By Jinseong Kim
On Saturday, AFC Ann Arbor finished their inaugural USL W League campaign with a strong 2-0 victory over Midwest United. An early breakthrough from Chloe Ricketts and an effort from Angeline Kieh ensured three points in front of the home fans.
The Mighty Oak grabbed an early lead within the first minute of the game, and it was none other than Chloe Ricketts who logged it. Ricketts was fed well by Marcella Helena on the center, beat a defender with her footwork, and comfortably stuck with her right foot. The clock read 46 seconds when the ball crossed the goal line.
Ricketts, who has already made a number of achievements throughout the season, named herself as the only player to score in the first and last game of the season in the women’s team with her superb strike. Both goals were created with her impressive on-ball skills. Her banger in the early season was eventually voted as the USL W League goal of the month. The goal from Saturday, on the other hand, is the second fastest goal of the season, approximately 15 seconds behind Luana Grabias’ early goal vs. Indy Eleven.
Midwest pushed forward after the first in search of an equalizer, but AFCAA extended the lead in the 23rd minute. Just one of the heroes of the Michigan Milk Cup, Angeline Kieh found the second for the host. Receiving a well-placed throughball from Claire Cahalan which beat two defenders marking the Liberian, Kieh’s left-footed effort beat the goalie and went toward the right corner.
AFCAA almost hammered Midwest again in the early second half. Agatha Nimene encountered a one-on-one battle with the goalie in the 47th minute, but her shot was blocked. It was the moment that Nimene was an inch away from reproducing her glory from the Milk Cup final. Three minutes later, Kieh had a chance to complete a brace but her shot was tipped over the goalie's hands.
The visitors dominated the most possession in the remaining second half, but no real threat came for The Mighty Oak defense. Solid defensive play has led to AFCAA’s swatting away of counterattacks and promising set pieces and, despite failing to net the third, the Ann Arbor women kept the sheet clean and maintained a solid two-goal lead.
A win on Saturday was icing on a cake of AFCAA women’s tremendous run throughout this summer. In a smaller scheme, The Mighty Oak avenged a 1-3 away loss to Midwest on June 20. It was also a cherry on top with the aftergame Milk Cup trophy celebration along with supporters
In terms of concluding the year, the victory kept AFCAA women’s home unbeaten run over the course of the season. With a final record of 6-3-3, AFCAA managed to finish fourth in the Great Lakes Division table, just narrowly missing earning third on the tiebreaker. Impressively, The Mighty Oak sit well-clear of fifth in the table, as they sit nine points above Detroit City FC, emphasizing the ability of the club this season to hang with the top teams in the division.
The club would like to thank all the supporters for giving all the passion and love to the women’s team throughout their journey.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014 and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!