User:Keskkonnakaitse/2018 Cleveland SC season

The 2018 Cleveland SC season was the club's first season of existence and first season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of American soccer. The season covered the period from February 19, 2018 to the start of the 2019 NPSL season.

After AFC Cleveland was expelled from the league following the 2017 season, Cleveland SC was created and announced as an NPSL expansion club on February 19, 2018. In the next 90 days, CSC unveiled a color scheme, crest, and kits; announced Ryan Osborne as the first head coach of the club; finalized Don Shula Stadium as its home stadium; put together a roster; and played two friendly matches against FC Columbus, the debut of the CheeseBarn Derby. On May 19, Cleveland defeated Rochester Lancers, 2–0, in the first match in club history. Cleveland finished in second place in the East Conference and qualified for the playoffs, ending the regular season three points clear of the Lancers for the final postseason berth in the East. In the Midwest Region playoffs, CSC defeated conference rivals Erie Commodores in the regional quarterfinals before falling to AFC Ann Arbor in the semifinals.

Forward Vinny Bell finished as Cleveland's leading scorer, putting home eight goals in the regular season and three more in the playoffs for a total of 11 goals in 10 appearances. Forward Antonio Manfut was the only player to appear in all 14 games on the season, scoring four goals. Several notable players appeared for Cleveland SC: forward Riley Grant scored one goal in seven appearances and midfielder Kotaro Umeda tallied one goal in four games. Midfielder Joe Schmidt was on the roster but did not make an appearance. Defender Bradley Ruhaak was named to the initial Cleveland roster, but he departed the club before the start of the regular season.

Review and events
For the previous six seasons, from 2012 to 2017, AFC Cleveland had represented the city of Cleveland in the National Premier Soccer League. That run included an NPSL national championship in 2016, as well as two appearances in the U.S. Open Cup. However, the club was expelled from the NPSL due to "not [being] in good financial standing with the league." That announcement came on December 12, 2017, just months before the new season was set to begin.

After AFC Cleveland folded, two players – defenders Chris Cvecko and Coletun Long – came together in an effort to keep competitive soccer alive in Cleveland. After eating dinner at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in the suburbs, the two started a conversation in the car about forming a new club, wrote down ideas, and began calling numerous people to potentially be involved: "potential owners, investors, players, organizers, media members, the NPSL, and even trainers and doctors." After two days without success, they were put in contact with Samuel Seibert, who had worked on the media relations staff for AFC Cleveland the prior season. Seibert had the same thought about creating a new club, and "was only about two or three days from contacting Coletun myself...He contacted me on a Wednesday night and I was going to call him that weekend. Those two were so passionate about sticking together.”

On February 19, 2018, Cleveland Soccer Club was officially announced as a member of the National Premier Soccer League, playing in the Midwest Region, East Conference. Seibert became the sole investor and president of Cleveland SC Corp. In the announcement, he said: "Cleveland SC is going to bring a fanbase filled with pride. Cleveland has a soccer fan base that is a sleeping giant and we intend to tap into that immediately. Cleveland has the best sports fans anywhere and our opponents will learn that quickly.”

"Cleveland SC has realistic goals for 2018 both on and off the pitch. First and foremost, the team plans on increasing the awareness to the communities in Greater Cleveland that a talented team in the sport of soccer rests right here in Cleveland, Ohio. On the field, we fully expect to compete for the conference title through building a roster comprised of the most talented players and coaches available. Additionally, we fully expect to form and maintain all facets of the team organically through partnerships exclusively from the great city of Cleveland."

Creating an identity
After becoming the last NPSL expansion team for the 2018 season, Cleveland SC had just 90 days to create a club before the regular season opener on May 19. The visual identity was decided first: a black and orange color scheme was paired with a crest featuring one of the Guardians of Traffic statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge in Downtown Cleveland. Seibert said the reason for the choice was that “one of the coolest things in the city of Cleveland that wasn’t getting enough publicity at the time was our transportation bridge” and because the bridge connects the east and west sides of the city. The kits were designed by club creative director Cory Mizer, with the orange home shirt featuring a depiction of the Cleveland skyline and the black away shirt featuring an orange chevron across the chest, with the shape of the chevron inspired by the shape of the Lake Erie shoreline. Admiral Sportswear manufactured the inaugural kits for CSC.

When Cleveland SC was founded, Carter Poe was immediately rumored as a potential head coaching candidate. Poe, the AFC Cleveland head coach during their NPSL national championship season, was mentioned as a possibility by Seibert, who said that CSC would be interested in having further discussions to have him coach the new team. However, Cleveland SC went in a different direction: Ryan Osborne was announced as the club's inaugural head coach on March 13. A native of Wakefield, England, "Ozzy" came to the United States to play at the University of Charleston and spent one season in the Premier Development League with West Virginia Chaos. When he accepted the position with Cleveland, Osborne was also working as an assistant coach for the Notre Dame Falcons and as a staff coach for the Cleveland Internationals youth club.

To find a home stadium, the club turned to Hector Marinaro, the head men's soccer coach at John Carroll. Marinaro, who had played indoors for the Cleveland Force and Cleveland Crunch and served as head coach of the Cleveland Freeze, helped the club reach a deal to play at Don Shula Stadium in University Heights, Ohio. The John Carroll connections continued through to the roster, as multiple Blue Streaks players, including Hector's son, Jesse Marinaro, signed on to the inaugural Cleveland SC squad. The club announced a preliminary roster in early April that featured 29 players, many of whom had previously been with AFC Cleveland. Two former professionals were among the notable names: Riley Grant, a forward who spent the prior season with Seattle Sounders FC 2, and Bradley Ruhaak, a defender previously with North Carolina FC.

Friendlies against Columbus
Ahead of the season, Cleveland SC scheduled two friendly matches against fellow NPSL expansion club FC Columbus. The supporters' groups of the two clubs immediately branded the series as the CheeseBarn Derby, named after Grandpa's Cheesebarn, a landmark business that sits roughly halfway between the two cities on Interstate 71 in Ashland, Ohio. CSC scheduled its home leg to be played at Highland Stadium in Medina, Ohio, marking the highest-level soccer game ever held in Medina County. In the first match in club history, Cleveland spotted Columbus a two-goal lead at the break before Admir Suljevic scored the club's first-ever goal, a penalty kick in the 65th minute. Ben Truax added a second, but Cleveland was defeated by a 3–2 scoreline. Two days later, CSC returned the favor with a 3–2 victory in the away leg. Suljevic scored the winning goal on another penalty kick, following first-half tallies from Mike Derezic and Vinny Bell, as Cleveland earned a split in the inaugural CheeseBarn Derby series.

Final roster
On April 24, Cleveland SC announced its official roster for the season. The 33-player squad included five players who had not been listed on the preliminary roster but also dropped one, as forward Ma'Cain Spragling eventually wound up indoors with San Diego Sockers 2 in the Major Arena Soccer League 2. Several notable players were among the inclusions: alongside Grant and Ruhaak, future professionals Joe Schmidt and Kotaro Umeda (both in college soccer at the time) were selected in the squad. However, there were further changes before Cleveland took the field for the season opener. Ruhaak left the team to play for Michigan Bucks in their 2018 U.S. Open Cup run and five more players were added to the squad. One of those was the club's equipment manager, Stephen Trudic, who was registered as a player to go with his off-field duties.

May
Cleveland SC kicked off its inaugural season on May 19, hosting Rochester Lancers at the Don Shula. CSC had an early opportunity to take the lead, but Admir Suljevic, who scored two penalty kicks in preseason, missed one off the post to keep the match scoreless. It was left to Declan McGivern to score the first goal in club history: Antonio Manfut sent in a corner kick in the 39th minute that McGivern rose to head home. Manfut added a goal of his own in the second half, converting Cleveland's second penalty kick opportunity of the day, and the home team walked away victorious in the first match in club history, 2–0 over the Lancers. The following week, Cleveland welcomed Greater Binghamton FC to University Heights and came away with the largest victory in club history, a 10–0 result. Mike Derezic was the star, completing the first hat-trick in club history with a penalty kick in the 81st minute. Suljevic scored twice, while five other players also tallied in the rout. Through two games, Cleveland sat in second place in the East Conference table and averaged 200 to 300 fans in attendance per game.

June
Cleveland SC kicked off a busy month of June, featuring nine of the club's 12 regular season matches, with their first-ever road games. Against FC Buffalo on June 1, CSC was stymied in a scoreless draw as Buffalo goalkeeper Steven Casey made seven saves. Vinny Bell and Umeda each had chances to break the deadlock but were unable to find a winner in the Rust Belt Derby match. One week later, Cleveland continued its unbeaten start to the season with a 5–0 victory away to Greater Binghamton. Bell nabbed a hat-trick, his first goals for the club, scoring twice in three minutes just before halftime then notching the third in the 57th minute. Danny Ruple and Umeda added goals as Cleveland continued its four-game shutout run to begin its inaugural NPSL season.

However, that shutout run came to an end two days later as Cleveland SC suffered the first defeat in club history, falling 3–1 against Fort Pitt Regiment. Two goals from Anthony Virgara carried Fort Pitt to the win, with Cleveland's lone score coming in second half stoppage time: Ruple forced a Regiment own goal. The Cleveland rut then deepened over the next two matches, with a 1–1 draw on the road against Rochester followed by a 3–3 tie against Buffalo. CSC had to come from behind in both games. Against Rochester, Cvecko scored in the 74th minute after Cleveland had trailed for more than 60 minutes. Two days later against Buffalo, CSC trailed by two goals at the break but battled back to tie by the 90th minute. The visitors took the lead seven minutes deep in stoppage time, but Cleveland found one more opportunity and salvaged a draw in the ninth minute of added time. Through seven games, Cleveland sat outside the playoff places in the East Conference.

By the end of June, however, Cleveland SC had clinched a playoff spot in its inaugural season, thanks to a four-match winning streak (combined with the two draws, a six-match unbeaten streak) to close the month. A stretch of three games in six days began with a 3–0 victory on the road against Fort Pitt, as James Haupt scored his first goal in the black and orange before Suljevic and Derezic added goals in the second half. In midweek, Cleveland defeated Erie Commodores in the first meeting between the clubs, courtesy of a Vinny Bell hat-trick, his second of the season. Casey Bartlett-Scott scored the first Erie goal but missed a penalty kick early in the second half that kept the door open for the CSC comeback win.

Back-to-back victories against Syracuse FC were then enough to put Cleveland over the line and into the NPSL playoffs. At home at the Don Shula, Suljevic scored a brace and Grant tallied his first goal for the club in a 4–0 victory that moved CSC into the top spot in the conference. The following week, on the road in New York, a 44th-minute goal from Manfut was enough to hand Cleveland a 1–0 victory and clinch a postseason spot with one game still to play.

July
Although Cleveland SC had just one regular season match on the schedule in July, it was perhaps the most influential match of the season. The rivalry game against Erie determined the East Conference title, and along with it a higher seed and home-field advantage in the Midwest Region playoffs. Heading into the game, the clubs were tied on 24 points, but Cleveland held the tiebreaker due to its win in the first meeting between the teams. However, CSC sat multiple regular starters: Tom Beck, Derezic, Long, and Suljevic all missed the game due to lingering injuries. The Commodores took the lead in the 34th minute, but just four minutes later, Erie goalkeeper Nicolau Neto was shown a red card for a foul just outside the box. Bartlett-Scott then scored in the 41st minute to put the 10-man hosts up by two goals. Bell pulled a goal back for Cleveland in the second half, but CSC lost the game, 2–1, and therefore finished second place in the East Conference in its inaugural season.

NPSL playoffs
After finishing second in the East Conference, Cleveland SC earned the fourth seed in the Midwest Region playoffs and was drawn against Erie Commodores, the third seed, in the regional quarterfinals. Just six days after losing to Erie in the regular season finale, CSC returned to McConnell Family Stadium with a full-strength lineup and dominated the Commodores, 4–0. Bell scored his third hat-trick of the season, two of which came against Erie. His seventh-minute goal gave Cleveland a 1–0 lead at halftime, and he then scored in the 56th minute to double the advantage. Jacob Alatorre of Erie received two yellow cards and was sent off immediately following Bell's second goal, and Cleveland responded with a goal from Manfut and Bell's third of the night to lock up the victory. Austin Solomon was also sent off for the Commodores in the waning minutes, as Erie finished the game with nine men.

Cleveland advanced to face second-seeded AFC Ann Arbor in the Midwest semifinals. Ann Arbor, who were selected as the hosts of the last two rounds of the regional playoffs, won the Great Lakes Conference in the regular season. An evenly-matched semifinal was scoreless at halftime, but Ann Arbor broke through with a goal from Serge Gamwanya in the 55th minute. Cleveland's offense stalled out in the second half, as the best defense in the NPSL shut down any comeback attempt. Goalkeeper Marijo Musa picked up a late red card, and Cleveland finished the season playing with 10 men.

Two Cleveland SC players received postseason honors. Defender Chris Cvecko and forward Vinny Bell were named to the East Conference XI and the Midwest Region XI.

Statistics

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Awards
NPSL Team of the Week
 * DF Declan McGivern, week of May 14
 * MF Mike Derezic, week of May 21
 * FW Vinny Bell, week of June 4
 * DF Chris Cvecko, week of June 11

 NPSL East Conference XI
 * FW Vinny Bell
 * DF Chris Cvecko

NPSL Midwest Region XI
 * FW Vinny Bell
 * DF Chris Cvecko