The Mighty Oak open up the 2018 season this Sunday at Skyline High School vs Carpathia FC at 5PM.
The two sides are meeting for a preseason friendly for the second consecutive year. Last year, Ann Arbor defeated Carpathia 2-0 in the preseason friendly.
With most of the collegiate players due to arrive in late April and early May, these early contests serve as an opportunity for Coach Rudland and his staff to evaluate pending trialists.
“For Sunday we have a blended roster that we will be fielding. We have a handful of players who are signed with us for the 2018 season, the majority of which are our non-college based players who have joined us for early pre-season. Also, we have a number of trialists who have been with us for a week of training and will have the opportunity to show what they can do in a match environment. This is our first step as a group in 2018. The expectation of the match is to start building up our fitness levels and keep the group healthy. We are not ultra-concerned with the result as our primary objective. We are primarily concerned with our mentality, willingness to press, remain unified and stay healthy. We're also curious to see who emerges from our group as an impactful player,” said Coach Rudland.
“The pre-season friendly provides us a great opportunity to build up the match fitness of our signed players, while providing a realistic platform for tiralists to prove themselves in front of our fans vs a real opponent. For the trialists if they perform well, we'd like to continue to build them into our plans for the following week of training and our next pre-season friendly on the 21st,” he added.
Ticket Info
Online Tickets- Adults $8 / Youth $5 (Ages 4-12) *Available until Noon on Sunday
At the Gate- Adults $10 / Youth $6 *Kids 1,2 and 3 are FREE
Memberships (Season Tickets)
Match Day Experience
Pre-match: Join AFC Ann Arbor supporters at HOMES Brewery for prematch festivities just 2 miles from Skyline HS. HOMES, a 2018 USA Today Top Ten Best New Brewery, also serves up some of the best bibimbap, one of many must-try items from their asian street food menu. The fast-casual dining experience and spacious outdoor seating area makes HOMES the perfect place for prematch festivities.
Post-match: For the kids, visit our official post match youth HQ, Revel & Roll and be sure to check your ticket back for exclusive discounts and offers. If you're looking to be downtown after the match, be sure to stop by Grizzly Peak, The Official Brewery of AFC Ann Arbor.
Food Trucks: Cosa Sabrosa, Jamerican Grill, Ray’s Red Hots
Audi Post Match Autographs
The Move to Skyline
Sunday will also be the beginning of a new chapter for the club as they play their first match at the 2018 home venue, Skyline High School.
“The move to Skyline is exciting. It will be beneficial to play a pre-season match there so we can get acclimated to the surface, spacing and environment. From a football standpoint we are looking forward to a larger pitch and nicer surface compared to Pioneer. Also, I think the set-up at Skyline is very conducive for our fanbase. It's an intimate setting with great sight lines. We are looking forward to making it our own for 2019,” added Coach Rudland.
About the Opponent
Carpathia FC is a historic Michigan amateur club based out of Sterling Heights. Founded in 1952 as the Carpathia Kickers, the club has won a National Amateur Championship amongst a number of other titles throughout the decades.
At the Carpathia Club, the Donauschwaben and German cultural heritage continues through language, dance, song and sport. Established in 1913 as the Carpathia Chor (Carpathia Singing Society), the club has grown to become one of the largest Donauschwaben/German American clubs in the United States. The most important part of the club is its members – their friendships and families are the foundation of the club. With members providing this solid foundation, the keystone for the Carpathia Club is its strong Untergruppen network. These groups promote important aspects of the Donauschwaben culture and offer their own unique activities for every age and interest.
Team Sheet for April 15th vs Carpathia FC
Jersey No. - Player
1 - Nick Barry
2 - Kenny Vasquez
3 - Trialist (Ludvick Asigo)
4 - Brandon Katona
5 - Trialist (Jacob Kanuth)
6 - Jordan Montoya
7 - Yuri Farkas
8 - Leigh Rumbold
9 - Kyle Breitmeyer
10 - Leonardo Abonizio
11 - Trialist (Danny Dragoi
12 - Trialist (Drew Ducker)
14 - Matthieu Braem
15 - Breno Stapcinskas
16 - Andre Morris
17 - Sergio Campbell
18 - Trialist (Marco Bernardini)
19 - Trialist (Andrew Hill)
20 - Trialist (Pat Rose)