What a weekend sweep for the Cleveland Crunch! First, a home series in the I-X Center! Food and drink available! Mark Munch and Kevan Arnold on the calls! Sold out crowd! All that the team and crowd wanted were wins.
Weekend Sweep!
And BOY did they get that! 8-0 was the final Saturday, and just about everyone had a hand with a goal or assist in the game versus Detroit Waza. With the win, the Crunch sit atop the MLIS Eastern conference with Rapid City FC (RCFC), with Cleveland just ahead on goal differential. But their tie atop the standings wouldn’t last, for Cleveland had to face their neighbors from Michigan.
Sunday’s game was another master class in scoring versus RCFC. The final score was 16-9, with the Crunch solidifying their first-place hold!
Admir Suljevic (more on him later) led the way Saturday with two goals and three assists. Defender Dave Jordan netted two with an assist. Boban Cancar, Mikey Derezic and Kevin Blackwood rounded out the goal scorers from Saturday night.
Man Of The Match!
But the man of the match was Marijo Musa. The outstanding goalie for the Crunch, with the help of his defense, kept a clean sheet! Not a shot made it into his net! An unbelievable feat in a league where it’s not just about scoring, but how many you drop in! (See today’s game!)
Pre-Game!
It’s Crunch Time in Cleveland again!! The calm before the storm at the sold out I-X Center! SRO still available for the home opener vs Detroit! See you here!! @clecrunch!!! @NEOSportsInside pic.twitter.com/7t824sPAfv
— Mark Munch Bishop (@MunchCleveland) January 28, 2023
Kevan Arnold and Mark Munch Bishop were there for all the action. And the crowd was pretty raucous!
Photos by @viper98 (Luigi Musto)
The club used the pregame to retire the jersey of one of the best to ever play for the Crunch, Zoran Karic!
A well-deserved jersey retirement!!!
Zoran Karić #16
Cleveland Crunch 1990-2000
Before the Crunch, Wasa Flo match where Cleveland won 8-0@clevelandcrunch@LucianoRuscitto pic.twitter.com/snsdSrsBaK
— Luigi Musto (@viperg98) January 29, 2023
After the ceremony ended, it was all Crunch!
First half
The starting lineup for Saturday.
Who knew that the first goal in the first 20 minutes would be the game winner, but Admir was right on it. The former Wickliffe HS and Ohio Division III player of the year has found a home with the Crunch and Cleveland SC.
Second Half
If you came to the match hoping to see scoring, then the third quarter was your heaven! Cleveland dropped four into the back of the net.
But unsaid was the fact that Detroit still had not scored. Waza had taken seven shots and not one found the back. According to MLIS, this was only the 2nd time an MLIS game ended in a shutout! The first was Omaha’s win over Milwaukee back in December, also an 8-0 final.
Cleveland 8 Detroit 0 F
Musa Marijo authored the second shutout in MLIS history, leading the Cleveland Crunch (3-1) to an 8-0 win over the Detroit Waza Flo (0-4) before a sold out IX Center.
#indoorsoccer #MLIS @clecrunch @DetroitWazaFlo @ixcentercle pic.twitter.com/NFUCqWmjvC— MLIS (@MLISpro) January 29, 2023
Even the big man, Kevin Blackwood, got into the scoring frenzy!
Sunday’s game and Weekend sweep!
On Sunday, the Crunch made it 2-0 weekend with a 16-9 win over their first place foes, Rapid City FC. And the man of the match was really the man of the weekend:
Admir Suljevic!
Our Luigi Musto was there for all the action this weekend. Here are his pictures from Sunday’s afternoon win.
In his @MLISpro debut, Parker Csiszar with a hat trick leading the @clecrunch over the @RapidCityFC 16-9@medinaathletics@BeesBoysSoccer@MLISNews#crunchtime#theland#medinabeessoccer#beeboyssoccer#CLE#indoorsoccer#MLIS pic.twitter.com/eRwpt2OwnN
— Luigi Musto (@viperg98) January 29, 2023
Cleveland took a quick 4-0 lead and never looked back!
Here are all the scorers for the game. These are the games MLIS loves!
Cleveland:
Parker Czisar 3 (Hat Trick!) Parker was just called into start today!
Admir Suljevic 5
Ryan Minick 3
Mikey Derizic 2
Aidan Bozak 2
Boban Cancar 1
Grand Rapids
Daire Orierban 3
Nerman Crnkic 3
Elmedin Zukic 1
Jerman Juarez 1
Lito Esquivel 1
Cleveland now stands in first place in the East.
Other Games
Detroit beat Cincinnati, 6-4. Silas Rustin notched a hat trick for Detroit.
Next Games
The Crunch’s next games are away in Cincinnati and Detroit the weekend of February 11th and 12th. We will continue with our weekly series, Crunch Bites, small morsels of what the club does while they await their next games.
Enjoy the three weeks off!
Follow me on Twitter at @Petrorock44. Stay well!
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