CLEAN SHEET IN CLEVELAND

Bush Leads City Star Defense to 0-0 Draw with Vancouver

BEDFORD–Former University of Akron goalkeeper Evan Bush delivered a shutout behind a strong defensive effort from the City Stars. The Vancouver Whitecaps came into Cleveland tired and weary after a solid defeat of the Rochester Rhinos the night before. Two games in two days obviously caused some changes in the Vancouver lineup with several starters sitting out the match or entering the game late as substitutes. Vancouver would make the road trip without midfielders Lyle Martin and Justin Moose as both are recovering from injuries. Cleveland would only be missing defender Stephane Guillaume, who was out with a knee injury. Cleveland's defense would receive a boost as Gordon Kljestan started in the midfield. Kljestan, who recently spent time with the L.A. Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls, would help slow the Whitecaps offense from his position.

This tough schedule was advantageous for the City Stars as they tried to rebound from two difficult road losses. The general consensus was that Vancouver dominated the first half and held more opportunities. The best opportunity of the night for the Whitecaps came in the 22nd minute as midfielder Kenold Versailles sent consecutive headers into the area. Fortunately for the City Stars, the first was deflected and the second was cleared out of bounds by Pato Aguilera. Other chances would fall to Vancouver, but the score would be 0-0 heading into halftime.

Young keeper Evan Bush was put under pressure several times, but responded nicely in each instance. Bush, who has seen limited playing time behind Hunter Gilstrap, made the most of the opportunity and gives Coach Rod Underwood another option in goal. It is a good problem for a coach to have. Defender Troy Roberts agreed, saying "We've got two good keepers. So we can depend on them at any time, which is great in this league. Both of them do a solid job."

The change of goalkeeper was not the only change for the City Stars lineup. Underwood decided to go with a more conservative 4-5-1 after allowing eight goals in two road matches. The lone striker would be Jason Hotchkin, who has struggled in his role as an forward attacker. Many people agree that he plays much better and is more comfortable in a midfield role. Hotchkin made the most of his opportunity as he hustled all over the field, trying to make plays.

He was replaced in the 68th minute by a more natural striker, Ricardo Pierre-Louis. Vancouver made a similar move in the 63rd, bringing star player Marlon James off the bench to put points on the board. The Whitecaps have relied on their striker to score and he has done just that, providing six goals in only eight games. Observers suggest that James could have easily doubled or even tripled that amount if he would have been healthy and played in all of the Whitecaps' matches.

Arsene Oka and Israel Sesay would join Pierre-Louis on the field in the 75th and 83rd minutes respectively. Oka was quite effective, displaying impressive speed and footwork. The three subs made a clear difference on the field as more opportunities came to Cleveland in the final 15 minutes. Pierre-Louis would connect with Arsene Oka on a scoring opportunity in the 76th minute, but any chance to score was taken away by former D.C. United keeper Jay Nolly. Oka would be on the attack again in the 79th minute, sending a shot toward the goal after receiving the cross from Leo Gibson. Nolly would be there again to stop to keep the score even at 0-0. The game would end in a draw even after each team was given yet another chance to take the lead, but failed to do so..

Overall the match was rather uneventful as true scoring opportunities were very limited. The City Stars will embark on a challenging road trip to face the Carolina Railhawks (August 8) and the Charleston Battery (August 11) before returning home to Bedford on August 18th to face the Montreal Impact. Cleveland looks to build on Saturday's draw and finish the season on a high note.

Cleveland City Stars Lineups

Vancouver Whitecaps Lineups

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