Baltimore MD - Palace finally broke out of their three-game losing slump on Tuesday night with a tricky 2-1 win over the L.A. Legends in California. The Baltimore coaches were relieved to see the team remove that albatross from their neck, but another challenge remains - to carry that change of momentum into league play. That string of defeats occurred in USL2 competition while the win on the West coast was in the first round of the single-elimination US Open Cup.

The team Palace will be hoping to overcome tomorrow is the Cleveland City Stars. The Stars currently sit in second place in the standings, three points ahead of Palace in third, having won three and tied one of their last four outings.

The crowd is expected to be a large one, thanks in large part to a special, pre-game ceremony honoring the best teams in the Baltimore Beltway Soccer League. Over thirty youth teams will be on the field at UMBC Stadium starting at 7:05pm to receive their trophies for finishing 1st or 2nd in the BBSL’s spring league.

Crystal Palace President and Co-Manager Pete Medd was delighted about the club’s relationship with the most elite soccer league in the Baltimore area. “It's been great working with Kevin and Dawn Healey,” BBSL President and Schedule Coordinator respectively, and parents of Crystal Palace midfielder, Pat Healey (scorer of four goals in the last four games.)

Medd continued “We’re really excited about the whole thing - it’s just a great way to interact with the soccer community. They've been very gracious in helping us get involved and the response has been great. Hopefully the youth playing in the Baltimore area that haven't already had a chance to see Palace play will come out, enjoy a great night of soccer and continue to support us, and we'll continue to provide trophies and help support local soccer.”

Palace are almost back to full strength for this crucial match-up against the team just above them in 2nd place, with only Alex Ughiovhe still not quite ready to come back from his leg injury. “Cleveland play a very positive, attractive style of soccer,” observed Palace’s Sporting Director and Co-Manager, Jim Cherneski “so I think the fans will see a good match between two pretty talented and attack-minded teams. If we can get this result, it puts us back where we want to be.”

The game against Cleveland will kick off at 7:30pm. Tickets are still available for $16 at the door.

For their next league fixture, Palace make the long trip to Wilmington North Carolina to face the Hammerheads on Tuesday, June 17th at 7:30pm.