SPOT ME 10!!

 Muskegon, Mi




   The Crunch went into this past Saturdays' game with the Risers looking to do two things. First, securely win the division, and two secure a playoff spot. Mission accomplished! The Crunch ran away with this game from the start of the opening whistle. Early in the first Aidan Bozak kicked off the scoring for the Crunch to take a early 1-0 lead. A few mins later Kevin "All Good" Blackwood would put one in the back of the net to give the Crunch a 2-0 lead. With 8:36 Admir Suljevic would make his presence known as he scored his first of 2 goals on the night to make it 3-0 in favor of the Crunch. Dave Jordan(Suljevic), Hunter Johnson(Bozak), and Blackwood(2) would round out the scoring for the Crunch as they would take a 6-1 lead after one period of play.


The second quarter was no different as Suljevic(2) and Jordan (2)(Blackwood assist) would add three more goals to put the game at 9-2 halftime lead for the Crunch. In the third quarter Admir Suljevic(3) and Gabe Pewu would each score a goal and give the Crunch a 11-3 lead. With 1:18 left in the third Kurt Raney coasted one past the Risers goalie, ending the third with the Crunch sporting a 12-3 lead.


In the fourth and final quarter, the Risers would score their last goal of the night and that would be all they would get as Ryan Minick, Ben Hryszko, Kokai Minami, and Kurt Raney(2) would put on a scoring barrage and give the Crunch a 16-4 win and the Great Lakes Division title. With the win, The Crunch have now won back-to-back division titles and now sport the best record in all of M.A.S.L. 2. Kevin Blackwood would also earn "MAN OF THE MATCH" honors as he would finish the night with 2 goals and 4 assists. We spoke with Crunch head coach Lou Kastelic about the Accomplishment and here's what he said.


   " It means a lot. Being division regular season champs is not easy. Going 10-0 is not easy. Both things are a testament to t he group of guys we have and how they consistently come into every game with the same mindset of winning each quarter. The guys should be proud, but I know they are not satisfied. There is more work to do and we look forward to handling our business." 


Coach Kastelic was also asked if players would be resting the last two games of the regular season and here was his response.


  " No rest for anyone. The guys want to play and they want to go undefeated. That's been the goal from day one."


Technically, The Crunch clinched the division a few weeks back, but with the win saturday night closed the door for anyone else in the division to have hope of catching the Crunch. The Risers are still second in the division and would have to finish out their remaining schedule to get a playoff spot and Chicago and Cincinnati are all but eliminated.  



The Crunch finish out the regular season with the Cincinnati Swerve in back-to-back weeks. The Swerve host the Crunch on March 13th and then come back to the Soccerplex in North Olmstead March 19th for "Fan Appreciation Night". With that being said, don't expect the Crunch to let up and take it easy on the Swerve. Not with a undefeated season with in grasp. The Crunch will be sporting a +61 differential as well as an 11.1 goal average per game and are 27% on power plays. 


The Swerve will play the Crunch tough but with a undefeated season and all the momentum on their side, the Crunch will be out for blood.



~ IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!~

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

ON SACRED GROUND: THE BIRTHPLACE OF CLEVELAND BASEBALL!!

Image
                                                          ( all photos and videos courtesy of 216 Sports Network photography and The Baseball Heritage Museum)          All my life I have been a baseball fan. My two favorite players of all time are Ken Griffey Jr. and    Albert Belle. As a kid growing up my friends and i would play games upon games of baseball from sun up to sun down. I even went so far as to be the kid with the best swing on the street( i tried my hardest to emulate my swing to look like Griffey's).  As I grew up i saw the wars between the Indians and Mariners in the playoffs. Two Indians' World Series appearances. The Home run race between Sammy Sosa and Mark Mcgwire. On top of playing the numerous baseball video games that came out every year, and of course the magical 2016 year the Ind...
Read more

PUT EM' IN THE COFFIN!!!

Image
 Hoffman Estates, Illinois        The Cleveland Crunch have been on a mission this season. With arguably the toughest schedule in MASL 2 this year the Crunch have definitely faced test after test and have weathered the storm. Don't believe us? Let's put it into perspective. Upon their return in 2021 the Crunch won the M2 championship in the first year back. A feat that isn't done often in any sport. Not only that, the Crunch have taken this year's schedule and battled with even more physicality and determination than last year. This season is no different as they traveled to Chicago to play the Mustangs in a weekend series. This was the rematch as the Crunch swept Chicago in the first weekend series at home at the Soccerplex in North Olmstead. As always this particular rivalry is the best in M2. Saturday night saw both Admir Suljevic and the "Silent Assassin" Mike Derezic score 5 goals each as the Crunch would go on to take Saturday's game 10-6. B...
Read more

CRUNCH SHOW OUT ON BANNER NIGHT!!

Image
Cleveland, Ohio                         If you haven't been watching the Cleveland Crunch yet, You might want to. Why? Simple, the Crunch are showing why they're one of if not the best professional indoor soccer team in the country, and from the looks of things that sentiment is not changing any time soon.                                        ( All photos courtesy of 216 sports network photography) Saturday night was a special event as the Crunch celebrated their 2024 MLIS title win. Players and staff were presented with rings and the all coveted 5th championship banner. Which makes the 5th star on the team crest official. Unfortunately for the visiting Lansing Red Cedar it was the wrong place, wrong time, and wrong team to face.  Early in the first quarter the Crunch scored early bringing the game to 1-0. Lansing answered...
Read more