's throwing in a thumbs up, just like I do in many pictures.

But, today was the day the league was supposed to start. Note that I say supposed to start. Unfortunately, league play did not begin today because of the HUGE corruption problems in Polish soccer. PZPN (the Polish FA) illegally relegated clubs for corruption. It's not that the clubs weren't corrupt, it's just that PZPN is so corrupt that they don't even do things they right way. Back on topic, it's still not totally clear which teams will all compete in the top flight. The 2nd match day will now become the first, which will be made up in late October.

Off-topic now, I just got home from work half an hour ago. There was no producer today in the sports department, so that just made things a little more difficult. On the bright side, it meant that I got to do some more work. Yes, I am actually glad that I got to do more. It made things a little more interesting than usual. Not that I get bored, I just liked the additional responsibilities. I don't know many other interns who get to do as much as I do.

Who saw the most arrogant team in MLS lose last night?

2008-07-23T13:16:00.003-04:00

I hate Montreal, but it was great seeing the most arrogant team in MLS (aka Toronto) lose. Toronto now has failed to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. They couldn't beat two USL teams.

God, I hate Toronto fans.

Boycott MLSR

2008-07-23T13:02:00.002-04:00

If you follow soccer, you probably heard about the skirmish that took place at half-time of the Columbus-West Ham game. Shock of all shocks, MLS Rumors went off the deep end blaming everything on Columbus; fans, even though they said they wouldn't blame anyone. I've seen video of the fight, it was nothing. I've seen worse fights at Browns games. I've seen worse fights during high school.

Anyway, MLSR put the blame on Columbus' fans. This was not their fault. It was the fault of security at Columbus Crew Stadium. The West Ham hools waltzed over to the Nordecke's section and started throwing beer onto the Crew fans. Is it any surprise that something happened?

I also find it amusing that MLSR failed to make a big deal about the fights that happened during some SuperLiga matches this past week. What, it's not a big deal since it wasn't happening with the Crew? I'm done with that website. If you want good soccer blogs, check out the Designed Players - TheOffsideRules, TheOriginalWinger, Soccer By Ives, and duNord, and This Is American Soccer. Those guys can write about soccer.

Cleveland in FM/WSM 2009

2008-07-23T12:25:00.002-04:00

So, if you haven't heard, there's been a big push to improve the data on players in the USL in Football Manager/Worldwide Soccer Manager. And guess what? I'm doing the research on Cleveland for the upcoming 2009 game. It's a bit tricky put in stats for some players that haven't seen much playing time, but I think I'll be able to manage. Now, the USL is not going to be playable for the 2009 game, but there is a good chance that it will be for 2010. Keep your eyes open.

Cleveland @ Richmond Post game reaction

2008-07-19T23:16:00.002-04:00

As of right now, we'll be lucky to finish 3rd, let alone 1st or 2nd.

That's all I want to say about tonight's game.

I really hope Eto'o signs with Kuruvchi

2008-07-18T19:12:00.003-04:00

From the sounds of it, he's actually considering signing with them. To satisfy you while you're waiting on his answer, here's Jesse Lacey (of Brand New) performing the beginnings of a new Brand New song. Maybe this time we won't have to wait three years for a new album.

It's hard work being a fashion icon

2008-07-18T19:08:00.001-04:00

But somehow I manage. What am I talking about? Check this out: http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/07/18/trendhumper-soccer-jerseys/#more-14610

I've been rockin' the soccer jersey since 6th grade. Represent, yo.

MLS Rumors continue to be idiots

2008-07-18T17:01:00.002-04:00

MLSR posted an entry talking about Columbus' attendance this season. There was an article in the Columbus Dispatch about the Crew inflating its attendance numbers. MLSR titled the entry to something of the effect of "Columbus lying about attendance" or something like that. Now, yes, they did announce numbers higher than the actual number of people there. What they fail to mention is that almost EVERY team in professional American sports does this. Go to any game, and the announced number will be higher than the number of people actually there. MLSR wants to keep the hate train going towards Columbus.

In the comments section, there are the typical comments saying "move Columbus to (insert city)." This would be the biggest mistake the league could do. It would be an insult to the memory of Lamar Hunt. Columbus opened the first soccer-specific stadium in the entire country. Lamar Hunt financed the thing himself. Now you want to move the team? It would be a travesty. For those in favor of moving the team, what do you propose doing to the stadium? Just have it sit there unused? C'mon now.

Has Floyd Franks left the team?

2008-07-16T13:48:00.002-04:00

It certainly seems possible

"Former Chicago Fire midfielder Floyd Franks is currently on trial with Jetsmark I.F. of the Danish Second Division, according to his agent.

"[Floyd] departed on July 13 for a twelve day trial," agent Rob Feigenson told YA.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte graduate was originally drafted by the Fire during the 2006 Major League Soccer Super Draft. During his two seasons with the Windy City club Franks scored a single goal in just nine appearances.

His time in college was much more successful, scoring 18 goals and contributing 15 assists during his 71-game career. The Vestavia, Alabama native was named First-Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference his senior year in 2005 and First-Team All-Conference USA during his junior campaign.

The visit to Pandrup will be Franks’ first trial in Europe according to Feigenson, who also noted that he'll be reunited with former college teammate Mira Mupier at the Danish club.

The 5'-10" midfielder most recently played for the Cleveland City Stars of the United Soccer Leagues Second Division. In Cleveland he recorded five goals in all competitions, including two goals in their 2-0 US Open Cup victory over Minnesota in June."

http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=3933

So long Captain America

2008-07-16T13:16:00.003-04:00

If you haven't heard, Claudio Reyna is retiring. I know he hasn't done much at all since coming to play for the Red Bulls, but let's not forget his hard-work and dedication for our national team. The man is a legend, one of the all-time great American soccer players.

Oh, and I've had this song stuck in my head all day

There are no pictures up yet from the game

2008-07-16T09:47:00.002-04:00

What does that mean for the blog? Well, it means I can't make more LOL City Stars. Or should they be I Can Has City Starz? Whatev.

Oh, SportsTime Ohio. You should start showing the Green Army more during the games, especially right after we score. I know on Saturday we exploded after Bundu netted the winner. It would've been nice to see that on TV.

One final note on the home run derby

2008-07-15T10:46:00.001-04:00

Josh Hamilton, you will always be the winner in my heart.

Justin Morneau, you'll get nothing and like it.

A note on the home run derby

2008-07-14T21:57:00.001-04:00

I wish I could hit 1 home run, let alone 28.

That's all.

Cleveland vs. Crystal Palace reaction

2008-07-14T14:40:00.003-04:00

This was an interesting game. For the second week in a row, the midfield gave the ball away needlessly and it almost led to CPB opening the scoring in the first minute. Luckily Godfrey was able to clear the ball out. We should have scored in the first half. Musa had a great opportunity off of a freekick. His header was on target, but the 'keeper made a superb save.

The second half saw us dominate more, but it wasn't until the 83rd minute that we actually got a goal. It was completely out of nowhere. Floyd played a ball over the top to Sallieu who held off two defenders before putting it into the back of the net. It really should have been the second goal as Ryan Stewart missed a golden opportunity earlier in the half.

Three points are three points. With Richmond beating Pittsburgh, we really needed to win.

My Man of the Match: Musa Otieno. He shut down Gary Brooks, one of the league's best forwards.

Cleveland vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore preview

2008-07-11T18:45:00.004-04:00

KRENZLER FIELD
USL SECOND DIVISION
7:00

Crunch time is upon us. Again, three points are absolutely necessary. We're currently in third place on a tie-breaker. Richmond is ahead of us because they have more wins. The Kickers are hosting Pittsburgh, so they should take all three points easily. If we lose this game, we could quite easily finish in 4th. So, what do we need to do? We need to play like we did in the second half against Western Mass. That was some of the best soccer I've ever seen this team play. Despite being a goal down, we did not panic. We didn't just lob long balls over the top as we have been known to do. We didn't let Western Mass' thuggery interfere with how we play our game. This is the line-up that I would go with:

Hunter/Reed

Tolleson - Schulte - Musa - Stovy

Ruud - Potteiger - Stewart - Williams

Bundu - Ian

We'll need everyone in the Green Army to come out and sing in full voice. There was a bit of an incident at the game last year between Sergio Flores of CPB and myself (and some other members of the Army.) We got into an argument after the game. So, not only is this one of our biggest games so far this season, but it's a chance to taunt Sergio a little more. If you haven't been to a City Stars game, this would be the perfect time to start.

C'MON CITY!

The Kanye remix of "Lollipop" is great

2008-07-11T01:04:00.004-04:00

Tell a girl like Dorritos that's "nacho cheese." That's what Ryan Stewart is doing in this picture. This is the back-heel that completely took apart the Western Mass defense. I added my own caption for a little fun. And also, the Kanye remix of "Lollipop" by Lil' Wayne is pretty dope.

Speaking of dope, 107.9 FM was kickin' it old school this past weekend. I enjoyed it, especially on the way home from the game.

Big game on Saturday. I'll post my preview tomorrow.

Finally, I was looking at the pictures from the Wilmington game. For some reason, I looked confused in every picture that I'm in. I don't like it.

Fish should never be this big

2008-07-11T00:30:00.000-04:00

I went to the Natural History museum on Wednesday. I saw that bad boy up there. That thing used to live in Ohio millions of years ago. Fish should never grow to be that big. It freaked me out. I still don't like it and it's been dead for ages. Check that thing out here.

I gotta keep this stuff fresh...

2008-07-10T10:16:00.002-04:00

I haven't been updating as frequently now. Surprising, I know, especially since I've been off all this week. Well, I'll change that today. Just keep on reading!

PS there's a rumor that both Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley could be heading to Monaco.

PPS watch MLS Primetime tonight to watch the Baby Goats take on Beckham United

Go Gladiators!

2008-07-07T23:16:00.003-04:00

I've never been a big fan of Arena Football. I don't like the fact that such little defense is played. Honestly, the constant up and down, scoring-at-will mentality of the game gets a little boring after a while, in my humble opinion. However, I have loved watching the Gladiators make this playoff run. They looked impressive tonight against a hot Georgia team (they'd won 7 out of their last 8). I interviewed a couple of the players (well, technically only Alphonso Hodge, I held a microphone in front of the other players) and they all seemed like decent guys. Hodge and Otis Amey even complimented me on my kicks (I was sporting my LeBron's).

So, I say watch this team. They're on ESPN this Saturday at 1pm playing Philadelphia for a spot in the Arena Bowl. After the game, come celebrate the Gladiators' victory by coming down to Krenzler to watch your Cleveland City Stars beat Crystal Palace Baltimore.

Wimbledon final

2008-07-06T19:51:00.003-04:00

Who watched that today? What a great match. Nadal deserved the win and I'm glad to see someone other than Feder win a grand slam (that's not the French Open).

Cleveland vs. Western Mass Post Game Reaction

2008-07-05T00:42:00.003-04:00

I originally wasn't going to write this tonight, but I got some motivation. This was a must win game. We needed the three points badly. We'd only scored one goal in our past three league games. So when the Pioneers went up in the 1st minute, I was very much afraid that this would be our first regular season home loss. We dominated in the first half, but their keeper came up with some huge saves. The one in the 40th minute off of a great shot from Ian was superb.

In the second half, we came out with a purpose. We played like a team in desperate need of a win. When Ryan Stewart came on, the entire game changed. Stewart said "I'm going to take charge of this game. Everyone, pile on my back, I'm gonna take us to the promised land!" At least, that's what I imagine him saying. Whatev. When he came on, the dynamic of the game changed. We were much more positive. His beautiful backheel to Mark was the reason for the PK. I also loved that after he scored the third goal of the game (and his first of the season) he ran over to the fans and celebrated. Oh, yea, and Derek's goal, the game winning goal, was nice.

All in all, we deserved this win. I'm not even going to touch on the physical aspect of this game because it would simply disgust me. Put simply, Western Mass' players are a bunch of thugs.

My Man of the Match: Ryan Stewart

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-04T13:46:00.000-04:00

Come out an celebrate with your Cleveland City Stars!

7/4/08 Cleveland vs. Western Mass Preview

2008-07-03T14:57:00.002-04:00

USL Second Division
Kick-off: 3:00 pm
Krenzler Field, Cleveland, OH

Yet again, three points are an absolute must. We're currently only 1 point ahead of Crystal Palace Baltimore in the race for the top two spots. However, we've played two more games than them. This season we're 3-0-3 at home and Western Mass are 2-3-1 on the road. The Pioneers have gotten 7 or so yellow cards in their past 3 matches. I doubt they'll stop the physical play against us. So many times this season, the away team has come to Krenzler looking only for the draw. They sit almost everyone behind the ball and hack away at our players. Unfortunately, we haven't always tried hard to break the opponents down. We've just settled to lob long balls into the box and hope Sallieu or any of the forwards can get a head to it. We need to start shooting more. Against Wilmington we had the majority of the possession and did nothing with it. Baltimore is going to be on a long stretch of games. From now until the end of the season, I think the most time they have in between games is 4 days. They will definitely drop some points during that span. Now it's our time to start winning games and put some pressure on Charlotte at the top of the table.

Off Topic: One of the funniest shows I've ever seen

2008-07-03T10:04:00.004-04:00

The Mighty Boosh is one of my favorite TV shows now. I was introduced to it from one of my buddies who found the Old Gregg episode on YouTube. Now, if you've never seen this show, you should go here to get some background information about it. Now that that's out of the way, I feel like I should give you a video clip of the show. As I'm incredible indecisive, I'll give you two. Here ya go:

I get teary-eyed just watching this

2008-07-02T19:19:00.004-04:00

For those of you new to the Cleveland City Stars, watch this. Bonus points if you can spot me in any pictures.

A WTF moment

2008-07-02T19:12:00.002-04:00

A former Houston Dynamo player is on trial at Bayern München. Can you guess who it is? Did you guess Joseph Ngwenya? You didn't ? Well, I'm sorry, he is on trial at the Bavarian powerhouse. He went from being unable to find the net in Columbus, to playing pretty well at Houston, to sitting on the bench in Austria, to a trial with Bayern. Wow.

Three days and already people are taking notice

2008-07-01T23:42:00.002-04:00

Here's a comment that I found on MLSR about my post:

"Oh, and now some Cleveland fan is whining on his own wittle bwog that MLSR didn't "do their homework" b/c they feel they have more talent on their side than just Franks....."

I'm flattered that I'm already attracting this type of attention. This is inflating my ego.

US Open Cup Third Round - Post Game

2008-07-01T22:55:00.002-04:00

First and foremost, we were outclassed. Chicago bossed us around. While we did at times look like challenging, Chicago almost completely controlled the pace of the game. I think it was Calen Carr who just tore us apart. Our defense was in shambles, unfortunately. I don't hold Hunter at fault for any of the goals. On the first one, it was a great strike. The penalty was a terrible call. It looked like Rolfe took a huge dive. Then again, the ref was horrid all game. I don't understand how Chicago can only commit one foul in an entire half. It boggles my mind.

In the second half, we looked a lot better. We created more chances and finally maintained some possession. Kiel McClung, in for the suspended Stovy, scored a fantastic goal from about 20 yards out. Not many goalkeepers in the world would've stopped that shot. He struck it hard and placed it perfectly into the top corner. Shortly after that, we probably should have gotten a second goal, but Luke Williams was just out of gas.

In the end, I cannot say that we deserved to win this game. But, the boys are back home again on Friday against Western Mass. Come out and celebrate our nation's birthday with the Green Army!

C'MON CITY!

7/1/08 Cleveland @ Chicago Pre-Game

2008-07-01T18:53:00.006-04:00

About 90 minutes to go until kick-off. I'll post more information as I get it. As of right now, I believe that Jon Busch will be starting in goal for the Fire, with Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett starting up front.

No word yet on the line-up for the Stars.

EDIT: Starting line up for Cleveland
GK: Hunter Gilstrap
DF: Jeremy Tolleson
DF: Kiel McClung
DF: Mark Schulte
DF: Godfrey Tenoff
MD: Neil Hlavaty
MD: Derek Potteiger
MD: Floyd Franks
MD: Adam Ruud
FW: Sallieu Bundu
FW: Luke Williams

Chicago Starting Line up
GK: Nick Noble
DF: Austin Washington
DF: Brian Plotkin
DF: Daniel Woolard
DF: Lider Marmol
MD: Mike Banner
MD: Stephen King
MD: Peter Lowry
MD: Chris Rolfe
MD: Calen Carr
FW: Chad Barrett

Green Army on tour!

MLS Rumors Knows Nothing About Our Team

2008-07-01T14:20:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure how many people read the various MLS and US Soccer blogs that there are. The soccer nut that I am, I tend to read a lot of them. Now, there are some very good ones (The Offside Rules, Soccer By Ives, etc) and there are some bad ones (most notably MLS Rumors). Today, the brilliant writers of MLS Rumors are writing about the upcoming round of the Open Cup. For every game, they talk about how the upcoming match should be exciting. Then they come to our game, and this is what they write:

"On the face of it this match doesn't seem to excite. However one has to remember that Columbus Crew fans, typically hate Chicago and in a showing of "Ohio pride" may back Cleveland City for no other reason than they'd like to see the four time US Open Cup Champion fall in the 3rd Round to a team which plays in the 3rd tier of the sport in this country. Not to mention, some Crew supporters are from the area around Cleveland. One of our readers also pointed out that Cleveland's only real high profile player is a former Fire player, Floyd Franks, who also scored both of the Stars' previous goals in US Open Cup play. And lastly there should be a nice contingent of Cleveland City supporters at Toyota Park as several busses are headed there. If you want to go and live in or near Cleveland, then Get On The Bus."

Our only high profile player is Floyd Franks? Really MLSR? Did you do any research? Obviously not. If you had, maybe you'd learn that Mark Schulte also played in MLS. MLSR could've also discovered that Neil Hlavaty was at Sparta Prague. Then there's Sallieu Bundu who was a highly rated player in Sierra Leone before he had to flee the country on foot to escape certain death. But they're obviously not high-profile enough.

MLS Rumors, do your research next time.

More lead up to the game

2008-07-01T12:25:00.005-04:00

Chicago Fire

Open Cup Form: This is the Fire's first game in the Open Cup this season. However, the Fire have not won in their past four games.
League Leaders: Cuathemoc Blanco (T-3rd in MLS assists with 6); Jon Busch (1st in MLS Goals Against Average (0.85), 1st in Saves (64), 2nd in GK shutouts (5))

Cleveland City Stars

Open Cup Form: 2-1 vs. Michigan Bucks (PDL), 2-0 aet vs. Minnesota Thunder (USL-1)
League Leaders: Sallieu Bundu (3rd in goals scored with 5, 4th in shots with 27); Adriano Souza (4th in assists with 3, 4th in shots with 27); Dana McGregor (4th in assists with 3); Hunter Gilstrap (4th in GAA with 0.83); Eric Reed (3rd in GAA with 0.71, 4th in shutouts with 4)

Keys to Victory
1. Don't be intimidated
2. Stay organized defensively
3. Don't be afraid to take shots!

I forgot to mention

2008-07-01T10:30:00.001-04:00

The game will be available for everyone to watch from the comforts of their home computer! There's going to be a stream going from the City Stars' website. I know I'll be watching it.

US Open Cup Third Round Preview

2008-07-01T00:16:00.001-04:00

CHICAGO FIRE VS. CLEVELAND CITY STARS
US OPEN CUP THIRD ROUND
TOYOTA PARK
KICK OFF - 8:30 PM EST

We go into tomorrow's match looking for a big upset. Some key players were rested on Saturday in preparation for this game, so the boys should be fully rested and ready to go. Last season multiple USL-2 teams scored victories against MLS sides. However, I think things will be different this year now that the winner of the Open Cup gets a birth into the CONCACAF Champions League. MLS teams now see value in winning this tournament. Will it be tough for us? Of course it will. Do we have a chance? Of course we do. However, we're going to have to play our best. I know the boys will be up for this.

My prediction: Chicago 2-0 Cleveland
I think Chicago are just the better team. I'm hoping for an upset, I'm just not that optimistic.

What I thought of the referee from the Wilmington match

2008-06-29T21:19:00.002-04:00

That says it all.

Road Trip to Chicago!

2008-06-29T14:11:00.001-04:00

The team is getting a bus to take fans to the Open Cup game in Chicago. Here's the information.

"Do not miss out on your chance to witness history. Join the Green Army on Tuesday July 1st in traveling to Toyota Park in Chicago, IL for the City Stars third round U.S. Open Cup match with the MLS Chicago Fire.

Cleveland has been victorious in its first two Open Cup matches on the road. Now its time to give the City Stars players the home town crowd that they deserve. The Green Army is looking at taking its biggest traveling party to date, so sign up now and be a part of the biggest match ever for the City Stars.

Tickets for the trip are $50 and include your game ticket. Overnight possibilities are also available through the Fairfield Inn and Suites Hotel. All fans will receive the CCS discount of $95 per double room for the night.

The Green Army busses will depart the City Stars Twinsburg offices at 10:30 am. The office is located at 3819 East Aurora Rd. Email greenarmy@clevelandcitystars.com or simply register online to sign up for the trip."

6/28/08 Cleveland 0-0 Richmond

2008-06-29T10:27:00.002-04:00

For the second week in a row, the boys were held to a 0-0 draw. I didn't get to see the game as I was out of town, but I plan on watching the replay on STO on Wednesday. This was a great opportunity for us to pick up points on Charlotte and put some distance between us and Baltimore in the race for second place. Baltimore has three games in hand and are only 4 points behind us. That's not a good situation, in my opinion.

Some players were being rested for the game (we play Chicago in the Open Cup on Tuesday). I'm not sure that I agree with this. I think that our number 1 priority should be doing well in the league. It's critical that we get one of the top two spots to get a bye into the second round of the playoffs.

The beginning...

2008-06-28T14:32:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I'm Ed (CCSUltra) from the Green Army. This blog will serve as a voice of the Green Army. There will be opinions about the team's performance in matches, opinions about the quality (or the lack of) of the refereeing, opinions about the opposing supporters. None of these views are associated with the Cleveland City Stars or their front office. This blog is the voice of the fans. If you're interested in the Green Army, check out our forum - www.greenarmy.info. I hope to see you at the match!

C'MON CITY!