AFC Ann Arbor can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Saline Public Schools to allow The Mighty Oak to call Saline High School’s Hornet Stadium home for the 2022 men’s and women’s campaigns.
The stadium has been called home by The Mighty Oak regularly in preseason matches, and several AFCAA players, past, present, and assuredly future have already called Saline home by way of spending their high school careers as Hornets.
In the past, AFCAA has held the ‘Saline Showcase’ as a pre-season friendly for the men’s side as they’ve played against local sides and raised money for the Saline FC youth soccer program. Despite this having been a preseason match, there have been some memorable moments for the club on the Saline pitch, with Knox Cameron at the center of two of them.
In the 2016 Saline Showcase against Northwood, the former-MLS man came on as a sub to record a game-winning headed goal to secure a 2-1 victory over Northwood University. Then, in 2017, Cameron partook in the Saline Showcase against Oakland County FC in what he announced ahead of time to be his final match before retirement, with The Mighty Oak logging the 1-0 win and Cameron earning raucous cheers upon his substitution.
The Mighty Oak have not stepped onto the Saline pitch since the men’s 2-0 victory over Force FC in the 2018 iteration of the Saline Showcase. The women’s seasonal home opener will mark the first time since their inception that the AFCAA women will step foot onto the Saline pitch.
In addition to The Mighty Oak’s past on this field, there are several individuals with their own ties to Saline. Of course, there is Cameron, who was previously involved with Saline FC on a youth level as Director of Coaching and a member of their Board. Emily Eitzman and Bella Petrock are just two of the AFCAA alumni that played their high school ball at Saline, and will now get the opportunity to call Hornet Stadium for their club soccer career.
“Saline offers one of the nicest stadium environments and playing surfaces in all of Washtenaw County,” said Club Sporting Director Eric Rudland on the club’s new home. “On top of that, they have a rich soccer tradition through their high school programs and local youth club. We are looking forward to bringing high-level soccer to Hornet Stadium this summer & building a strong partnership with all of their community stakeholders.”
The Mighty Oak kick off their home schedule on Sunday, May 8, at 4 PM at Saline as the men take on Oakland County FC in both clubs’ debut match in USL League Two. The women open their home slate in the USL W League on Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 PM against Kalamazoo FC, an old foe for the club, but a new foe for the women’s side.
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!