Cleveland City Stars

The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009.[1] The club folded soon after the 2009 season.

Cleveland City Stars
Full nameCleveland City Stars
Nickname(s)City Stars, City
Founded2006
Dissolved2009
GroundMiddlefield Cheese Stadium
Bedford, Ohio
Capacity5,000
OwnerJonathan Ortlip
Head CoachRod Underwood
LeagueUSL First Division
2009Regular Season: 11th
Playoffs: DNQ

The team played its home games at Bearcat Stadium (renamed Middlefield Cheese Stadium for sponsorship purposes[2]) on the campus of Bedford High School in nearby Bedford, Ohio, where they played in 2009. The team's colors were green, black and white. Their final head coach was Rod Underwood.[3]

History

The Cleveland City Stars were founded in 2006 as a member of the USL Second Division and played their inaugural season in 2007. The team found success early on, going undefeated for the first nine games before losing to the Charlotte Eagles in the tenth game of the season. They ended the regular season undefeated at home, and clinched the second seed for the USL-2 play-offs, where they progressed to the semi-final, and lost to eventual champions Harrisburg 1–0 after extra time.

The team's success continued in 2008 as they finished the regular season unbeaten at home. City posted a 10–3–7 record, which proved good enough for third place in the USL Second Division, and playoff qualification. They faced the Western Mass Pioneers in the quarterfinals and won 4–2. They traveled to Richmond for the semi-final and won 1–0 after extra time. The City Stars hosted the championship game and defeated Charlotte 2–1 for the team's first ever championship.

On December 4, 2008 the team announced that they would compete in the USL First Division for the 2009 season.

Soon after the end of the 2009 USL First Division season, the City Stars club folded due to financial issues.

Players

Final roster

[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK  USA Evan Bush
1 GK  USA Hunter Gilstrap
2 DF  USA Anthony Peters
3 MF  USA Eric Carpenter
4 DF  MLI Ibrahim Kante
6 FW  USA Kolby LaCrone
7 MF  USA Gordon Kljestan
9 FW  SLE Teteh Bangura
10 MF  GHA Joshua Boateng
11 FW  HAI Ricardo Pierre-Louis
12 DF  USA Troy Roberts
14 DF  USA Anthony Stovall
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF  SEN Alioune Gueye
16 MF  SLE Warren Kanu
17 MF  TRI Ryan Stewart
19 DF  HAI Stéphane Guillaume
20 DF  TRI Stephen Cruickshank
21 MF  USA Steve Gillespie
22 DF  CAN Paul Ballard
23 MF  TRI Terrence McAllister
24 FW  LBR Leo Gibson
25 MF  CIV Arsene Oka
27 MF  USA Jason Hotchkin
77 MF  BOL Pato Aguilera

Year-by-year
Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs Open Cup Avg. Attendance
2007 3 USL Second Division 2nd Semifinals 2nd Round 1,417
2008 3 USL Second Division 3rd Champions 3rd Round 1,634
2009 2 USL First Division 11th Did not qualify 2nd Round 1,491

Honors

Head coaches

Stadia

Television

On April 7, 2008, the City Stars announced a deal with SportsTime Ohio that saw all of the team's home games aired on the station. Each match aired tape delayed on game night with replays airing on Sundays. Play-by-play and color commentary was provided by Desmond Armstrong, 1994 World Cup TV commentator and former US national team player, and Glen Duerr, a former City Stars player. The broadcast included a half-time segment highlighting the team's weekly inner-city coaching and life-lessons program.

On April 6, 2009, the City Stars announced a new deal with SportsTime Ohio to air 12 home games. Glen Duerr returned and was joined by two new TV commentators, Mark Zimmerman and Steve Bell, former A-League (USL-1) and MLS player. Bell also did play-by-play for three matches on Fox Soccer Channel.

See also

References
  1. Cleveland City Stars Release Players from Contracts | IMS Soccer News
  2. http://clevelandcitystars.com/slides/444-city-stars-to-play-in-bedford
  3. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  4. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
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