AFC Ann Arbor has been informed by the league that Tuesday’s Midwest Region Quarterfinal match versus the Rochester Lancers, that ceased play due to inclement weather in the 69th minute, will be decided by a coin toss on Wednesday, July 17th.
After the final whistle, both teams were informed by the 4th official who was on the phone with NPSL’s Head of Officials, Paul Scott, that the remainder of the match should be played on Wednesday, July 17th at a mutually agreed upon time. Rochester refused this as an option and began their journey back to New York.
Although, the NPSL doesn’t require lights as minimum standard, AFC Ann Arbor went out of their way to create a contingency plan to play the match at Total Sports Wixom if any weather issues came about. This was on top of pushing the game back to 6:30PM at the request of the Lancers (all evening AFCAA games played at 6PM all season). After the initial delays began, AFC Ann Arbor Chairman, Bilal Saeed, spoke directly with Rochester Lancers GM Marc Mandell, who confirmed that Lancers head coach refused to go to another facility after the match was already underway.
“Once Rochester refused to play at the indoor facility, we were directed by Paul Scott to try and complete the game at Concordia which we attempted. We are now being forced to decide the outcome of this match by a coin flip, because Rochester refused to stay and play the next day, which was also under the instruction by Paul Scott, Head of Officials. Rochester claiming that they didn’t refuse to play at the indoor facility is a bold lie. The GM of Rochester told me to my face, that their Head Coach, Doug Miller, wouldn’t change facilities in the middle of the match. He told me that multiple times. I apologize to our fans and especially the players, that the match will be decided by a coin flip, rather than completing the match on Wednesday as originally instructed,” said Saeed.
Other accommodations to stay the night were also offered from the hosts and quickly refused by Rochester. The club went out of its way, first by pushing the game time back, then creating a contingency plan and finally offering to help with overnight accommodations for the visitors, but Rochester refused them all.
Regardless, the NPSL will hold a coin toss on Wednesday to determine who will advance to the Midwest Region Semifinals.