Crystal Palace forward Kevin King said there is no complicated plan in place for his team?s game against the Western Mass Pioneers tonight.
“We have to finish,” King said. “Our defense has been great, we just need to get one in the back of the net.”
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But, it should take more than just talk for Palace to come away with a win at
7:30 at UMBC Stadium against the Pioneers (5-7-5). Crystal Palace, which plays in the United Soccer League Second Division, had plenty of scoring chances in its last match, but lost in Cleveland to the City Stars, 1-0 last weekend.
“We should come out early and set a high tempo,” Palace forward Gary Brooks said. “But they are a good team to, and want respect. We need to come out and hammer them, hammer them early.”
Brooks leads the team in scoring and is fifth in the USL Second Division with 13 points on six goals and an assist. But Palace will need a balanced effort, including standout performances from players like midfielder Pat Healey and forward Sergio Flores.
Healey was named the Outstanding Player of the First Round of the U.S. Open
Cup last month with a two-goal performance in a 2-1 win over the Professional Development League¹s Los Angeles Legends. Flores was named the USL Second Division Player of the Week this month when he recorded a goal and an assist in a 2-1 league win over Real Maryland.
“In soccer it all comes down to two or three plays in each box,” Palace
co-manager Pete Medd said. “The difference [against Cleveland] was we let in a bit of a soft one, and we had a lot of open nets and didn¹t finish. Western Mass has been reeling, and we want to put our stamp on the game early. We don?t want to let them sit around, we want to come out at home and take the game early.”
Palace has had mixed results against the Pioneers this season. They played at Western Mass twice in a 13-day period earlier this season, posting a 3-2 win in Ludlow, Mass., on May 24, but losing 3-1 on June 6 at the same venue. But Western Mass hasn?t won in nearly a month, going 0-4-2 in those games and failing to score more than a goal during that span.
Forwards Jeff Deren and Neil Krause lead the Pioneers. Deren is fourth in the league with 14 points on five goals and four assists and Krause has 12 points on five goals and two assists.
“This game is more like a playoff for us and that’s how we need to treat it,” Brooks said. “We lost the other day and pressure is all right. But [winning tonight] is how we take the pressure off.”
