User:Keskkonnakaitse/2022 Cleveland SC season

The 2022 Cleveland SC season was the club's fifth season of existence and fifth consecutive season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of American soccer. The season covered the period from August 15, 2021 to the start of the 2023 NPSL season. Cleveland took part in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history, to go with normal league competition in the NPSL.

In its first-ever Open Cup appearance, Cleveland claimed a victory over USL League Two club Chicago FC United before falling in the second round to Forward Madison, a professional club from USL League One. Head coach Lewis Dunne departed following the cup run and was replaced by Vlad Muresan, who led CSC to a third consecutive Rust Belt Conference title. Highlighted by an unbeaten record against new in-state rivals Akron City, Cleveland took the conference title by one point ahead of Pittsburgh Hotspurs. After defeating Pittsburgh and Med City in the Midwest Region playoffs, Cleveland fell short in the regional final, ending the season with a loss to Muskegon Risers. Vinny Bell finished as the leading scorer, with six goals in the league and eight in all competitions, although he played just eight total games due to injury. Boban Cancar and Chris Cvecko played all 17 games on the season, helping Cleveland finish the year with 11 wins, one tie, and five losses.

U.S. Open Cup
In the 2021 season, Cleveland SC won its second-straight Rust Belt Conference and Midwest Region titles before losing to Denton Diablos in the national semifinals. Those results qualified CSC to take part in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history; although they had qualified in 2020 and 2021, both of those tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

With the 2022 U.S. Open Cup beginning nearly two months before the start of the league season, Cleveland had to cobble together a roster that included very few college-age players. Six new players joined 11 returnees to face Chicago FC United, a USL League Two club from Illinois, in the first round. In front of a rain-soaked crowd of about 200 fans, Cleveland trailed at halftime after an own goal from center back Boban Cancar. With time running out in regulation, midfielder Mike Derezic scored an equalizer in the 90th minute to send the match to extra time. There, Cleveland found the winning goal, with the club's all-time leading scorer, Vinny Bell, finding the back of the net in the 107th minute. The assist was provided by substitute Kieran Toland, making his club debut.

Cleveland advanced to the second round to face Forward Madison, a USL League One club from Wisconsin. The match marked CSC's first-ever game against a team from a fully professional league. Nine new players joined the squad for the trip, including two – Rade Novakovich and Leki Prpa – who were Wisconsin locals and only played the single Open Cup match for Cleveland SC. With an overhauled squad and facing their toughest opponent ever, Cleveland was overwhelmed in a 3–0 defeat. In front of roughly 1,000 fans at Breese Stevens Field, Madison's Justin Sukow scored the opening goal in the 37th minute. Cesar Murillo added a second just before halftime and Nazeem Bartman put the game away in the second half.

Coaching change
As it turned out, the Open Cup elimination marked the last match in charge for head coach Lewis Dunne. On April 14, he departed the club to take a position as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the IUPUI Jaguars, on the staff of Sid van Druenen. Dunne had been a club original: playing for Cleveland SC in 2018, spending the next two years as an assistant coach, then taking over as the head coach ahead of the 2021 season. He had a record of 13 wins, five losses, and four ties as CSC head coach.

Two weeks later, Cleveland SC had a new head coach. Vlad Muresan, also the boys' head coach at the Hawken School, took over the Cleveland SC position on April 27. Muresan was born in Romania before moving to the United States at age 11 and graduating from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. He played one season back in Romania with CS Zlatna as they were relegated from the Liga III in 2009–10. Muresan then returned to Ohio and played for Ohio Vortex, in the Professional Arena Soccer League, and for Akron Summit Assault, in the USL Premier Development League. Besides his position at Hawken, Muresan also coached at the Liberty FC youth club and was a staff coach for the Ohio Soccer Association North Olympic Development Program.

May
As the NPSL season got underway, Cleveland SC released new kits for the 2022 campaign. Gone was the traditional orange kit, replaced by a white shirt for home matches and black on the road. 11 more players were added to the squad, offsetting three – Novakovich, Prpa, and midfielder Hazem Sobhy – who departed following the Open Cup run. CSC kicked off the regular season on May 14, hosting FC Buffalo at George Finnie Stadium. Veteran midfielder Admir Suljevic opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 29th minute before Vinny Bell tallied a hat trick to put away a 4–2 victory, the first win for new head coach Muresan. The match was called early by agreement of the coaches and officials, after a collision in second half stoppage time injured two Buffalo players severely enough to send them to the hospital.

The victory over Buffalo kicked off a run of five straight victories to open the season for Cleveland SC. A 4–1 win against Erie Commodores on May 22 was followed a week later by the first-ever Battle of Northeast Ohio against expansion club Akron City. Cleveland dominated the first derby between the clubs: Suljevic buried a penalty kick in the third minute, before Bell tallied a first-half brace with goals in the 13th and 27th minutes. Akron defender Jaden Wright, who was with Cleveland SC in 2021 but did not make an appearance, scored a late consolation goal, but CSC cruised to a 4–1 victory. After scoring five goals in the first three matches of the regular season, Bell was named to the NPSL Team of the Month for May.

June
The month of June began with a hard-fought victory on the road against Erie Commodores. Cleveland had issues even getting to the game, as announced starter Dan Koniarczyk missed kickoff due to an accident that closed down Interstate 90; Andrew Nicholas started in his place, and Koniarczyk was substituted on at halftime. The hosts took the lead in the second minute and were still up at the break. However, Cleveland found two goals in a four-minute second half span: Alec Nagucki in the 71st to tie and debutant Ailton Silva in the 74th minute for the win. Any late Erie comeback hopes were put to bed when midfielder Dylan Sumner picked up two yellow cards in five minutes, forcing the Commodores to play with 10 men for the rest of the game. Cleveland followed that victory up with a 3–1 win against Buffalo on June 17, with Silva scoring a first half brace and Mike Derezic adding a goal in the 57th minute. Through five games, CSC remained unbeaten and on top of the Rust Belt Conference standings.

However, back-to-back losses against Pittsburgh Hotspurs put Cleveland's three-peat hopes in danger. The first match, on the road at Founders Field, ended 2–1 in favor of the Hotspurs. A late Suljevic penalty kick was not enough to inspire a CSC comeback. With the loss, Cleveland had a 21-match conference unbeaten streak snapped, dating back to a defeat against Rochester Lancers on June 2, 2019. Five days later in Berea, Cleveland conceded early but equalized before halftime, with center back Alexandru Rumleanschi scoring his first goal in the black and orange. The Hotspurs found the game-winning goal in the second half, with NPSL veteran Nick Kolarac dropping Cleveland into second place in the conference.

Heading into back-to-back I-77 Bash matches against Akron City, Cleveland SC was just two points clear of Buffalo for the second and final playoff spot in the conference. The first game, on a Wednesday night at Green Street Stadium, stabilized the season for CSC. Buoyed by an Andrew Nicholas hat trick, his first-ever goals for the club, Cleveland dominated Akron in a 8–0 victory. The second goal, scored by Suljevic in the 24th minute, was later voted as the Supporters' Goal of the Season. He forced a turnover at midfield, caught the Akron goalkeeper off his line, and scored from 57 yards away. Cleveland was leading 6–0 when Akron's William Portman received his second yellow card and was sent off in the 76th minute. Brock Pickett and Sam Harter added goals while Akron was playing with 10 men, finishing off the largest victory of the season.

July
The third and final derby match against Akron was hosted at Lakewood Stadium in Lakewood, Ohio. Akron City scored early and led for more than 80 minutes, but Cleveland found an 86th minute equalizer courtesy of Akron Zips midfielder Sam Harter, who scored in consecutive games. With the draw, the first of the season for CSC, they maintained an unbeaten record against their new rivals. Six days later, the Hotspurs returned to the George Finnie for a decisive game, with the winner controlling their own destiny in the conference title hunt. Cleveland jumped on Pittsburgh, with forward Bojan Kolevski scoring his first two goals for the club and staking CSC to a lead at the break. Bell, who was presented at halftime with the 6th City Syndicate Legacy Award, scored in the 76th minute to hand Cleveland SC a 3–1 victory in the regular season home finale.

Two days later, Cleveland traveled to Erie, with a victory over the Commodores clinching the conference title. CSC traveled just 11 players, meaning no available substitutes, and was locked in a scoreless battle at halftime. However, Erie defender Andrew Bennett was shown a straight red card in the 67th minute. Playing a man up, Kolevski scored in the 90th minute and Jannis Schmidt scored in stoppage time, with any last-ditch comeback hopes for Erie ended after forward Sidney Warden picked up a red card following the Schmidt goal. Cleveland closed out a 2–0 victory over the nine-man Commodores, clinching a third-straight Rust Belt Conference title. With a playoff spot already clinched, Cleveland SC was defeated 2–0 by Buffalo in the regular season finale, finishing with a mark of eight wins, one tie, and three losses, one point clear of Pittsburgh Hotspurs on the top of the conference. Four Cleveland players were named to the Rust Belt Conference XI: goalkeeper Conor Cable, defender Ben Hryszko, midfielder Alec Nagucki, and forward Vinny Bell.

NPSL playoffs
As Rust Belt Conference champions, Cleveland SC earned the third seed in the Midwest Region playoffs and were drawn against their conference rivals, sixth-seeded Pittsburgh Hotspurs, in the quarterfinals. The game was hosted at Krenzler Field in Cleveland. CSC and the Hotspurs battled through a scoreless first half then traded goals in a 10-minute span early in the second, with Vinny Bell giving Cleveland the lead in the 58th minute before Tate Mohney equalized for Pittsburgh. Dakota Jonke found the winning goal for Cleveland in stoppage time, his first for the club in just his second appearance on the year.

With the victory, Cleveland advanced to the semifinals to face second-seeded Med City FC, champions of the North Conference. CSC traveled to Muskegon, Michigan with 15 players, meaning a shortened bench with just four substitutes available for the regional finals weekend. A Med City own goal in the 16th minute gave Cleveland the lead: Chris Brennan sent a cross into the box that, after several deflections, was knocked in by defender Jake Strachan. Alec Nagucki scored shortly after halftime to give Cleveland a 2–0 cushion, and the defense locked down the Med City attack, not allowing a shot on goal until the final five minutes of the match. With the win, Cleveland SC likely clinched a spot in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, although contingent on the number of berths allocated to Open Division teams by the United States Soccer Federation.

In the Midwest Region final, Cleveland faced off against the top seeded host and Great Lakes Conference champion Muskegon Risers. The match was a physical, defensive battle, with 11 total cards shown and few legitimate scoring opportunities. Playing in its third playoff game in six days, Cleveland defended valiantly for 90 minutes, but the Risers found the breakthrough in second half stoppage time. Alec Belcastro headed home a cross in the 90+1', ending Cleveland's hopes of a third consecutive regional title. In the aftermath of the goal, two CSC players – Chris Cvecko and Jannis Schmidt – were sent off for arguing with the referee, and Cleveland finished the season playing with nine men. Two Cleveland SC players, goalkeeper Conor Cable and midfielder Alec Nagucki, were named to the Midwest Region XI.

Statistics

 * colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Cleveland during the season:
 * colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Cleveland during the season:


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Awards
NPSL Rust Belt Conference XI
 * GK Conor Cable
 * DF Ben Hryszko
 * MF Alec Nagucki
 * FW Vinny Bell

NPSL Midwest Region XI
 * GK Conor Cable
 * MF Alec Nagucki

NPSL Team of the Month
 * FW Vinny Bell – May

Cleveland SC club awards
 * Supporters' Player of the Season: DF Ben Hryszko
 * Supporters' Goal of the Season: MF Admir Suljevic, June 29 vs. Akron City
 * Players Choice Award: FW Chris Brennan, DF Boban Cancar, MF Alec Nagucki