CLEVELAND CRUNCH DEFEATS MUSKEGON RISERS 10-5 IN HOME OPENER

(Cleveland, Ohio) January 15, 2022 - The Cleveland Crunch defended its home turf Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd, with a 10-5 win over the Muskegon Risers.

Forward Mike Derezic came out hot in the first quarter, scoring two goals within the first 45 seconds  of the game. Shortly after rookie, Rylan Wikle scored his first career goal off of a pass from Kevin Blackwood to put the Crunch up 3-0 with 13:18 left to play in the first quarter. Less than 5 minutes later Derezic added another off a pass from Chris Cvecko to complete a first quarter hat-trick. 

Derezic continued his dominance, scoring two more goals just three minutes into the second quarter for a total of 5 in the first half. Forward Gabriel Pewu also scored in the second quarter (his first goal of the season) putting the Crunch up 7-1 at half.

The second half saw goals from Rylan Wikle, who scored his second, Kevin Blackwood who scored his first, and Derezic who scored his 6th and final Crunch goal of the night. Derezic earned the MetroHealth ‘Man of the Match’ honor following a seemingly unstoppable performance.

The Crunch will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they take on the Cincinnati Swerve at the Soccer Sportsplex in North Olmsted, Ohio. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at theclevelandcrunch.com/tickets. Individual tickets are $12 and season passes are $65.