The Cleveland City Stars found a bright spot in what has otherwise been a dark season, knocking off the PDL’s St. Louis Lions 3-0, and advancing to the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Cleveland opened the scoring after 27 minutes, when Ryan Stewart headed home a Roland Aguilera corner kick.
Cleveland increased their advantage seven minutes later, as forward Ricardo Pierre-Louis sent a rocket shot past Lions goalkeeper Brenton Saylor.
The City Stars were given a prime chance to make it 3-0 when Saylor handled the ball outside the penalty area. While Troy Roberts headed the free kick just outside the goal, rookie midfielder Steve Gillespie scored his first goal as a pro just a minute later, with the help of Ryan Stewarts second assist of the night.
Cleveland will not travel to Marina Auto Stadium to face the Rochester Rhinos in the second round on June 16.
St. Louis: Brenton Saylor; Sam Gelven, Tyler Schaefering, David Mueller, Marc Bowron (Brett Gregory 45); Martin Clayes, Oliver Dyson, Ross Hopkins, Nestor Hernandez (Jona Andrade 84); Jonathan Brown, Stephen Brocks (Brian Harris 74) [not used: Brett Borm; Miles Abel; Geoff Miller; Mike Utley]
Cleveland: Evan Bush; Troy Roberts, Stephane Guillaume, Gordon Kljestan, Ibrahim Kante (Paul Ballard); Pato Aguilera, Ryan Stewart, Warren Kanu (Terrence McAllister 78), Godfrey Tenoff (Steve Gillespie 64); Leo Gibson, Ricardo Pierre-Louis [not used: Hunter Gilstrap; --; --; Kolby LaCrone]
