Lonnie Nelson's Blog

Crystal Palace Comes Up Short in Semi's

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:23:21 GMT

The Crystal Palace FC went into last night's semi final game against the Charlotte Eagles hoping to fair better then their previous meeting; which was an embarassing lost.

Crystal Palace left everything on the field against the Charlotte Eagles but came up short in the end losing 2-1. The Crystal Palace side opened the scoring in the 5th minute when Val Teixeira assisted on a goal by Shintaro Harada off of a free kick just outside of the box.

Both sides had several scoring chances throughout the 1st half, but the score remained 1-0 for Crystal Palace.

The Charlotte Eagles finally broke through the Crystal Palace defense in the 48th minute when Jorge Herrara score Charlotte's 1st goal on a penalty kick. Just minutes later, in the 51st minute Charlotte again found the goal when USL2 league leader in goals Dustin Swinehart scored on a assist from Josh Rife.

Crystal Palace came close several times to tie the game through out the 2nd half and even in the closing minutes of the game but the Charlotte defense held up to preserve the win.

A tough game to lose, but the Crystal Palace team has came along way in only their 2nd year of operations. Making it to the semi finals of the playoffs and finishing with a 12-9-1 record is very good. Plus the high lites of beating the MSL New York Red Bulls and taking the New England Revolution to penalty kicks in the US Open Cup.

Now the Crystal Palace fans will be expecting even more of their team in the upcoming year!! I am sure that Pete and Jim will be up to the task for next season.

Congratulations Crystal Palace on a great season!!

Crystal Palace Wins Thriller

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:33:24 GMT

Last night the Crystal Palace FC outlasted the Harrisburg City Islanders in the 1st Round of the USL2 Playoffs to win 7-6 in penalty kicks.

Both teams went at each other right from the beginning of the game, but Crystal Palace drew first blood in the 9th minute of the game. CP's Gary Brooks header gave CP an early 1-0 lead. CP's Shintaro Harada assisted on the play with a beautiful cross to Brooks.

Only minutes later Harrisburg came back to tie the score at 1-1. CP's Pat Healey put Crystal Palace back on top in the 29th minute when he placed a pass from Val Teixeira in the back of the net.

Harrisburg tied up the score at 2-2 late in the game and had a chance at the end of the game to win but missed.

The game went into overtime which remained scoreless through two overtimes and forced penalty kicks.

The penalty kicks went through 8 rounds with CP's Sergio Flores making what ended up being the winning goal. CP's goalkeeper Brian Rowland made the save on Harrisburg's 8th round shot finishing the game.

Now Crystal Palace will have to travel to Charlotte, NC to take on the Charlotte Eagles on Saturday August 16th at 7:30 PM. The Charlotte Eagles are the regular season champions and are the best team in the USL2. It should be interesting how the Crystal Palace side rebounds against Charlotte after just losing to them not to long ago.

I still think that the Crystal Palace side can beat the Charlotte Eagles and feel that the Crystal Palace side will have to bring their A game on Saturday to pull the upset.

In the other playoff game the Cleveland City Stars beat Western Mass 4-2 to advance against Richmond in the other semi final game.

Richmond Kicks Crystal Palace Back To Baltimore

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:32:14 GMT

It had to be a long, long drive home for the Crystal Palace team last night after being embarrassed in Richmond by the Kickers.

The Richmond Kickers beat Crystal Palace 5-0 to finish the regular season. Crystal Palace was never in the game as Richmond dominated from the start to the end of the game. The loss gives Crystal Palace a 11-8-1 record for the season.

Crystal Palace will have to find a fix for their problems quickly. Their last 9 games Crystal Palace has gone 4-5 in USL2 league games. This is the wrong time of the year to be playing like this.

The playoffs begin Wednesday as Crystal Palace will play Harrisburg at UMBC Stadium at 7:30 PM. Crystal Palace will have to get back to the play they had from early in the season if they expect to move on to the semi-finals.

But overall, Congratulations to Crystal Palace for making the playoffs in only their 2nd season. I guest watching them play this year and seeing what the team can play like at times you expect more from the team then what their record has shown this year.

I hope the team comes out Wednesday and plays like they are capable of playing.

WNST Anniversary Party A Blast!!

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:59:13 GMT

As everyone knows WNST held it's 10th Anniversary yesterday at Sports Legends. My family went to the event and had a tremedous time.

I emailed Nestor this morning to thank him again for having us at the event and to tell him how much fun our son Connor had at the event.

Connor and I were in the basement and he was attempting to an announcer at one of the displays at Sports Legends and John Buren the former Sportscaster from Channel 13 came over and started helping Connor. So for a few minutes John was helping Connor out with a Cal Ripken home run that was on the tape. For a parent it was priceless!! I just want to thank John Buren again for that.

That was the way all the Celeb's were last night at the event. All of them were so easy to talk to and for once all of them even would start a conversation with you. As I told Nestor this morning alot of us get to talk to Celebs all the time, but the average Joe doesn't. That is the part of the business that I really enjoy!! Whether it be with Ed Block or some Radio Show when I get to see some regular person have the chance to meet and talk to one of the Celebs I enjoy it. To see the reaction on the face of the person and especially if the Celeb is like the ones at the event yesterday and they get to talk to the Celeb for a minute or two, Oh My!! The way the person walks away and acts as if they really know that Celeb makes me feel good. The Celeb on the other hand may or may not remember that person, but the person will never forget it.

Both the Ayanbadejo brothers, Randy Monroe, Gregg Olson, Dave Johnson, Mike Flanagan, Bruce Laird, Toni Linhart and of course Brian Billick made alot of fans happy yesterday. There were probally others that I have left out and I will say I'm sorry but you can't get to talk to everyone with the crowd that was present last night.

The only thing that I would ask for the next event is that the Hot Dogs not be so burnt!!

I wanted to meet alot of the other bloggers but with the amount of people at the event it was hard to get around. But this is a good thing for WNST!! A great turnout!!

CP Needs A Little Help For 3rd Place

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:25:26 GMT

Tomorrow's matchup between Crystal Palace and Richmond could be a preview of a semi-final playoff matchup.

The 3-1 loss to Bermuda was a hard one for the Crystal Palace FC to swallow but it didn't finish their chances for a 3rd place spot in the upcoming playoffs.

Even if Crystal Palace wins tomorrow in Richmond (CP beat them at home 2-0) it will not guarantee them a 3rd place spot in the playoffs. That disappeared as their defense did when they lost to Bermuda on Wednesday. Crystal Palace will need some help from both Charlotte and Wilmington. If Cleveland losses both games and Crystal Palace wins against Richmond then Crystal Palace will gain the 3rd place spot for the playoffs. But if Cleveland earns a win against either of the two teams they play tonight and Saturday then the lost to Bermuda will cost Crystal Palace Big Time!!

Why does this matter?? Charlotte has the 1st place spot in the playoffs and they have been extremely dominate this year. No one wants to meet them before the Championship game!! If Crystal Palace can get the 3rd spot then they will not see Charlotte until the Championship if they win their playoff games.

With the 3rd Place spot Crystal Palace should face Western Mass in the first game of the playoffs at home. If they win that one then they would face Richmond in the semi-finals. Both teams they have played well against so far this year.

None of this will matter if the Crystal Palace side does not get back to the way that they were playing when they played the Red Bulls and the Revolution. Except for a few games lately, the Crystal Palace side has not been the team that we all expect to show up at game time. Co-Managers Pete Medd and Jim Cherneski will have to figure out where the problem is and fix it quick or it will be a short run in the playoffs.

Crystal Palace Beats Bermuda 3-0

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:50:19 GMT

Dreams of a 1st Round playoff bye and a berth into the semi-final went by the side after the Richmond Kickers beat the Wilmington Hammerheads Saturday 3-2. So all the Crystal Palace team has left to play for is a 3rd Place finish in the standings and a 3rd Place berth into the playoffs.

3rd Place was still within the grasp of the Crystal Palace side going into Sunday's game against the Bermuda Hogges. Mayor Dixon invited the Crystal Palace FC to move it's game to Poly-Western High School to be apart of the City's Annual International Festival.

Crystal Palace came out on all cylinders, taking the game to the Bermuda Hogges. Crystal Palace dominated the game from start to finish ending the game with a 3-0 victory. Crystal Palace inproved it's record to 11-6-1 and stayed 1 point behind 3rd Place Cleveland City Stars.

Crystal Palace's goals were scored by Larry Mark (18th & 83rd minutes) and Val Teixeira (39th minute). Val Teixeira and Pat Healey assisted on goals.

Crystal Palace will take on the Bermuda Hogges again Wednesday at UMBC Stadium at 7:30 PM. Crystal Palace must win Wednesday and again Saturday against 2nd Place Richmond Kickers at Richmond to keep the pressure on the Cleveland City Stars for 3rd Place. Cleveland has to play league leading Charlotte at Charlotte on Friday and then against Wilmington at Wilmington on Saturday to finish the regular season. Cleveland record against both teams at home this year was 0-1-1.

Crystal Palace Wins Inaugural DeOrsey Cup

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:25:20 GMT

Last night the Crystal Palace squad held on for dear life as the Real Maryland squad tried to steal one away. Going into stoppage time Crystal Palace held a 3-1 lead and had for the most part dominated the Real Maryland side.

Real Maryland scored their second goal of the game in the second minute of stoppage time when Nilson Perez found the net to make the game 3-2. Just a minute later Real Maryland had thought they had stolen a point when an errand back pass by Crystal Palace found a Real Maryland player who put the ball into the back of the net.

Controversy began as the goal was disallowed by the referee because of an offsides by Real Maryland. This began a 5 minute chaotic meeting between coaches, players and the referees on the call. Finally after all the commotion the call was upheld by the referees and Crystal Palace came away with the win and the must needed 3 points.

Crystal Palace's goals were scored by Matthew Mbuta (33rd minute), David Feazell (79th minute) and Mike Lookingland (86th minute).

With the win Crystal Palace remains in 4th place of the USL2 standings; only 1 point out of third place and 4 points out of 2nd place. Crystal Palace improved it's record to 10-6-1.

Crystal Palace will try to climb the USL2 standings on Sunday August 3rd as they take on the Bermuda Hogges at Poly-Western High School at 5:30 PM.

Crystal Palace Shut Out By Charlotte

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 03:37:15 GMT

Crystal Palace FC went into tonight's game against league leading Charlotte Eagles with high hopes of gaining ground in the playoff seatings with a win.

This was all over quickly in tonight's game. Charlotte scored in the 8th minute of the game and then in the 17th minute; then never looked back. In the 8th minute Charlotte's Dustin Swinehart scored his 1st of two goals on the night with a header. In the 17th minute Charlotte's Jorge Herrera scored to make it 2-0.

The Charlotte Eagles dominated the majority of the game. They out shot the Crystal Palace side 13-5 in the 1st half and 24-9 for the game.

Crystal Palace had a tremendous chance to score in the 74th minute when Pat Healey just missed an open net with a shot that went wide right.

Charlotte finished off the scoring in the 80th minute when league leading goal scorer Dustin Swinehart scored his 2nd goal of the game and his league leading 15th of the season.

Crystal Palace's goal keeper Brian Rowland finished the game with 8 saves and helped keep the score from being any worst. On the other side Charlotte's goal keeper Brian Boss only had 1 save in recording his 9th shutout of the season.

With this loss Crystal Palace falls to 9-6-1 and remain 4th in the USL2 standing. Charlotte improves to 12-1-4 and remains 1st in the standings. Crystal Palace also finishes this 3 game road trip 1-2 and looks forward to returning home. Crystal Palace's next game will be on Thursday at home against Real Maryland.

So much for my predictions!! But the Crystal Palace side should be proud to have gained a playoff berth in only the 2nd year of the club's history. With a good finish over the next 4 games the CPFC will improve their playoff seating. All of their final 4 games are against teams they have already beaten once this year.

Crystal Palace Earns Playoff Berth

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:15:08 GMT

This past Thursday the Crystal Palace FC won their matchup against Harrisburg 2-1 to earn a berth into the playoffs. Crystal Palace became the 4th team to earn a playoff spot, leaving two more spots up in the air.

The true test for the Crystal Palace FC comes tonight in Charlotte against the 1st Place Eagles. Crystal Palace had their worst showing of the year against this same team earlier this year when they lost to the Eagles 3-1 at home. That night nothing seemed to go right for Crystal Palace and they made Charlotte look alot better then they are.

If Crystal Palace wants to receive a better seating in the playoffs then tonight is where they will have to start. "A win against Charlotte will be a 6 point turn!!" Co-Manager Jim Cherneski told me by phone. "We need to make a strong showing and win this game." He continued. "Our goal is to secure the 2nd place spot in the playoffs to receive home field for the playoffs." Jim stated. Currently Crystal Palace is in 4th place of the USL2 standing only 1 point out of 3rd place and 6 points out of 2nd place.

In order for Crystal Palace to achieve this goal the team will probally have to win the remaining 5 games on the schedule. As hard as this sounds it can be done. Crystal Palace has Charlotte (tonight), Real Maryland (Thursday at home), Bermuda twice (both at home) and Richmond left on their schedule.

The key is Charlotte tonight!! Crystal Palace will have to play the match tonight without both Gary Brooks (the team leading scorer) and Val Teixeira. Both players were sent off in the last game against Harrisburg. Brooks received a red card in the 1st half and Teixeira received a 2nd yellow card in the 2nd half and was also sent off.

Crystal Palace's defense had been stellar all season and they will need a strong showing tonight against the high scoring Charlotte Eagles. Co-Manager Jim Cherneski told me "Even without Gary and Val playing tonight, we have played other games without key members and had success and tonight our defense will have to play the way they have been recently."

My opinion is that Crystal Palace's bench will win this game tonight and Pat Healey will step up and have a big game. Crystal Palace wins 2-1.

O's PR Screws Up Another One!!

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:12:38 GMT

Last night I got to witness a Madhouse @ Camden Yards 1st hand as the O's PR Department tried to do something nice for the fans and it backed fired as usual!!

The 83 O's Celebration seemed to be getting off on the right foot when we were coming through the gates. We could see a couple of players at each gate meeting and greeting the fans and signing autograph's for the fans. Then as usual the O's PR ladies decided to stop the players from signing any autograph's for the fans. Telling everyone that the players would be signing autograph's at 7:15 near gate D.

We all went up and got into line and waited for nearly 2 hours for the players to show up. By this time the line from from gate D all the way to the Warehouse. At some point in time the PR Department should have figured out they had a problem and looked for a solution. But as they always do their wonderful attitude started to kick in.

I stayed around to see the outcome of the craziness that was starting to unfold. At 8:00 there was still a line down to almost the warehouse and the PR people finally realized they had a problem. Some of them went down to the line telling people that they probally would not be able to the players due to the time. Then it started with the fans starting to yell and scream at the PR people who were behind the tables.

Now I know from experience in doing these types of shows that the PR people were in a no win situation. If only they had planned the event some what better it could have solved alot of the problems and the upset fans. For example: The PR people should have not stopped the players from signing at the gates; most of the players wanted to sign for the fans.

2nd the PR Department should have the event setup more planned out. If they would have split up the area where the players were signing it might have cut down on the line.

3rd If the PR Department would have told everyone who was going to be at the table alot of people would have left the line. From listening to the people in line they thought that the whole team was up there at the table signing. Now we all know that was not going to happen!! Mr. Ripken is not going to sign for free and for all the people that were there last night. Palmer was working. Eddie is also not going to sign for all those people.

I was a little surprised who of the other players that did not come down from the suites to sign for the fans. Dempsey, McGregor, Boddicker and Flanagan.

I heard more then one person say later that night that some one had stolen their pennants that they had signed. I know that one old lady is happy today with the Eddie Murray and Al Bumbry signed pennants that she picked up and walked out with as someone was yelling to her that the pennants were theirs!!

One guy from the PR Department tried to save the event at the end by gathering up all the cards that the players had signed and had not given out. He started to give one card out to everyone who was still in line as long as he had cards. Atleast he made some of the fans happy.

Last night's event was no different then the events that the O's PR do with ESPN Zone or Chick-Fil-A; no organization or planning. Someone has to teach these people that there is more to a event then just showing up and say the line starts here!!

Tough One For Crystal Palace

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:37:44 GMT

Last night Crystal Palace took a step backwards in their quest for one of the 6 berths for the USL2 playoffs. With three teams (Charlotte, Richmond and Cleveland) already clinching berths this loss hurts.

The Pittsburgh RiverHounds beat the Crystal Palace FC last night 2-1 in Pittsburgh. Crystal Palace lone goal came in the 73rd minute of the game when Val Teixeira hit a tremendous shot into the back of the net. The goal had tied the game at 1-1 but 7 minutes later Pittsburgh scored the game winner.

Crystal Palace had several changes to score during the game but time and time again they came up short. Even in the last minute of the game the team had a chance to tie the game to gain atleast a point from the match. Patrick Healey sent a beautiful cross into the box that found Cecil Lewis. Lewis's header just went over the cross bar as time expired.

Now Crystal Palace has to regroup quickly for their next game on Wednesday in Harrisburg.

"Mr. Tiger"

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:47:59 GMT

During my lifetime I have been lucky enough to meet some of the greatest athlete's of all time. Today at Sports Legends was one person that I have wanted to meet for a very long time; Al Kaline.

Since I was little I heard stories from people that had either played with or against Al Kaline at one time or another. To hear the stories about how good an athlete he was while growing up in South Baltimore was sometimes hard to believe. Stories sometimes get stretched as time goes by and the player becomes better then he was. None of this is true with Mr. Kaline. He was hands down one of the best athlete's ever to come out of the state of Maryland.

Today while we were all waiting for Mr. Kaline to appear I had a chance to talk for a long period of time with Coach George Henderson. Any of you who know Coach Henderson will know he has forgotten more about Baseball then alot of us will ever know. Anyway, to hear the stories about Al was something that alot of us true sports fans would have paid to hear.

One story stood out to me!! George was coaching a fast pitch softball team in South Baltimore and they were playing for the championship. Well Al Kaline was late for the game and when he finally showed up the team was down 2-1 in the 7th inning. As soon as George saw Kaline get out of his father's car he called time out to give Al time to get across the field. The umpire told Al when he got to the bench that he didn't have enough time to wait for him to change into his uniform and spikes. So Al had to play in the clothes he came in. He was wearing pants, a shirt and brand new saddle shoes. Well George put Al in for his brother that inning. Al got up to bat with one runner on base and hit a 2 run homer to win the game.

Mr. Kaline told the crowd today at Sports Legends of the time when he was suppose to sign his Baseball contract with the Tigers he ask them not to make it public until after he had played in a tournament with the guys that he had grow up with. The tournament was that weekend and Al scared the living daylights out of the scout that had signed him when he passed out at a play at home. The catcher had sat on Al and he had passed out from the heat and probally from the girth of the catcher.

Mr. Kaline is a very gracious and a genuine man who stills loves the city that he grew up in. Not many athletes are as loved as this man is; whether it be in Detroit or here in Baltimore.

Crystal Palace Dominates the Western Mass Pioneers

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:39:19 GMT

Crystal Palace FC completely dominated the Western Mass Pioneers last night winning 2-0 infront of their home fans. The win moves Crystal Palace into 4th place in the USL2 Division standings with a record of 8-4-1. More importantly it moves the Crystal Palace FC within 3 points of earning their 1st playoff berth.

Gary Brooks opened the scoring right before half time with one of the best goals of the season. In the 42nd minute Crystal Palace's Val Teixeira sent a cross into the box from the left side, which Gary Brooks proceded to Bicycle kick into the back of the net.

Crystal Palace finished the scoring in the 89th minute as Shintaro Harada scored his 1st goal of the season from 25 yards out giving Crystal Palace a 2-0 win.

The score of the game could have and should have been alot higher with Crystal Palace peppering the Western Mass goal all night. But Crystal Palace FC came away from the game with what they needed the most; a win.

Now Crystal Palace FC has a tough 3 game road trip over a 6 day span to contend with. Crystal Palace FC will play 1st in Pittsburgh on Sunday July 20th against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, then they will go to Harrisburg on Wednesday July 23rd to take on 5th place Harrisburg City Islanders and finally they will go to Charlotte on Saturday July 26th to take on the 1st place Charlotte Eagles. Good Luck to the Crystal Palace team as these three games will decide where their seating will be in the playoffs.

Crystal Palace Loses Tough One in Cleveland

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:02:40 GMT

Unfortunately last night Crystal Palace took a step back in their goal to win the USL2 Title losing to the Cleveland City Stars 1-0.

Crystal Palace FC hoped to build off their thrilling game Tuesday against the New England Revolution against the Cleveland City Stars and get back into the USL2 race. But it was not to be when in the 83rd minute of last night's game Cleveland's Sallieu Bunda scored the game's lone goal. Bunda beat CP's Andrew Marshall for the ball and then beat Matt Nelson to score.

With the loss Crystal Palace now stands in 5th place in the USL2 standings with 8 games left to play. Crystal Palace is by no means out of this race yet!! But it will take some doing and better finishing of the chances they are given to pull it off.

Richmond, Harrisburg and Charlotte are all remaining on Crystal Palace's schedule and all are currently infront of Crystal Palace in the standings.

The loss to Cleveland hurts even more when you think about how well they played against them at home just a month ago. Beating them 2-1 in a game where Crystal Palace had dominated the Cleveland side more then what the score showed.

Now Crystal Palace will have to right the ship against 6th place Western Mass Pioneers this coming Friday at UMBC Stadium at 7:30 PM. Tickets are still remaining for this game. Come out and support the Crystal Palace FC.

Crystal Palace FC Takes the New England Revolution to Penalty Kicks

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:25:47 GMT

Tonight it could have been very easy for the Crystal Palace FC side to mailed it in against the New England Revolution in their quarterfinal US Open Cup Matchup.

Nobody expected much from the Crystal Palace side against the MLS league best New England Revolution. That is except me!! I had a strong feeling that the New England Revolution side would take this Crystal Palace side lightly. I have been reading or should I say trying to read articles from the New England press on this game. There was no coverage of the upcoming match. To me it seemed as though the New England Revolution was more interested in their upcoming match against a Mexican Club Team.

As I listened to the game tonight on New England Revolution online radio I was a little disappointed at first on how the broadcasters Brad Feldman and Andrew Rush were talking about how the New England Revolution team should easily take care of the Crystal Palace side. In the 6th minute of the game when Revolution's Kenny Mansally scored their 1st goal on an assist by either Taylor Twellman or Brandon Tyler I started to get a little worried that the Crystal Palace side would fall apart. But to my relief the Crystal Palace side came right back and tighten up their defense and then scored in the 20th minute on a goal by Dan Lader.

The rest of the 1st half went back and forth between the 2 sides with both having excellent chances to score. But the 1st half ended with a 1-1 tie.

At halftime it was funny to hear the broadcasters talking about how the Revolution defenders were playing poorly instead of how well the Crystal Palace players were preforming tonight. The broadcasters kept talking about how the Crystal Palace side was from 2 levels below the Revolution and that Crystal Palace was playing their US Open Cup Final here tonight against the Revolution. Well someone forgot to tell the Crystal Palace players who they were playing!!

In the 2nd half the Revolution had the better of the game with several opportunities to score but the Crystal Palace defense and goal keeper Brian Rowland kept the ball out of the back of the net. The 2nd half ended as it started with both teams tied at 1-1.

The lowly Crystal Palace side had taken the elite, almighty Revolution to overtime. Both of the overtimes were fairly even in my opinion with both teams having more then one chance to score the go ahead goal. But no goal ever came and both teams were forced to go to penalty kicks.

Penalty kicks, to me, is the worst way to end a game like this!! But this is the way that it is and it is not going to change anytime soon. So again the Crystal Palace side, who were not suppose to be in this match, has the chance to pull one of the biggest upsets in the history of US Soccer.

Both sides made their first three attempts. Crystal Palace's Val Teixeira was stopped on his attempt by Revolution goal keeper Doug Warren after the Revolution had made their 4th kick. This left it all up to the Revolution's Castro to either make it or miss it to decide the game. Unfortunately for Crystal Palace Castro made his penalty kick giving the Revolution a 5-3 win in penalty kicks.

I do have to give the New England Revolution Broadcasters Brad Feldman and Andrew Rush a shout out after the extremely nice way the two talked about the play of the Crystal Palace side after the game. Their wishes for continued success and further growth in the Charm City area was all CLASS!!

Eventhough the Crystal Palace team lost this game against the Revolution they have nothing to hang their heads about. Crystal Palace played one heck of a game against one of the best teams in the US. Proving that this team can play with anyone in the US on any given day.

The Crystal Palace side will play their next game in the USL2 away against the third place Cleveland City Stars Saturday, July 10th. Crystal Palace's next home game will be Friday, July 18th against the Western Mass Pioneers at UMBC Stadium at 7 PM.

Again Congratulations to the Crystal Palace FC for their tremendous game against the Revolution. Also best wishes to Co-Manager Jim Cherneski and his wife as they are expected another Soccer Player at anytime.

Crystal Palace FC vs. New England Revolution

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:35:10 GMT

The Crystal Palace FC will be taking on the MLS New England Revolution tomorrow at 7 PM in New Britian, Connecticut. This is definitely a David vs. Goliath matchup. The New England Revolution has the best record in the MLS and Crystal Palace is currently in third place in the USL2.

Crystal Palace FC is the only remaining team still left in the US Open Cup from the USL2 and they will be playing the defending US Open Cup Champions on their own home field.

The New England Revolution is loaded with talent. 11 current Revolution players have been on the roster of one of the US National Team's; either Under 18, Under 20, Under 23, the Olympic Team or the US Men's Team. Players such as Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston, Matt Reis, Michael Parkhurst, Chris Albright, Adam Christman, Rob Valentino, Pat Phelan, Amaechi Jawe, Jay Heaps & Doug Warren. To top that off there are 7 other players on the Revolution roster that are or have played on National Teams from their own countries. In contrast the Crystal Palace FC roster has had 10 players play for one of their teams National Teams.

After stating all this it would look like the New England Revolution would have a cake walk in this quarterfinal matchup. Not so fast!! This Crystal Palace squad has been tough all year and has already knocked off one MLS team in this Cup. Granted it was the New York Red Bulls and they did rest some of their players for the game. From looking at the articles I have found on this matchup from the New England area it does not seem that the New England Revolution are too worried about Crystal Palace. To me it seems as if the Revolution are more worried about their July 13th matchup with Mexican power Santos Laguna.

This will all work, hopefully, in Crystal Palace's favor. The Crystal Palace team is far better then alot of other teams give them credit to be. They have alot of young players with a ton of Championship experience who given the chance would love to knock off the BIG DOG.

I have a strong feeling that this game will be alot closer then people think it will be. I'm not saying that the Crystal Palace team will beat the New England Revolution, but they will give them a good tough close game. I did tell Co-Manager Jim Cherneski that they would beat the Red Bulls in the last round. Hopefully they can pull this upset off as well!!

I did see that the New England Revolution will be broadcasting the game online if you are interested in hearing the game.

Good Luck Crystal Palace FC!!

Crystal Palace Pulls Off Big Upset!!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:21:17 GMT

Before a crowd of 1,654 at Broadneck High School last night the Crystal Palace Football Club pulled off the biggest upset so far this year in the US Open Cup beating the New York Red Bulls 2-0.

This is probally the biggest win in Crystal Palace FC history but it was not a surprise to me. Last week I had told Co-Manager Jim Cherneski that the New York Red Bulls were their's for the taking. Out of all the MLS teams that Crystal Palace FC could have faced in the third round of the US Open Cup I felt that Crystal Palace FC matched up the best with the Red Bulls.

Crystal Palace FC started the scoring early when Andrew Marshall netted a header on a beautiful corner kick by Bryan Harkin. New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Zach Thornton (Loyola) never had a chance to save the shot by Marshall. The goal put the Crystal Palace FC side up 1-0.

The New York Red Bulls had a great opportunity to even the score at 1 all minutes later. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Matt Nelson made a big mistake when he handled a back pass giving the Red Bulls a free kick inside of the box. But a well placed wall by the Crystal Palace defense stopped the shot by Red Bulls Mike Magee.

Again the yellow cards almost cost the Crystal Palace side the game when in the 34th minute Crystal Palace's Ibrahim Kante received his 2nd yellow, which gave him a red card and forced the Crystal Palace side to play a man downuntil the 92nd minute when Red Bulls Mike Magee also received his 2nd yellow card.

This has been the achilles heal to the Crystal Palace side all year. The team receives way to many yellow cards forcing players to miss games far too often. Sooner or later this will catch up to them and cost them in a big game.

Anyway, in the 2nd half Crystal Palace had a great chance to go up 2-0 on the Red Bulls; but Matthew Mbuta's shot hit the goalpost. Minutes later, in the 75th minute Crystal Palace finally sealed the Red Bulls fate when Gary Brooks scored on a cross from Paul Robson. Brooks goal made the final score 2-0.

Not only did Crystal Palace pull the upset of beating a MLS team, but they dominated the game from start to finish. The Red Bulls only once came close to a scoring chance. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Matt Nelson finished the game with no saves.

Co-Managers Pete Medd and Jim Cherneski should be proud that their team is the only USL2 team still in the US Open Cup. But with the win the Crystal Palace FC will now advance to a quaterfinal matchup with MLS powerhouse the New England Revolution. The quaterfinal match will be on Tuesday, July 8th at New Britian, Connecticut.

The New England Revolution is one of the elite teams of the MLS. As of today they are in 1st place in the Eastern Standings with a 9-4-3 record. The Revolution have the best record in the MLS.

We all hope for the best for Crystal Palace FC in their match with the Revolution. A win there will definitely be a major upset!!

Crystal Palace Tops Real Maryland

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:53:38 GMT

Yesterday Crystal Palace FC topped the Real Maryland Monarchs 2-1 to win the DeOrsey Maryland Cup. The win improves Crystal Palace's record in the USL2 to 7-3-1 and has the team 1 point behind 2nd place Cleveland in the standings.

The DeOrsey Maryland Cup is named after Matt DeOrsey who passed away on January 23rd this year from complications of an epileptic seizure. Matt was a standout soccer player on both the Middletown High School and Towson University Soccer Teams. He was twice named All-State in high school and still is the Middletown High School record holder for career goals and career points. He also helped lead the Middletown High School soccer team to the State Title in 1993.

Cecil Lewis scored the 1st goal for Crystal Palace in the 34th minute of the game. In the 36th minute Real Maryland's Nilson Perez scored to tie the game at 1.

Sergio Flores scored in the 57th minute on a pass from Kevin King to put Crystal Palace up for good at 2-1.

Tomorrow the Crystal Palace FC takes on MLS New York Red Bulls in a third round matchup in the US Open Cup. The game will be held at Broadneck High School at 7:30 PM. The New York Red Bulls will be led by Zach Thornton (Loyola University). Get your tickets ASAP as it looks to be a Sell-Out!

A Time To Give Back!!

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:14:10 GMT

This upcoming week I get to do something that I have wanted to do for some time now; give back to the community. I already do alot of work with area charities but this is different. A free Soccer Camp for kids that need a change from drugs, gangs and violence.

This week from June 23rd til the 28th from 9 am to 4 pm the 1st Annual Village at Lakeview Soccer Camp will be held in Edgewood to benefit the underpriviledge kids in that area. The camp was started by Mike Goodson, Bank Manager of the Provident Bank Branch on Hanson Road in Edgewood, to show the kids in this area there is more in life then the gangs, violenece and drug culture that they see everyday.

The camp will be taught by Barry Wilson, the Head Men's Soccer Coach at Harford CC. Barry, who is from England, grew up playing with England Legends Paul Scholes and David Beckham. The soccer world will be well represented with assistant coaches from Brazil, Turkey, England and Liberia helping to teach the kids.

120 kids are expected to show up this coming Monday morning to start the camp. The camp will run from Monday, June 23rd til Saturday, June 28th from 9 am to 4 pm.

Several area coaches and teams will also being showing up to talk to the kids; Crystal Palace Football Club, the Baltimore Blast and Barry Stitz, the Head Soccer Coach at Curley just to name a few

A vast amount of area businesses have already donated time and money to help get this camp off the ground. But money is always a problem for organizations like this one. For anyone interested in donating either time or money to the camp feel free to contact Mike Goodson at mkgoodson@provbank.com . Any help that anyone can give is very much appreciated!!

Crystal Palace FC Comes Home With Tie

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:16:55 GMT

Back in May the Crystal Palace Football Club easily beat the Wilmington Hammerheads at home 2-0. Last night in Wilmington, NC the Crystal Palce side had their hands full with the Hammerheads this time.

Eventhough the Crystal Palace side was out shot in the 1st half of the game 10-3 by the Wilmington Hammerheads, the three shots that Crystal Palace had led to 2 goals.

In the 2nd minute of the game Dan Lader sent a pass to Pat Healey who sent the ball into the upper left corner of the goal for his 5th goal in the last 5 games.

Brian Rowland was tested throughout the game and ended the game with 7 saves. In the 20th minute of the 1st half Brian made the biggest save of the game when he stopped a penalty kick by Wilmington to keep the score at 1-0.

5 minutes later Wilminton regretted missing that penalty kick when Crystal Palace's Larry Mark made a cross into the Wilmington box. The ball was deflected off a Wilmington defender right to Crystal Palace's Val Teixeira, who placed his left footed shot into the net to give Crystal Palace a 2-0 lead going into half time.

In the 2nd half Wilmington's persistence paid off when in the 67th minute Wilmington's Jerrit Thayer sent a cross from 40 yards into Crystal Palace's box. Jamie Holmes was home on the receiving end of the cross which he placed pass Crystal Palace's goalkeeper Brian Rowland on a header from 8 yards out. This made the score 2-1 Crystal Palace.

Wilmington Hammerheads made their comeback complete when they were awarded another penalty kick in the 80th minute of the game. This time Trey Alexander placed the kick pass Rowland into the back of the net to tie the game at 2 all.

The game ended ina 2-2 tie and by the way the Crystal Palace team had played I believe that they were happy to get out of Wilmington with the point for the tie and come home.

With the tie, Crystal Palace ran their record to 6-3-1 for the season. This places Crystal Palace into third place in the USL2 Division with 19 points, 4 points behind league leader Charlotte and 2 points behind 2nd place Cleveland.

Crystal Palace's next game will be Tuesday June 24th at 7:05 PM in Harrisburg, PA for the 2nd Round US Open Cup against the Harrisburg City Islanders.

If Crystal Palace beats Harrisburg it will set up a third round matchup with MLS's New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls are currently next to last in the standings of the Eastern Division of the MLS with a record of 4-4-3.