By Ryan Makuch
July 6 is now a date with a special sentiment attached to it for members of the AFCAA Family for the rest of the club’s days. As on this date, just days ago in Flint’s Atwood Stadium, The Mighty Oak’s women secured the first piece of hardware in the women’s side’s history, as they toppled Flint City AFC, 5-1, in the Michigan Milk Cup women’s tournament final.
The Michigan Milk Cup comes to AFC Ann Arbor as a club for the second time in team history, as the 2017 iteration of the men’s side previously triumphed in the competition. The 2022 women’s team joins them now in the record books, having romped through the four-team tournament in a manner befitting champions.
Lina Berrah’s header, which would eventually be ruled as given as her goal, opened the scored for AFCAA in Flint.
The Mighty Oak advanced to the final thanks to a 3-1 victory over Kalamazoo FC. Troubled by the natural grass field in Kalamazoo’s Mayor’s Riverfront Park, the women fell behind 1-0 at the half, but they would adjust well to the conditions of the field and proceeded to find goals from Marcella Helena and Brooklyn Whitehead, in combination with an own goal.
And so awaited Flint City AFC in the final in a match that would serve as a rubber match between the two sides, as well as a chance to enact revenge for an opening day 4-2 defeat in May at Atwood Stadium, dished out to a shorthanded AFCAA side.
As in the semi-final, The Mighty Oak’s women fell behind in the first half, as Flint’s Samantha Woods struck with a 40th-minute goal. The scoreline stayed 1-0 through the match’s first hour, but the final 30 minutes were a display of force from the visitors perhaps unlike that we have seen this season.
Marcella Helena and Chloe Ricketts celebrate Helena’s goal, and the club’s second of the match.
The joy started in the 62nd minute as Ashley Zugay lined up an indirect free kick from 35 yards out. Lina Berrah was the first to the ball, and her headed effort went off the post and eventually was deemed to be in by the referee. Marcella Helena, initially credited for the goal, booted the ball into the net so there would be no controversy, and the game was on.
It took just four minutes for AFCAA to find the goal that would put them ahead and flip the match entirely on its head. Camila Pescatore, who shone at right-back all evening, and had the match’s first real opportunity in the 13th minute with a cracking effort rattling the bar, fed Helena beautiful with a simple pass after a cut-inside onto her left foot. Helena, who had glided in-between the Flint center backs, just had to beat the keeper, and she did so easily, sparking celebrations. But the scoring would not stop there.
Luana Grabias hugs Club Chair Bilal Saeed while celebrating with Marcella Helena after her first goal.
In the 74th minute, The Mighty Oak began the build-up to their most team-oriented goal of the evening, and one that put the match out of sight. The move started with Pescatore, charging forward past the halfway line and feeding Chloe Ricketts on the right-wing. Ricketts used her signature step-over move to make space on her left foot, but her weak-footed effort was going wide, but fortunately deflected by a Flint defender.
That deflection fell straight to Angeline Kieh, who neatly laid it into the path of Luana Grabias, who finished calmly into the back of the net to make it 3-1, setting off even more rapturous cheers from the traveling support.
Two minutes later came the fourth. Tatiana Mason made a tidy pass to Grabias, who would make a move to shed her defender, cut inside onto her favored right foot, and finish with a striking effort from distance that was certainly the most jaw-dropping of the efforts of the side. The strike was outstanding, and for most players would likely be the icing on the cake, but Grabias was not yet finished.
Agatha Nimene, scorer of the side’s fifth goal, hugs countrymate Angeline Kieh in celebration, as DiOnna Hill joins the celebrations.
In the 89th minute, with the ball in the AFCAA half, Grabias sent a long ball up the field towards Agatha Nimene. Nimene’s pace and freshness, having come on just minutes before, compared to the Flint backline meant that she would get to the ball first. From there, she took a sublime touch to beat the keeper, who had come out of her net to try to deal with the threat and finished calmly into the back of the net.
5-1, game, set, Cup.
The celebrations could then properly begin, as the players and staff enjoyed the fruits of their labor, and the milk that went along with it.
The final 30 minutes felt like a grand culmination of the blood, sweat, and tears that were poured into the season by the women on the field. From minute 62 to minute 89, The Mighty Oak’s women could do no wrong on the field. The end result was the Michigan Milk Cup, a physical trophy to represent a deeply metaphysical quest, and a special moment in time for all to remember and hold dear.
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!