Mike Peters, The Examiner
2007-07-13 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Annapolis -

Crystal Palace USA is feeling the pressure.

The team is in sixth place in the United Soccer League’s Second Division with eight games left- four of which are against playoff contenders, including three with tonight’s opponent, the Harrisburg City Islanders.

Crystal Palace ended its seven-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 loss to the Western Mass Pioneers. Crystal Palace is six points behind the Pioneers for fifth place and trails Harrisburg by 12 points for the fourth — and final — playoff spot. A team receives three points for a win and one for a tie.

“The pressure is definitely on,” Crystal Palace co-coach Jim Cherneski said. “If the players don’t feel the pressure, they’ll start to lose sight of the playoffs, and we’re definitely in sight of winning a spot.”

Crystal Palace (3-5-4) will look to narrow the gap at 7:05 tonight in Harrisburg, Pa.

Despite allowing only two second-half shots and outshooting Western Mass, 21-6, on Saturday, Crystal Palace couldn’t score — marking the eighth time it has been shut out this season.

“It was a matter of us not finishing our chances,” Crystal Palace co-coach Pete Medd said. “We create opportunity after opportunity. But if you don’t put it away, you’re not going to win.”

After allowing 10 goals during a four-game skid to start the season, Crystal Palace has shown improvement, allowing just seven goals in the past eight games.

Harrisburg (7-2-4) is coming off two big wins. The City Islanders shut out second-place Charlotte on Saturday, just three days before blanking Major League Soccer’s D.C. United, 1-0, in the U.S. Open Cup finals.

“We’ve just got to get a little bit of luck and put away our chances: everything else is where it needs to be,” Medd said. “Our league is very, very strong with some excellent players. And I think we have one of the best teams.”

Medd and Cherneski try to keep every game in perspective because Harrisburg and Western Mass are the teams separating Crystal Palace and the postseason. But as the season draws to a close, Cherneski looks toward the future.

“The way we see it now is that every game is a must-win,” he said. “Harrisburg is one of the four teams in the playoff table. If we take nine points away from them, it would be a massive lift.”

What does the United Soccer League have to do to challenge Major League Soccer as the premier league?