Erie Commodores FC Falls to Cleveland SC 2-1

By Scott Wilson/Erie Commodores FC

A second loss in as many games for the Erie Commodores came in the form of Cleveland SC on
Friday night as they were beaten by a strong Cleveland SC side.

Cleveland scored a goal in each half to sink the Erie side. Erie are now without a win in their
previous three games. The Commodores started the game in a lively manner, however, goals
against the run of play from Cleveland really stemmed the momentum for the Erie side. The
game was exciting for those in attendance at the McConnell Family Stadium where a large
crowd had come to spectate the game on a glorious summer’s night.

The beginning of the game was tight and evenly contested by both sides, with the Erie side
having the best of the opening ceremonies. The first meaningful chance of the game falling to
Erie in the 10th minute after a long ball from Parades found the foot of Canadian forward Beutler
on the edge of the box but he couldn’t covert his chance. Cleveland’s first chance came in the
form of nice bit of neat play down the right

The deadlock was broken in the 14 th minute when Cleveland opened the scoring after the
Commodores tried to play their way out at the back before losing the ball leaving Cleveland SC
forward Antonio Manfut with a clear passage at goal, of which he neatly put away in the bottom
right corner. The goal really came against the run of play with Erie really starting to control the
game at this point.

The next best chance of the game fell to Cleveland in the 22 nd minute where they nearly doubled
their lead after a Cleveland forward breached the Commodores back line with some neat trickery
but couldn’t get past the big figure of Christopher Ralph in the Commodores net, who pushed the
strike wide. Ralph would be called into action again shortly after with another huge save.

Cleveland came knocking at the door of the Commodores goal in the 36 th minute when forward
Vinny Bell powered a right-footed shot towards goal only to see it ricochet off the framework.
Cleveland SC really should have doubled their lead only moments later only for Rhys Wallace to
magnificently block the Cleveland forward from finishing into an empty net after neat play from
Bell on the right side. It remained a 1-0 lead for Cleveland SC at the interval

The second half remained the same as the first with the Commodores having most of the ball and
Cleveland still creating the better chances. The first fell to Erie in the 50 th minute when George
Stannard rose highest from the corner, but the big defender couldn’t direct his header on target
under pressure from the challenge from the Cleveland defender. Moments later Mathias
Krigbaum unleashed a vicious strike at goal on the full volley from 20 yards out. The strike
stung the gloves of the keepers hand, but he managed to pounce before anyone collected the
rebound. It was a good start to the second half for the Erie side.

The good start for Erie was turned on its head in the 68 th minute when Cleveland doubled their
lead after a break in play down the left side led to a ball being delivered into the box. It was met
by Bell who powered it past the helpless Ralph in the Commodores goal.

In the 73 rd minute the Commodores had a huge chance to get on the scoreboard when Rodrigo
Parades found himself 10 yards out with a free shot on goal, but he couldn’t keep his half volley
down.

Six minutes later Erie would finally get their name on the scoreboard through Krigbaum, who
finished a 1v1 with a goal to the bottom left corner. That would really be the end of the action as
the Cleveland defense held firm and stopped any real chances for the Erie side, including a
corner in the final minutes which Erie sent forward all 11 players in the Cleveland penalty box.
The result was a 2-1 win for Cleveland SC.

The Commodores return home when they face Pittsburgh Hotspurs on Friday, June 21st at
Gannon University’s McConnell Family Stadium at 7:00 pm ET.

Photo Credit: Jennifer White/Acacia Studios