Cedar Stars FC and Syracuse FC Battle to a 2-2 Draw

By Christopher Decker/Cedar Stars FC

Cedar Stars FC, having suffered a couple setbacks recently, looked forward to kicking off their third home game of the season at Faller Field in Middletown, New York on a beautiful Saturday evening.  With Syracuse FC making the trip southeast across New York State to the Hudson Valley, they were looking to improve their record as well.

Both teams came out strong as the whistle blew to begin the match.  It was Cedar Stars FC that saw the first opportunity as they quickly attacked Syracuse FC following a Syracuse corner kick.  With a pass from the CSFC defense up to Gunnar Studenhofft, he blew past the Syracuse defense along CSFC’s left flank and toward goal.  Studenhofft laid it off to Chris Shust to finish the attack.  In the fourth minute of the match, CSFC was on the board with a 1-0 lead.

It was only ten minutes later that Syracuse FC capitalized on a bit of miscommunication amongst the Cedar Stars FC defense, making it a 1-1 match in the 14th minute.  CSFC would find themselves with a few chances to get ahead once again, but it would be Syracuse FC that took the lead for the first time in the match following a mistouch by a CSFC defender that Syracuse made the most of.  Syracuse found themselves up 2-1 in the 29th minute, and that score remained at halftime.  

Cedar Stars FC headed to the locker room with much to consider.  When they reemerged for the second half, the boys in white and green looked like they did when they first kicked off the game.  Shust was able to score four minutes into the first half, and it was Shust who evened up the game three minutes into the second half.  An excellent pass by Sam LaTorre across the face of the Syracuse FC goal came to Shust, who made it a 2-2 game with a backheel flick of the ball into the goal.

As the second half wore on, both teams continued to battle for three points.  It was in the 70th minute of the match that the celebrations on the field and in the stands for a Studdenhofft goal were abruptly silenced when the goal was called back due to offsides.  Despite numerous chances by Cedars Stars FC, both they and Syracuse FC would have to settle for a single point this evening.  

“If [Cedar Stars FC] played the entire game the way we played a good part of the second half, we would be talking about three points instead of a draw,” Cedar Stars FC head coach Jim Lagarde said. “There were a lot of good things to take away from the game, and we will be sure to build on that during training this week.”

Despite the draw, Shust had a very positive outlook on the game and the team.

“Many of us grew up playing together, but we’ve been away at college playing,” Shust said. “Tonight we started to really come together and play well as a team again.”

Lagarde was quick to point out the impact of the fans and supporters in the stands.

“The fans were fantastic,” Lagarde said. “They helped provide some of the energy we needed in the second to keep fighting until the 90th minute.  Everyone at Cedar Stars FC would like to thank the amazing fans that keep coming out to cheer on our new team here in the Hudson Valley.”

On Saturday, June 11, Cedar Stars FC will welcome the New York Shockers to the fantastic Faller Field in Orange County, New York.   Please email ContactUsHudsonValley@CedarStars.com for information about tickets.

Photo Credit: Christopher Decker/Cedar Stars FC