Stockade poised for regional semifinals
Kingston excited about playoff match Saturday against Clarkstown SC in Madison, N.J.
The newlycrowned National Premier Soccer League Atlantic White Conference champion Kingston Stockade FC will face Keystone Conference champion Clarkstown SC Eagles in the Northest Regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.
The winner of Saturday’s showdown will face the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal between Elm City Express (New Haven, Connecticut) and Legacy 76 SC (Williamsburg, Virginia) in the regional final on July 29.
Saturday’s match will be streamed at stockadefc.moonfarmer.com and also on the team’s Facebook page.
The four regional winners (Northeast, West, Midwest, South) will face off in the national semifinals on Aug. 5, with the NPSL championship scheduled for Aug. 12.
Stockade won it’s first-ever playoff game last Saturday at Dietz Stadium — a hard-fought 2-1 overtime victory over Hartford City FC in front of a club-record attendance of nearly 1,400 fans. Michael Creswick’s goal in the 94th minute, his first home goal of the season, was the difference.
“We’re excited. It’s a great opportunity to keep the season going and hopefully get another
win,” Kingston coach David Lindholm said.
Lindholm, in his first year as head coach, said they’re preparing for Saturday’s contest by watching video of the Rockland County club.
“It looks like they play a three-back system with two forwards up front,” Lindholm said of the Eagles. “We’ll watch their games, pull out specific tendencies on open play, set pieces, corner kicks. We’ll look at them a little more individually, but they’re a good team all over the field.”
Lindholm said his players are focused on “playing their best rather than playing to them.”
“We’ll play good collective defense like we have all season,” he said.
Lindholm added his club is not resting on the laurels of it’s first conference championship.
“We recognize these opportunities don’t come around every year,” Lindholm noted. “We don’t want to take our appearance in the playoffs lightly and think we’ve already won everything when he have a lot to play for.
“We all feel that desire to keep winning games.”
Overall the team is healthy, but “everyone is carrying something,” Lindholm said.
He added that he’s thankful to have a week between games to get everyone back 100 percent.
“The guys that needed some time, have had some, (and) we’ll be pretty close to full strength for this game,” Lindholm said. “We trained last night, and the team is in good spirits. They’re eager to keep improving themselves.”
Lindholm said Stockade will need to play great defense and get something special from it’s attacking players for a victory.
“When the other team gives you an opportunity, (you) have to take advantage of it,” Lindholm said.
Reflecting on the win over Hartford FC, Lindholm said his squad defended set pieces well.
“Clarkstown won their last game with their goals coming off set pieces,” he noted. “If we (defend) that, then we’ll do well. If not, we’ll be in trouble.”
Lindolm added he’s impressed with how well this team’s worked together.
“They have similar goals. They all want to do what’s best for the team,” he said. “It’s a big thing to have everyone buy in like that.”
Lindholm said he isn’t concerned about playing away from the energy of team’s home fans at Dietz.
“We’ve played in a variety of environments, some with a lot of fans, some with almost no fans,” Lindholm said. “When you’re in the playoffs, you don’t need any more motivation than the result.
“If there are no fans, we’ll be ready, and if they’re are 10,000 fans, we’ll be just as ready.”
Stockade Chariman Dennis Crowley said he’s confident his team is “motivated and inspired” as the prepare for Saturday.
“And that’s a great combination,” he said.
Crowley said the Eagles will be forced to play Saturday’s match in a stadium in New Jersey that is not their regular home.
“They don’t have a lot of fans. It’s almost certain there are going to be more Stockade fans than Clarkstown Fans, and that’s going to be an advantage,” he said.
For fans who want to go to the match, Stockade has teamed up with jersey sponsor, Trailways, to run a fan bus that will depart from the Kingston Trailways bus station at the corner of Washington Avenue and North Front Street at 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 for the bus trip, admission for the match is free. As of Wednesday morning, 30 of the 50 available tickets were sold. Crowley said
“Sales end when the bus gets full,” Crowley said. “It’s the first time we’ve done a fan bus. I hope it works, as it could foretell good things for doing this in the future.”
Crowley said it’s been a string of great days for the club since Stockade captured the conference crown.
“A lot of people have a better understanding of what we’re doing with the team, and what it means for Kingston,” Crowley said.
He added he still finds it unbelievable how much the Stockade has accomplished in just it’s second season.
“Winning this conference championship, going into regionals, and having a really good chance of winning this game,” Crowley said.
He said he hasn’t been able to compile this season’s attendance yet, but thinks it will beat last year’s mark despite there being fewer matches this year.
Crowley is perhaps most excited about the support the team has received from local fans, including the Dutch Guard and POOK (Percussion Orchestra of Kingston). He hopes to fill the bus for Saturday’s match and have dozens more drive to Madison to support the club.
Drew University is an approximately 1.5-hour drive from Dietz.
“It’s very clear that the team plays very well, in front of our fans,” Crowley said, adding Stockade fans have shown up at each of it’s road matches.
“Boston, Westchester, we’ve had 50 fans,” Crowley said. “I think there’s going to be a lot at this next game. I think it’s going to be a big advantage.”
Crowley added why he believes local fans have “embraced the club as their own.”
“First and foremost, we went out with a story we’re going to make this club; we want everyone to be a part of it; come to matches; express yourselves during the matches,” Crowley said. “Kingston’s a small, tight-knit community, volunteer community-driven.
“People come up and thank you for doing this.”
He added that’s when he tells them he’s just “the guy who’s organizing it.”
“The community made this thing,” Crowley noted. “We just started it. We just kicked it off. That’s why people have a strong connection to it.”
As the team focuses on Saturday, Crowley is already looking ahead to next season and beyond.
“I think we’re just scratching the surface,” he said. “Last year was a great inaugural season. We started off with a bang. The question was, how are we going to make it better for season 2.
“The No. 1 improvement was we made the playoffs, made the conference championship. Now the thought turns to how are going to make it even bigger in season 3.”