By Jinseong Kim
It was a memorable Sunday at Hornet Stadium to all the supporters, players, coaches, staff, and the entire community. AFC Ann Arbor enjoyed a massive 5-0 victory over Oakland County FC in the first home game of the season, first USL League 2 game, and first soccer back in Ann Arbor after 1,025 days of waiting.
AFCAA started off the first half strongly. The first two legitimate actions came from the current University of Michigan senior Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi. In the 12th minute, Al-Hasnawi himself received a well-delivered pass from Hideyuki Ochi, and created a one-on-one opportunity. His shot hit the bottom right post.
The entire first 45 minutes was dominated by the Mighty Oak, only allowing one shot to the visitors, and the advantage almost profited in the 36th minute. Sean Kerrigan made a 40-yard run on the left flank and went down in the box by John Oshakpemhe, resulting in a penalty. Kerrigan stepped on to take the PK he earned, but it flew towards the middle and was saved by Caleb Norris.
Despite an unfortunate miss, the Mighty Oak immediately bounced back and went hunting for a goal. This time, their success bore fruit. In the 40th minute, Shion Soga whipped in a corner earned by Al-Hasnawi, which flew over to the far side. Hideyuki Ochi and Jamie Lamb were there to claim it. The ball bounced off Lamb, and found David Garcia waiting inside the goal area. The Spanish struck it hard with no hesitation, and it turned out to be the first goal of the game, of the season, and in USL2.
It took only three minutes to extend the lead to two. Hideyuki Ochi found Shion Soga who sneakily went behind the defenders. Soga then comfortably broke the offside trap, and found the far post. It was the moment that the Japanese combination in the middle shined.
The search for third never stopped in the first half. Kerrigan hit the post with a right footed effort in the 44th minute, but it was only a signal for an extra goal. Two minutes later, Soga, the goalscorer, finely delivered a corner from the same side where the first came in place. His delivery was punted away by Norris, but it went as far as where Kerrigan was waiting just right outside the box. The Irish’s attempted shot was hit and headed away by the defender, but Tomas Casas waiting in the box connected the clearance to volley. The lead was extended to three before the half.
The second half was identical to what it had been in the first half, and Shion Soga was at the frontline of the attack. Soga provided a smooth pass through OCFC’s defenders collected by Sean Kerrigan up front. Kerrigan easily finished and earned a consolation for his missed penalty at the 59th minute mark.
The ‘unstoppable’ Soga put icing on the cake with the fifth at the 78th minute mark. Soga received a pass near the far sideline from the substitute Naji Elder, and aimed for the bottom left of the net from the edge of the box. His curling right-footed shot nestled behind the net. AFCAA switched to defense after the fifth, and kept the sheet clean.
The Milk Means More Man of the Match Shion Soga thanked the fans for the amount of support they gave to players. “We got the momentum right from the start of the game and we were able to score some goals. The support from the stands was brilliant. The amount of fans and loud cheering [from them] pushed the team forward.”
Men’s Head Coach Rod Asllani highlighted his satisfaction to players keeping focus during the second half, which was crucial to the unexpected 5-0 win. “It’s good to get a first win at USL2 since it’s the first game for the club in this league. During halftime [when we were up by three], I told the players that the job is not done and we still have a half to go so we need to finish it. [I wanted players] to start the second half with the same intensity or even higher because we knew the opponent would try to respond back. I’m happy with how the players responded in the second half.”
The men’s squad travel to Lansing on Friday, May 13 to take on Lansing City Football Club, a fellow newcomer to the league at 7p.m.