CLEVELAND, Ohio – John Ball, who helped lead the Newtown High School soccer team to a CIAC Class L state championship in 1990 and the Southern Connecticut State University men’s soccer team to NCAA Division II championships in 1992 and 1993, is back to helping the Cleveland Crunch compete in the tough world of the National Professional Soccer League.

Ball, who saw time with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer in 1999, is back indoors and trying – in the early stages of the 2000-2001 season – to help the Crunch now that it is in the midst of a mediocre 2-2 start.

The Crunch were NPSL champions in 1993-94, 1995-96, and 1998-99 and Ball was on the team for that 1995-96 title.

The NPSL season began back on Saturday, October 21, and the Crunch lost a 19-17 decision to the expansion Toronto ThunderHawks in Mississauga, Ontario (in the NPSL, there are 1-, 2-, and 3-point goals based on distance away from the goal).

The Crunch then went on to lose a 17-9 decision to the Harrisburg Heat, to drop to 0-2 on the season. According to the The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Heather Marinaro led the Crunch with two goals and five points while Scott Schweitzer (2) and John Ball (1) also added goals.

According to the Plain Dealer story written by Dennis Manoloff, “It says something about the offensive futility that Schweitzer and Ball are defenders.”

Ball scored the first Crunch goal in the loss, a two-pointer, at the 1:24 mark.

Finally, on November 5, the Crunch earned its first win of the season with a 16-14, sudden-death overtime win over the Buffalo Blizzard at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. “We needed a win desperately,” said coach Bruce Miller in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. “This is a monkey off our back.”

According to the Dealer story written by Milt Nothrop, “Buffalo took a 14-12 lead with 4:21 left on a goal by Danny Barber. However, John Ball tied it for Cleveland with 2:03 off a feed from (Hector) Marinaro.”

The Crunch defeated the Blizzard again on Friday, November 10, by a count of 21-13 in the CSU Convention Center in Cleveland. After watching his friend Scott Schweitzer have a great night on defense, Ball was quoted in the Plain Dealer, “Scotty was so smooth out there. He played like he was on the dance floor. And it’s easy to understand why: you’re about to get married, and you’re on such a high, the adrenaline’s pumping. The game is second nature.”

Ball is listed on the Cleveland Crunch team roster as a 5-11, 155-pound midfield/ defender. A day after he helped the Crunch to its 16-14 win over Buffalo, he turned 28 years of age.

Another State Title –

In A Different State

Larry Ashmore, former longtime soccer coach at Newtown High School, who led Ball’s team to the 1990 CIAC Class L state championship, recently won another state championship – in Missoula, Montana.

Coach Ashmore led the Sentinel High School Spartans to the Montana state championship with a win over Kalispell. Kalispell had beaten Sentinel – the Spartans’ only loss – on the final day of the regular season.

Coach Ashmore had led the Spartans to the state championship game in 1999, only to see his team lose to Billings Senior. Oddly enough, Billings Senior, sporting a 27-game winning streak, fell to the Spartans in the 2000 semi-finals.

Coach Ashmore lives in Seeley Lake, Montana, about 55 miles from Sentinel High.

Coach Ashmore would like to hear from former students and players. Anyone wishing to contact him can e-mail him at lash@blackfoot.net