RESPECT THE CROWN!! CRUNCH SHOW OUT IN HOME OPENER!
North Olmstead, Ohio
If the first game between the Muskegon Risers and Cleveland Crunch left any doubt in you mind about who the kings of the hill are going into the 2022 season, the Saturday night answered all questions. In a sold out, standing room only crowd at the Soccerplex in North Olmstead the Crunch looked to double back on the early season re-match with the Risers on "Champions Night". The Crunch did not disappoint.
With the first quarter just starting Crunch forward Mike Derezic would score 2 goals 45-seconds apart to put the Crunch up 2-0 . Not too much later, Kevin Blackwood would connect with Crunch rookie Rylan Wikle for his first goal of the his young career to give the Crunch a 3-0 lead with 13:18 left in the first quarter. Shortly after that Mike Derezic would score again off a Chris Cvecko assist giving him a first quarter "hat trick" and a 4-0 lead after one.
The "Silent Assassin" Mike Derezic would continue to roll on the Riser defense as he would score two more goals three minutes into the second quarter , putting the Crunch up 6-0 at this point. Another new Crunch member Gabriel Pewu would score his first goal of the season as well. The Risers would put one in the back of the net before the half but with a 7-1 halftime lead in favor of the Crunch, you pretty much knew this game was heading for a blowout.
In the second half, Rylan Wikle(2), Kevin Blackwood(1) and Mike Derezic(6) would all add goals and beat up the Risers to end the night with a convincing 10-5 win and are currently 2-0 on the season. We caught up with one of the Crunch owners Eric Davis and got his thoughts on the "Champions Night" win.
"It went very well. The team, staff, and amazing fans made this an historic night for Crunch soccer. Mike Derezic was a human cheat code, and all-time performance from him. We couldn't have asked for a better night. This night will be one of my favorite moments forever. I was very proud of everyone."
We also spoke with Crunch head coach Lou Kastelic to get his thoughts as well.
" I thought we started out great and set the tone early. I give Muskegon a lot of credit for weathering the storm and making it more difficult on us as the game went on. I would like to see our guys be more consistent and finish more of our scoring chances, but a win is a win and I am happy we are 2-0. I am also happy wit the effort we got out of our young guys like Rylan Wikle and of course Mike Derezic made his presence felt. It was great to see him back on the field after missing the first game. We will work on the things we need to work on in Practice and get better. It's going to be scary to see what this team is going to look like when all the gel is solid and chemistry is there."
Of course with a six goal performance Mike Derezic would earn the "Man of the Match" honor. The Crunch will be back in action this weekend (January 22nd) at home against new in-state rival the Cincinnati Swerve in the friendly confines of the Soccerplex. Kickoff is slated for 7pm and tickets for that game will be on sale all week at theclevelandcrunch.com/tickets or at the gate on game day.
~IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!~
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