Mike Peters, The Examiner
2007-07-27 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Annapolis -

Crystal Palace USA’s chances of qualifying for the United Soccer League Second Division’s postseason are not dead, but they are on life support after a 2-0 loss to the Harrisburg City Islanders Wednesday.

“We knew we had to win,” said Crystal Palace goalkeeper Brian Rowland. “Whether we lost by one or two, it didn’t matter.”

Harrisburg (9-2-5, 32 points) walked off the field at Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium victorious and into a tie for second place. Crystal Palace (6-6-5, 23 points) left Annapolis knowing its unlikely its inaugural season will not end with a playoff berth.

The Richmond Kickers (11-2-4, 37 points) and the Cleveland City Stars (8-1-8, 32 points) have clinched two of the four playoff spots, while Harrisburg, Crystal Palace and the Charlotte Eagles battle for the final positions.

Since teams earn three points for a win and one for tie, Crystal Palace (6-6-5, 23 points) must win its final three games — against the Bermuda Hogges, the Wilmington Hammerheads and the City Islanders — in order to stay in the postseason hunt. If Crystal Palace loses or ties, Harrisburg and Charlotte clinch the final playoff spots.

“There’s still hope,” said Crystal Palace co-coach Jim Cherneski, “so we’re not giving up on the playoffs,”

Since Charlotte (10-6-1, 31 points) owns the tie-breaker with Crystal Palace — the Eagles defeated Palace, 4-1, in the season opener — Charlotte will clinch a playoff spot by winning or tying just one of its final three games.

Crystal Palace opened the season with four consecutive losses, but is 6-2-5 in its past 13 games. Rowland had led a solid defensive effort that had posted six shutouts during that span before Wednesday’s loss.

“I know next year we’ll start off a lot better because we’ll have a group of guys who have been through this together,” Rowland said. “But it was just finding the right balance. We always had the players and the system to win games in this league. It just took time. I wish we had those first few games back now.”

Crystal Palace, in its first season of a 10-year contract with Crystal Palace Football Club, which is its parent club in England, is building for the future.

“We’ve got to go out there and play hard,” he said. “There are plenty of things to play for: personal pride, contracts for next year and contracts for the future. We have a tight group of guys, and we’re definitely going to give it some effort.”