A strong second half by AFC Cleveland (2-0-2) helped the home team shutout Greater Binghamton FC 3-0. Goals by Thomas Schmitt, Vaughn Spurrier, and Dean Miller paced Cleveland’s attack in dominating fashion.
The first half was rather pedestrian as each side struggled to gain the upper hand. Cleveland would hold a slight advantage statistically, but the score remained 0-0 after 45 minutes.
The second half started strong for the visitors, but their fortunes quickly changed after Schmitt slotted one past the Binghamton keeper in the 70th minute to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.
Spurrier then stole the ball from the keeper 5 minutes later and was able to sneak one into the goal on a heads up play to push Cleveland ahead 2-0. The 3-0 rout was finished by a 78th minute goal by Miller, who played well up front when paired with Schmitt.
Schmitt is in his first week with the team, having signed with Cleveland on May 25 along with Akron teammate Andrian McAdams. Scoring in his debut is a special accomplishment.
“Tommy brought us a spark,” AFC Cleveland manager Andy Hoggarth commented. “The burst he has is phenomenal. I think he got into the gaps we weren’t getting into.”
Neither side has much time to rest as they both have games on Sunday. Cleveland hits the road to face Buffalo, while Binghamton (0-3-1) travels to Pennsylvania to play the Erie Admirals.
Back-to-back games amongst a grueling schedule is a challenge for an any side.
“Fatigue is the main issue,” AFC Cleveland midfielder Elliot Kelly added. “You don’t go in trying to hold back anything. It’s whether you have anything left to play the game tomorrow.”
