Cicerone leads Bucks into PDL Final Four berth
Russell Cicerone has brought his scoring prowess from Birmingham Brother Rice High School to the University of Buffalo and now the Michigan Bucks.
The 5-foot-10, 160-pound forward tallied his team-leading 13th and 14th goals of the season Saturday night as the host Bucks clinched a Final Four berth in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League with a 2-0 victory over the Des Moines (Ia.) Menace in the Central Conference final at Pontiac’s Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
The Bucks, the 2014 PDL champion, will host the Midland/Odessa (Tex.) Sockers FC in one semifinal beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 30 at Ultimate.
Meanwhile, Calgary (Alberta) Foothills FC squares off against the Ocean City (N.J.) Nor’easters in the other semifinal at a site to be determined.
In his second season with the Bucks, Cicerone has elevated his game and is now rated the PDL’s No. 21 prospect.
His goal in the 68th minute proved to be the game-winner. Cicerone scored on a rebound off a shot by teammate David Goldsmith that rang off the crossbar.
“We’d been pushing all game and we had some good scoring chances,” Cicerone said. “The keeper (Nico Campbell) made a really good original save and I just followed up and tapped in the rebound. It came off the crossbar and I headed it in. It was a goal scorer’s goal. Sometimes that’s just the way it happens. Being in the right place at the right time was good.”
The Bucks put away the Menace in the 89th minute on Cicerone’s second rebound goal of the match after late substitute Jon Rubio Ramon, a native of Madrid, created the scoring opportunity.
“He (Ramon) made a really nice play up the left wing and I held my run at the top of the box and he played it back to me,” Cicerone said. “I hit a nice left-footed shot and the goalie again made good initial save and I followed in my own shot and tapped in my own rebound.”
It was the eighth shutout of the season for Bucks keeper Drew Shepherd. The Bucks have only allowed seven goals in 16 PDL matches and not been scored upon in 10 home matches while advancing to their record seventh Final Four appearance.
“The whole season has been really good,” Cicerone said. “We have a really good group of guys. We all work hard for each other. We’re all pretty good friends and our team chemistry is really good. We’ve been moving the ball around really well lately and we’re scoring a lot and not allowing many goals, so I think we’ve hit our prime really well at this part of the season.”
Cicerone, heading into his senior season this fall at Buffalo, migrated to the Mid-American Conference school after coach Stu Liddle left Western Michigan University to take the job with the Bulls.
After a stellar career in both soccer and hockey at Brother Rice, Cicerone had originally committed to WMU.
“He (Liddle) brought me over because I believe in what he was doing,” Cicerone said. “It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He was always coming out to my Vardar games and my sister (Anina) played at Western Michigan and I knew him through her a little bit, too. He’s just been watching me growing up and liked me a lot. He asked me to come to Buffalo and I did.”
The Bloomfield Hills native is a three-time All-MAC selection and was MAC Freshman of the Year in 2013. He has 28 career goals and 13 assists.
As a junior, Cicerone finished with a team-leading 12 goals and eight assists as the Bulls finished 8-7-4.
“It does snow a lot, but I love it there,” Cicerone said. “I’ve had a really good time there. The team is starting to look good. We lost last year in the MAC final to Akron, but we’ve lost only three seniors from last year and so we’ve got a really good squad returning.”
For Bucks playoff ticket information, visit www.buckssoccer.com or call Kelly Haapala at 248-521-2179.
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