Match Recaps, Matches, News
Cleveland’s Late Goal Stuns Columbus
Jul
Sandra Yu’s 91st-minute goal – her third against Columbus this season – proved to be the winner as Cleveland Ambassadors beat Columbus Eagles FC 2-1 on Tuesday night at Nordonia High School. The loss drops the Eagles to 3-2-4 (11 points) for the season and keeps the club in fourth place in the Ohio Valley division of the WPSL.
Cleveland (7-1-2, 22 points) finishes solidly in second place in the division behind the division winners Motor City FC.
The teams played a scoreless first half on Tuesday – the Eagles’ Madison Costner had a few great chances in the first half, and Sarina Dirrig had a free hit in the box that flew over the bar, but for the most part it was an even half of play. The Ambassadors got on the board in the 51st minute when Yu pounced on a long ball that bounced in between the Eagles’ back line.
Columbus responded well to the Cleveland goal, and had the better of the play for long periods of the second half. The Eagles won eight corners in the match, and in the 77th minute Gillian Losey’s corner went directly into the net to level the match at one goal apiece:
The goal was Losey’s first as an Eagle – it came on her Columbus WPSL debut – and was the goal that the visitors desperately needed. the teams played fairly even for the next dozen minutes before Cleveland broke through in stoppage time. Yu broke through the center of the Eagles defense and slotted home the winner in the 91st minute. It was her second of the match and her third goal against Columbus in 2019:
The Eagles have one match remaining in 2019’s WPSL season: A road matchup with Cincinnati Sirens FC on Saturday (July 6) at 7 p.m. at Lakota West High School. The winner of that match – if there is one – will secure third place in the division behind Detroit and Cleveland.
In the first match between Cincinnati and Columbus this season, the Sirens beat the Eagles, 3-2. It was the first time Cincinnati has beaten Columbus since 2016.
Tuesday’s match against Cleveland drew more than 1,650 viewers to the Eagles’ live stream, which is a new club record. Saturday’s match will be streamed live on the MyCujoo app and on the Eagles’ website here.
