HAT TRICK, CRUNCH WIN 3 IN A ROW!!

 Lansing, Mi




    Ok, I know what you're thinking, "it's an expansion team, they're supposed to dominate them". You'd be correct if those were your thoughts, but you also have to understand that this isn't an ordinary defending championship team the Lansing Red Cedar were playing. This was the MLIS defending Champion Cleveland Crunch.


to be fair to the Red Cedar, they are a very scrappy bunch and fight to the end. They play hard and may actually have the potential to become a playoff team. Unfortunately, tonight was not their night as the Crunch continued where they left off on January 11th. I'll save ed Cedar fans who read this time... If you blinked, you missed it. The Crunch started off slow, but not because of travel. The Red Cedar actually made it a tad difficult for the Crunch early in the first quarter. Then it got real.  


By the end of the first quarter the Crunch had a comfortable 3-0 lead, and before you knew it the score had changed to 8-1 going into halftime. Whatever adjustments the Red Cedar tried to make the Crunch were ready for as their defense provided a lot of turnovers and intercepted passes that tuned into goals. The Crunch defense led by second-year player and my vote for defensive MVP Omar Najar was a terror. Omar's presence on defense helped stopped anything the Red Cedar thought they would be able to do and even stopped break aways from being turned into goals for Lansing. 



The Crunch would score five more goals in the third quarter and 2 more in the fourth to bring the final score to 15-1 in favor of the Crunch. Omar, Diego Pinto, and the "Silent Assassin" himself Mike Derezic all scored "Hat Tricks" for the night. Omar Najar would also earn " Man of the Match" honors for his performance. With the title of this piece being "Hat trick" that didn't just mean for the players. The win against Lansing brings the Crunch to 3-0 on the season.


The Crunch are back home this weekend January 25th as the will host dreaded rival the Chicago Mustangs. It's no secret they don't like us, and we don't like them. So, expect this match to be physical and energetic all night. The Mustangs come in 2-1, winning their last 2 game after dropping their season opener to the Toronto Crusaders. The Crunch will also look to remain undefeated at home, as the SoccerPlex has been a very tough place to play for opposing teams. Kickoff is at 7pm, but if the game becomes sold out you can always watch it live on Clevelandcrunch.com.



~IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!~

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