NPSL Great Lakes Conference midseason review
AFC Ann Arbor’s Martieon “Moco” Watson scores a stoppage-time header to secure three points against Detroit City FC. Photo credit: Els Wenner
From supporters having a run-in with the police to witnessing arguably one of the worst teams in NPSL history, the first half of the Great Lakes Conference has been interesting thus far to say the least.
Here are the current Great Lakes standings through June 17:
Image credit: NPSL.com
We’re over halfway through the season and it has provided for very entertaining action on and off the pitch. Here is a look at each team’s season so far, as well as some predictions regarding the final standings.
AFC Ann Arbor has continued their remarkable spell of results from 2017 as they remain atop the table yet again in 2018. The “Mighty Oak” have proven themselves as the best soccer team in the state of Michigan and the team to beat as they are yet to lose in 2018. Madonna University standout Yuri Farkas leads the team with five goals this season, not to be outdone by Jordan Montoya who has had three important goals leading Ann Arbor to victory. A season sweep of Detroit City FC as well as a comfortable 2-0 home win against second-place Grand Rapids FC have been the Mighty Oak’s most impressive results so far. And despite a surprising 1-1 draw against Milwaukee at home two weeks ago, Ann Arbor fans and the Main St. Hooligans supporters’ group should have nothing to worry about for the remainder of the season as they have a favorable schedule remaining with two home matches, one against Columbus and the other against the lowly FC Indiana side.
Final prediction: AFC Ann Arbor should coast through the rest of the year in first place and win the Great Lakes Conference yet again.
Grand Rapids FC has also had a hot start to the season and sits in second place through eight matches played. After finishing in third last year and missing out on the playoffs — the top two teams advance — GRFC have only lost to Columbus and undefeated Ann Arbor, and have amounted six wins with the help of Davenport University forward Matt “Super Matty” Whelan, who leads the team with six league goals. New Zealand native Scott Doney has also notched four goals in the NPSL so far, including the game winner in Detroit on Sunday night that secured the club an important three points. Although the “Boys in Blue” have a comfortable cushion ahead of Detroit and Columbus right now, their difficult remaining schedule is a potential concern for Grand Rapids fans and the Grand Army supporters’ group, as they still have to play Detroit, Ann Arbor and Columbus, a team they’ve already lost to this season. Grand Rapids is definitely in the driver’s seat to close out this playoff race, but there is certainly room for error.
Final prediction: It will become a tight race for second place; however, Grand Rapids FC will fend off Columbus and archrival Detroit to remain in second place to close out the season.
FC Columbus is the new kid on the block in this conference, and the team has put together a competitive and respectable team in their first year of NPSL play. In what has to be one of the more bizarre storylines of the season so far, FC Columbus’ supporters’ group, Wolf’s Ridge XII, endured an incident involving police due to alleged foul language during a home match against Kalamazoo. I was streaming the match online and was definitely confused and slightly amused as to why an entire supporters’ section had gone missing after halftime. Accusations flew on social media that the club called the cops on its own SG, which the team firmly denied in an official statement following the incident. Despite an absent supporters’ group, Columbus had a comfortable 3-1 victory over a decent Kalamazoo side. These guys are definitely dark horses in the conference and are going to have a realistic shot at taking down second-place Grand Rapids for the coveted playoff birth. Not many people have been talking about this team, however a 3-0 smashing of Grand Rapids on the road as well as another 2-0 road win against Kalamazoo two days later should get people’s attention. I finally got to see them team play in person last week and liked what I saw. “C-Bus” is a very athletic and physical team that uses its speed to an advantage. FC Columbus still has five games remaining, two of which are against FC Indiana. Expect them to pick up six points there and a few more in their remaining three matches.
Final prediction: Unfortunately for FC Columbus, Grand Rapids fends off their lead in the standings — barely — and C-Bus finishes in third place.
Chris Odhiambo scores the lone goal of the match as AFC Ann Arbor beats Detroit City FC 1-0 at Keyworth Stadium on June 10. Photo credit: Dustin Johnston
Detroit City FC, the face of the Great Lakes Conference and home to arguably the best fan base in the entire NPSL, has certainly not had an ideal start to its league season. However, all hope is not lost as they still have somewhat of a shot at chasing down Grand Rapids for that second playoff spot. It’s been a busy summer so far for “Le Rouge,” as they made it to the second round of the U.S. Open Cup where they took last year’s Open Cup semifinalists and soon-to-be MLS side FC Cincinnati into extra time before conceding three goals late in the match. Days later, they hosted 2. Bundesliga team FC St. Pauli in a historic international friendly in Detroit that was even televised regionally in Michigan. Some of these high-profile, out-of-league matches might have taken the team’s focus and energy away from the NPSL and could be a reason for their lack of early success. Yes, City has won three games so far, but two of those came against FC Indiana, a team everyone has beaten this season. Getting swept by Ann Arbor and a 2-0 home loss to Grand Rapids are concerns. However, this team does have good talent and myself — as well as the ever-vocal Northern Guard supporters’ group — expect this club to turn things around and make a push for the playoffs. After a loss in a crucial match to Grand Rapids this past weekend, which seriously hurt their chances of playoff qualification, City still has plenty of winnable games left on their schedule with matchups against Kalamazoo and Milwaukee on the horizon. This should make the standings a little tighter and give them a fighting chance at second place.
Final prediction: This one is a tough call, but I’m going with Detroit finishing in fourth place. Grand Rapids is currently six points ahead and in better form right now, and Columbus will overtake Detroit due to their two remaining matches with FC Indiana.
The Milwaukee Torrent have bounced back quite nicely this year after a terrible 2017 campaign. Head coach Andreas Davi, a former Bayern Leverkusen player infamous for his feisty competitiveness — and receiving red cards from the sideline resulting in suspension — has turned the Torrent into tying machines with four draws, the most in the conference. These ties have been against strong opponents, most notably their 0-0 tie against Grand Rapids and their 1-1 tie against Ann Arbor on the road. With that being said, their failure to win matches has now taken a toll on their chances to qualify for the playoffs. Although they are technically only a point behind Columbus, they have played three more matches than them and are far behind in the Pts/GP category.
Final prediction: Expect the Torrent to slip in the standings and finish in sixth place.
AFCAA’s Jordan Montoya controls the ball in the air against Kalamazoo FC in Ann Arbor on June 15. Photo credit: Dustin Johnston
Kalamazoo FC showed promise early in the season as they strung together some positive results and looked to be playoff contenders for the first time in the club’s history. However, their struggle of getting three points at home has been an issue as they are yet to beat an opponent in Kalamazoo outside of FC Indiana. A turning point in their season, in my opinion, was a home a match against Ann Arbor in front of a large crowd with great weather. Although they got a 0-0 tie, KZFC had plenty of quality chances to score and should have beaten the undefeated Ann Arbor side. A win there could really have been a big confidence booster and a momentum swinger for this team, but instead they have down-spiraled ever since. Two weeks later at home, Kzoo had a 2-1 lead at the half against Grand Rapids but quickly squandered it, resulting in a home loss and dooming the club’s shot at playoff qualification.
Final prediction: Expect Kalamazoo to fight with Milwaukee for the fifth position in the standings and come out victorious.
Out of protest to how lousy this club is, I almost decided not to write about FC Indiana at all. But this is too funny of a story not to cover. FC Indiana has lost all eight matches thus far and conceded 48 goals, and only scored two. This gives us a grand whopping total of -46 goal differential, the second worst in the entirety of the NPSL. They lost 11-0 at home to Detroit. Some of their more modest performances included a 5-0 loss to Kalamazoo and a 4-0 loss to Grand Rapids. Their proudest achievement this season was a 3-2 loss to Milwaukee where not only did they score multiple goals for the first time ever, but they actually played in a competitive, regular-scoring soccer game. In all seriousness though, the league needs to question the legitimacy and commitment of FC Indiana because what we have seen from this team so far is beneficial to no one.
Final prediction: They win a game. Just kidding. Zero points.
Follow Jack on Twitter: @JackRenwick22.
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