Cleveland City Stars are the Professional United Soccer Leagues

The Cleveland City Stars triumphantly drew 2-2 with the Austin Aztex on Saturday after a breathtaking 90th minute goal. Forward Joshua Boateng scored the City Stars first goal, and Ricardo Pierre-Louis secured the tie with an amazing 90th minute header that left the Aztex dumbfounded.

The match started off strong for the City Stars, and after battling closer and closer to the Aztex goal, finally found the back of the net in the 11th minute. City Stars newcomer Israel Sesay crossed a beautiful ball to Joshua Boateng who brought it down 30 yards out from the Aztex goal. Goalkeeper Sam Reynolds came out to meet Boateng, who slid the ball under the keeper with precision to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

Despite multiple chances, the City Stars were unable to widen their lead before the Aztex closed the gap in the 30th minute. Forward Eddie Johnson passed the ball up to Josh Alcala, who lofted a shot over goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap to even the score.

One minute later, the City Stars had a golden opportunity to take the lead once again. Aztex
defender Erik Ustruck fouled Sesay in the Austin box, earning the Stars a penalty kick.  Veteran midfielder Pato Aguilera stepped up to take the kick, but ran into a snafu when head referee Sorin Stoica made an unbelievable call. He instructed Aguilera to take the penalty from 13 yards out, instead of from the 12 yard hash mark. Apparently confused by the football extra point line on the field, he forced Aguilera to take the penalty kick from there despite the protests of Aguilera and the rest of the team as they tried to explain the situation to Stoica. Flustered, Aguilera took the kick but tipped it approximately one yard wide of the Austin goal, leaving fans and players alike to wonder what would've happened had Aguilera been allowed to take the kick from the correct penalty line.

The City Stars tried to rebound, but were frazzled by the unforgivable call. In the 38th minute, the Aztex took advantage of the Stars frustration, and took the lead. Midfielder Jeff Harwell beat Gilstrap to make the score 2-1 for Austin. Luckily for the Stars, Troy Roberts was on top of his game. Just one minute later, the ball was lofted towards the City Stars goal once again, with Gilstrap way out of position. Troy Roberts raced to the line to clear the ball with a brilliant header, just inches from the goal.

The second half started slowly for both squads, and neither team advanced far into the other's half. The City Stars picked up momentum in the 54th minute, when a beautiful corner kick from Boateng found defender Troy Roberts at the back post of the Aztex goal. Unfortunately Roberts' solid header went too high, arcing above the crossbar, and leaving the City Stars at a 2-1 defecit. Midfielder Ryan Stewart tried his luck 3 minutes later, but his shot also went high over the goal.

In the 60th minute, Boateng was viciously fouled by defender Eric Ustruck, who earned a yellow card for the offense. City Stars defender Ibrahim Kante stepped up to take the free kick, directly in front of the Aztex box. Kante's sizzling shot almost took off the hand of the Austin goalie, but Reynolds managed to control it and bat it out, much to the Stars dismay.

The Aztex began dominating the match after the close call, and had numerous chances on the City Stars goal. In the 76th minute, forward Eddie Johnson took a hard shot that split several City Stars defenders. Gilstrap was perfectly place and deflected the shot with a well-timed dive.

It seemed the game would end as a City Stars defeat, but substitute forward Ricardo Pierre-Louis had other ideas. After coming on in the 83rd minute, Pierre-Louis used his fresh legs to make several runs, but was unable to make a distinct impact until the 90th minute.  Defender Kante paired with Israel Sesay to bring the ball up the field, deep into the Aztex half. Sesay rocketed a cross directly in front of the Aztex goal, where Pierre-Louis was waiting at the back post. A brilliant header from Pierre-Louis slammed the ball into the back of the Austin net, to tie the game at 2-2 with just seconds to spare.

The City Stars will rematch the Austin Aztex on Friday, July 3rd, at 8 p.m. The match will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel and USLlive.com. The match will also be the City Stars Independence Day celebration, with the highly-anticipated return of the Chik-Fil-A helicopter cow drop, a jet flyover and much more. Tickets are still available by calling 330-425-2003 or going online to www.clevelandcitystars.com.


Starting Lineups:
Cleveland: GK Hunter Gilstrap, D Troy Roberts, M Stephane Guillaume (D Gordon Kljestan 45'), D Anthony Stovall, D Ibrahim Kante, M Pato Aguilera (M Ryan Stewart 45'), M Warren Kanu (F Ricardo Pierre-Louis 83'), M Alioune Gueye, F Joshua Boateng, F Leo Gibson (F Arsene Oka 76'), F Israel Sesay

Austin: GK Sam Reynolds, D Josh Alcala, D Erik Ustruck, D Yohance Marshall, D Gareth Evans, M Ryan McMahan, M Mike Callahan, M Jeff Harwell, M AJ Godbolt (D Zach Pope 42'), F Kyle Brown, F Eddie Johnson

Summary:
Cle: Joshua Boateng (Israel Sesay) 11',
Aus: Josh Alcala (Eddie Johnson) 30', Jeff Harwell 38'

Cautions:
Cle:  Gordon Kljestan 79'
Aus:  Kyle Brown 32', Erik Ustruck 60', Mike Callahan 90'

Attendence: 1,517