The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Crunch pummel Colorado in arena soccer return
As the start of the Cleveland Crunch’s inaugural game crept closer March 20, Crunch owner Eric Davis was busy.
With the teams clearing the field to get ready for the opening kickoff, Davis snaked his way through the stands to try to get a good view for the start of the Crunch’s season.
As Davis reached the end of the stands and headed towards the Crunch’s roped off ‘crow’s
nest’ area, a fan approached him.
“Nice job brother,” the fan said as Davis passed.
“Thanks, man,” Davis said in response, disappearing behind a curtain.
Ten months ago, Davis and Luciano Ruscitto started their dream to bring back the Cleveland Crunch. That dream became a reality March 20, as the Crunch defeated the Colorado
Inferno 17-6 in their opening Major Arena Soccer League 2 match.
“Being here is a tremendous feeling,” Davis said. “It shows the hard working it took to get here is paying off. I’m more excited for the players than anything. We’re able to give some really talented players from Cleveland a platform.”
That talent was on full display from the opening whistle, as the Crunch tallied four first quarter goals to take an early lead.
Ryan Minick scored the Crunch’s first goal since the Bush administration on a volley three minutes in. The Crunch’s second goal was scored by captain David Jordan, a local product who played high school soccer at Mentor.
“There’s always been a fanbase for Cleveland soccer,” Jordan said. “The talent’s always been there too; it’s just been a matter of trying to figure out how to bring it all together. Luciano and Eric are doing their part to get it started and we’re hoping to help by winning.
The Crunch’s offense barrage was reminiscent of the team that ran the National Professional Soccer League 1990’s, as the Crunch seemingly scored at will whenever they pleased. Minick led the Crunch with four goals while Brush product Ma’Cain Spragling tallied a hat trick.
“We’ve only had a handful of practices, but we were still able to do what we wanted,” Crunch coach Louis Kastelic said. “We wanted to control the ball and let Colorado chase us and I think we did that.”
With a team comprised of mid-to-late 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds, almost all of the of the current hometown Crunch players developed their love of soccer by watching the first iteration of the Crunch.
“A lot of guys have dreamed about doing this since they were young watching the Crunch play in the 1990’s,” Kastelic said. “It’s the same thing for me. I loved them as a kid; I wanted to be (former Crunch star) Hector Marinaro growing up. Getting to coach these guys to their first win in 20 years is awesome.”
Jordan and Spragling weren’t the only local product to make his impact known on the field, as Admir Suljevic (Wickliffe, two goals) and Marijo Musa (North, 16 saves in goal) both impacted the stat sheet.
The Crunch’s kickoff against Colorado ended a month-long rush for Davis and the rest of the Crunch administration. When the Crunch first joined the MASL, the plan was for the season to start in February and stretch across the entire calendar year — a plan that was eventually scratched due to the novel coronavirus. The Crunch are now playing in an abbreviated 10-team season that will end in July. A full, formal season with 12 teams will begin in the winter.
This shuffle has led to some venue changes, as the Crunch are currently playing their games at North Olmsted’s Soccer Sportsplex with a tentative plan in place to move to a different venue for the full season in the winter.
Sportsplex’s small space lends itself well to the small, intimate nature of indoor soccer, as the match was filled with countless back and forth between players and fans.
The player-fan connection was arugebly on display most during the celebrations, as almost every Crunch player tried to get the fans involved with their celebrations.
After his first goal, Minick slammed into the plexiglass divider in celebration while Jordan celebrated his second goal by running the length of the divider with his hands spread wide in celebration. Spragling took things up a notch, however, doing a backflip off the wall after each of his goals.
Both of the Crunch’s games for the weekend were 200 ticket sellouts.
“It’s a unique situation but we still have the understand that we need to make it functional place so we’re doing all we can to make it the best it can be,” Davis said. “Sportsplex has been great to work with in terms of setting everything up. I can’t thank the volunteers enough because they’re equally as important in this. Without them we wouldn’t be able to do this.”
For Jordan, that connection is what makes the return of Crunch soccer so special.
“The game is for the fans. We come out here for the love of it but when they start cheering us on, we have to let them know we appreciate it.”
After finishing up his interview, Jordan headed into a section of awaiting fans and signed programs handed to him by young Crunch ans.
“Cleveland has something to be proud of,” he said moments earlier, a smile on his face. “The Crunch are back.”