By Jinseong Kim

AFC Ann Arbor had an undefeated matchday on a warm, humid Saturday, this Memorial Day weekend. AFC Ann Arbor triumphed over Oakland County FC in the same manner they did in the season opener, as the men grabbed a thrilling 5-0 victory at Royal Oak. The women fought hard against the USL W League Power Ranking #1 Indy Eleven FC and earned a valuable point at home with a 2-2 draw.

Looking first at the men’s game, which kicked off a half-hour ahead of the women, AFCAA men had a quick opening similar to the Lansing City Football away game. Junior Nare possessed the ball on the sideline then targeted Luke Benford in the center. Benford’s initial shot was saved but Yushi Nagao, waiting at the arc, finished it well with a nice strike in the 7th minute.

The lead was extended to two in the 43rd minute, and it was Junior Nare who fought hard all match on the left flank, and contributed to the first goal’s build-up. Curt Calov provided a good through to Nare running towards the center of the box, and the South African curled the shot after his first touch, aiming the far right corner.

Not much action came in during most of the second half, but the last ten minutes were written with a totally different pen. The ‘goal fest’ for AFCAA was signaled with David Garcia’s tremendous free kick from about 25 yards out, struck hard into the bottom left corner in the 81st minute. Five minutes later, Curt Calov delivered another amazing through ball to Shion Soga, the 60th minute substitute, who then forcefully finished his attempt.

Goal number five at the stoppage time put an icing on the cake in this deja vu match. It was Tomas Casas, who also scored in the season opener, receiving Shion Soga’s free kick from the left side and finishing with a header.

As the men’s game was more of a steady increase in thrills, women’s had more clear ups and downs throughout the day against the unbeaten Indy Eleven.

The start couldn’t be greater for the Mighty Oak, with Luana Grabias netting an early goal even before the end of the first minute. The clock read 32 seconds when the Brazilian tapped Lina Berrah’s cutback from the left end. This made it the earliest goal in AFCAA history, both men and women, topping Matt ‘Frenchy’ Braem’s previous record from 2019 when he scored in the 2nd minute against Grand Rapids FC.

Not only did the women deal well against Indy Eleven’s pressure, but they were able to find the second goal in the 52nd minute. Angeline Kieh was brought down inside the box which resulted in the penalty kick. Tracy Akiror stepped forward to convert it and gave AFCAA an extended 2-0 lead.

However, Indy Eleven roared back, proving their quality and leveling the game with two goals in six minutes. Madison Williams was the first to break through the AFCAA defense as she headed a cross from the right side in at the 76th minute mark. Later, in the 82nd minute, Molly McLaughlin took a shot from long range, and found the back of the net. The quick equalizer from the visitors was the last notable action of the game.

The men were able to bounce back from Tuesday’s painful defeat against KZFC and the upset from Friday’s Michigan Milk Cup game versus Inter Detroit. The job away at Royal Oak was done in the best possible way the team could’ve thought of. The women, meanwhile, proved themselves against the powerful Indy Eleven side, who their first three games in a row prior to this weekend, and were rated the top of the nation.

AFC Ann Arbor are back in action on Wednesday, June 1 as the women’s team host long-time, in-state rival Detroit City FC, in the first ever women’s showdown between the two sides in USL W League action.