Winning the Great Lakes Conference Championship was step one. For AFC Ann Arbor, step number two is the hurdle they have yet to climb as a club. The hope is that season number three will be the charm and with it will come the club's first ever Midwest Regional Championship, and a trip to the NPSL National Semi-Finals. Climbing this mountain will not be easy. Standing in their way would be two foes, one known, another unknown yet, and victory would need to be claimed twice in a weekend for these ambitions to be achieved. But what is there to know about the challenges AFC face? There is plenty.
Two Games, Two Days:
Coming off a 9-0 home victory against FC Indiana on July 7th to clinch a bye, the Mighty Oak were given a well-deserved break. Instead of partaking in the next weekend's quarter-final matches, they were able to sit back and watch from home as their opponent would be decided. It was decided early in the match, and reiterated with authority: Cleveland SC scored in the 7th minute over their conference foe Erie Commodores and continued the route culminating in a 4-0 victory. The date was set, game number one's opponent was confirmed. Game number two, if the Mighty Oak are up to task against Cleveland, will be against an NPSL North Conference side as Minneapolis City, the one seed, saw Duluth beat Grand Rapids following 120 minutes and a penalty shootout.
With what will be two full weeks off from competitive action, AFC will hope to have gotten all the rest they could out of it, because that's about all they will be getting from now until the season's end. The semi-finals and final of the Midwest will be played back-to-back in Ann Arbor, which will prove to be a grueling task for the Mighty Oak. I asked head coach Eric Rudland to describe his preparations for this upcoming week:
"We're trying to make sure we're paying attention to the details. And it's great to have a full week to prepare for the Friday match in regards to what our shape looks like compared to the opponent's...we played an inter-squad match on Saturday, gave the guys Sunday off, and then our rhythm for this week started on Monday."
Being around the club on Tuesday for their training session was a glimpse into what a top-run club looks like: focused training without fear. I saw no indications of concern in the eyes of these players or the staff. I again asked coach Rudland if facing an opponent they were yet to see in these playoffs, and potentially two of them on back-to-back days, was something that concerned him, but he was not fazed telling me, "I think it's good. Preparing for a new opponent keeps things fresh in training, keeps guys on their toes, keeps us as a staff on our toes."
Two Games, Two Days:
Coming off a 9-0 home victory against FC Indiana on July 7th to clinch a bye, the Mighty Oak were given a well-deserved break. Instead of partaking in the next weekend's quarter-final matches, they were able to sit back and watch from home as their opponent would be decided. It was decided early in the match, and reiterated with authority: Cleveland SC scored in the 7th minute over their conference foe Erie Commodores and continued the route culminating in a 4-0 victory. The date was set, game number one's opponent was confirmed. Game number two, if the Mighty Oak are up to task against Cleveland, will be against an NPSL North Conference side as Minneapolis City, the one seed, saw Duluth beat Grand Rapids following 120 minutes and a penalty shootout.
With what will be two full weeks off from competitive action, AFC will hope to have gotten all the rest they could out of it, because that's about all they will be getting from now until the season's end. The semi-finals and final of the Midwest will be played back-to-back in Ann Arbor, which will prove to be a grueling task for the Mighty Oak. I asked head coach Eric Rudland to describe his preparations for this upcoming week:
"We're trying to make sure we're paying attention to the details. And it's great to have a full week to prepare for the Friday match in regards to what our shape looks like compared to the opponent's...we played an inter-squad match on Saturday, gave the guys Sunday off, and then our rhythm for this week started on Monday."
Being around the club on Tuesday for their training session was a glimpse into what a top-run club looks like: focused training without fear. I saw no indications of concern in the eyes of these players or the staff. I again asked coach Rudland if facing an opponent they were yet to see in these playoffs, and potentially two of them on back-to-back days, was something that concerned him, but he was not fazed telling me, "I think it's good. Preparing for a new opponent keeps things fresh in training, keeps guys on their toes, keeps us as a staff on our toes."
As a supporter at any level of football, whether it's here at the NPSL or over in Europe in Europa League or Champions League play, it gets to a point where there is a thrill to see new teams. You saw this last season with Burnley's qualification into the Europa League through their seventh-place finish in the Premier League and will get to host a European match for the first time since the mid-60s. Here too, there is a parallel, as AFC Ann Arbor is buzzing over the prospect of being the host of the Midwest Regional over the two days at Huron High School. Now, being down to four teams, you expect each team to have a vocal fanbase. Having that added advantage of playing in your backyard, in front of your fans, allowing them the luxury of not having to travel. Take Duluth, for instance. They will have an 11+ hour voyage through five states (or three, if they take the more scenic route through the UP) to get to Ann Arbor. Minneapolis' trip is just barely shorter. Cleveland is "only" about three hours away, but any sort of long-distance travel can be difficult for a team and Ann Arbor will be very pleased to have won the bid to host this regional.
The Team, The Team, The Team:
If you want to succeed here in NPSL, you need to have a massive dose of composure. Shying away from big moments is a quick way to get beaten, of course, but you need to handle those moments. Cleveland showed a huge amount of confidence and composure putting away their competitive rivals Erie, a side that beat them the week earlier, in the quarter-finals. Minneapolis and Duluth are not the best of friends and perhaps the side that shows the willingness to have a cool head will be the one that indeed does prevail. Ann Arbor showed composure several times this season, most notably in the hostile environment of Keyworth Stadium, holding off Detroit City FC 1-0. There was a huge reason for this, and he was this year's team MVP. He needs no introduction to AFC fans. And for the postseason, he is back.
Okumu had not been with the team from that match on as he prepared for his trial with a USL club, and while AFC had continued onward with typical solid play in the back of the pitch, it goes without saying that you would rather have your side's most valuable player with you during the playoffs as opposed to going through them without. The Kenyan national has taken a love to Ann Arbor and the club and is surely going to be as happy to be on the pitch with a side that loves him as the Main Street Hooligans who love watching his ability to make defending look effortless. Of course, he is not the only top class defender on this AFC side. The Mighty Oak have plenty of reasons to thank for their top, top season in all three areas of the pitch.
The Defense -- Supremely Solid:
Playing alongside Okumu will likely be Jack Cawley, who has certainly become one of the keys to this AFC side, especially in the absence of Okumu. Just as Okumu has a senior national team cap for his home nation, Cawley has his own top level experience as he, with Heybridge Swifts, took on Exeter in the first round proper of the FA Cup in November of last year. Cawley is a force not just on defense but also on the attack as his booming headers out of defense transition into bullets off of corners and long-range set-pieces. He is also able to hit closer-distanced set-pieces off his left foot coming close multiple times, though yet to find the back of the net off one. Cawley and Okumu combine to be perhaps the most talented center-back duo remaining in the Midwest.
At full-back are two players who perhaps do not get the credit they rightfully deserve. On the left, you have Sercan Cihan, who has truly made the spot his home and very quietly been Mr. Consistent for the Mighty Oak. He's spent time in Germany before playing collegiate soccer at Lenoir-Rhyne in North Carolina. On the right is Stephen Turnbull, a player who has also been massively consistent, albeit, with a stunning goal against FC Indiana, he has been making more and more fans take notice. The man set to be a junior at Stony Brook (one of three Seawolfs on the AFC roster) has a similar role as Cihan, though both do it differently as compliments of each other on the opposite wings. Both players have much freedom to get forward and whip well-delivered balls into the box, and both have to pace to get forward. As the modern game changes on all levels, full-backs are required to get forward more and more. As discussed on the podcast I did with Brendan, a fellow AFC fan, that you can find on Soundcloud here, I believe full-back may be the strongest position of this region. AFC's full-backs provide reason to believe that.
You cannot forget about an essential final part of the defense as well: goalkeeper. In net for the games following Mike Novotny's leave to Denmark for his professional trial is Nick Barry. Formerly with the Milwaukee Torrent, Barry is an imposing figure in goal and a massive man with exceptional shot-stopping abilities. AFC have depth, however, and his net-minding companion will be soon-to-be redshirt sophomore at Michigan State, Hunter Morse. Morse is one to watch for in the future and a player with plenty of talent. AFC were dealt a hard break with T.J. Tomasso going down with injury before playing a single match, but they have been fortunate to have a wealth of keepers this season.
The Midfield and Attack: A Wealth of Options:
When talking about AFC Ann Arbor, depth is the first thing that comes to my mind. The defense has a wealth of depth, Jake Rosen, Matthieu Braem, Moco Watson, Breno Stapcinskas, all guys who have started also for AFC and done great, but the midfield and attack is where this depth is really highlighted. Almost every match is a selection dilemma for Eric Rudland with four stellar midfielders in Marc Ybarra, Caio, Serge Gamwanya, and Michael Shaikly, each of whom are different, each of whom compliment each other. One of the staples of this AFC side is the Liverpool-esque freedom an attacking-midfielder has in getting forward with the attack. We've seen that with three of these four men consistently and the fourth (Ybarra, who generally stays in a more defensive or box-to-box role) still gets forward so well that he has two goals to his name as well. It's so hard to properly describe how solid this AFC Ann Arbor midfield is, they mesh as a cohesive unit and provide the motor for the entire side's style of play.
Of course, the vast majority of AFC's scoring prowess comes from the three attackers they start, a general combination of a central striker and two wingers. Chris Odhiambo, also from Kenya, has staked a claim to be the starting striker. On the wings are a vast quantity of players, all of them quality in their own ways. AZ Liadi and Yuri Farkas seem to be likely starters, but you also have Jordan Montoya, who has seen some time at center-mid as well, along with Alec Lasinski, who has been devastating off the bench, and Kyle Breitmeyer, a beloved fan favorite who can play centrally or out wide. The wings are likely to be key to the match as winning the battle in the midfield, something always vital to good performances, means space is freed up on the outside on the pitch. For that reason alone, it will be worth watching the attacking match-ups given to AFC by Cleveland's own full-backs, both of whom like to attack and have the ability to get forward well. Watching how Ann Arbor's wingers respond to these threats will be crucial in seeing who obtains victory in the semi-final match.
Final Thoughts:
I have offered up plenty of comprehensive thoughts detailing what I feel to be strengths of this side, along with the strengths of the other three sides, which I did on the podcast you can find in the link above (and I will link the URL in full at the bottom), but the truth is that a team can just click or a player can hit a stride and become unplayable. This is almost reason to prepare even more thoroughly as AFC are doing, and surely the other three sides are doing as well. At some point though, the preparation stops and eleven players take the pitch. You can talk about hypothetical match-ups as much as you'd like in the stands, but the matches on Friday and final on Saturday will come down to which side executes their game-plan most wholly and successfully on the field. Ann Arbor will have a legion of fans behind them in their home city, they will hope to continue forward and march along.
Follow me on Twitter, @RMAB_Ryan, for live coverage of AFC Ann Arbor as well as Michigan basketball and Liverpool F.C., plus much more!
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