The Mighty Oak continued their winning, and goal-scoring, ways as they topped FC Indiana 3-0 at home on a lovely Saturday evening. As the playoff push is on, the win continues to keep AFCAA right in the heart of the race as they look forward to a big match in Grand Rapids as well as a Michigan Milk Cup semi-final game. The win also saw a return to the scoresheet for Jordan Montoya as he was named Audi Man of the Match for his brace. The win meant that AFC would remain unbeaten in club history against FC Indiana.
All the scoring would take place in the first half for AFC Ann Arbor. Things would kick off in the 18th minute where, after a scrum in the box in front of the net, including a shot off the post, Jarred Dass saw the ball land at his feet and he drilled an effort straight past the keeper into the top corner of the net. It was a superb effort from the wing man who helped get The Mighty Oak settled into the game thanks to that early goal.
After that came Montoya’s pair of goals as he bagged his second brace of the season. The first was a near own goal in the 38th minute that Montoya was able to get to first and force it over the line to take credit for the goal. His second would come just minutes later when, in the 43rd minute, after some wonderful build-up play, he and Jake Rufe played a one-two together and Montoya simply had to keep his composure and finish past the FC Indiana keeper. The goal put AFCAA up three entering the half and allowed them to play relaxed and securely for the rest of the match.
The second half came and went with few run-of-play incidents. Ian McGrane was called into action a pair of notable times: once where he parried a long shot away, another off a deflected shot that forced a dive out of him to secure. In the end, The Mighty Oak’s defense will be thrilled to keep the clean sheet after having conceded late in each of the past two games. AFC would also almost add a fourth, but another near own goal would instead hit the post. There were limited openings for AFC in the second half, but the key is snatching the three points in an important match.
As the season enters the final sprint, every game continues to mean a great deal. That was well on display as a sizable crowd saw a fantastic doubleheader conclude with The Mighty Oak men continuing to perform well in attack as of late. They have scored eleven goals in the past three matches, and the attack seems to be clicking into gear. They will take a break from NPSL action as they host Oakland County FC on June 26th in the Michigan Milk Cup, before venturing over to Grand Rapids to take on GRFC in a men/women doubleheader in NPSL/UWS league play. That match will be on Sunday June 30th.