By Jinseong Kim
On a sunny Saturday evening, AFC Ann Arbor suffered a tight 4-2 loss in the two sides’ inaugural USL W League match against Flint City AFC at Atwood Stadium. The Mighty Oak fought until the end with a small 14-player roster, but was two goals away from taking a point back home.
The first few actions came from the feet of Flint City AFC. The host earned an early free kick right outside of the box in the 7th minute. The cross would find the attacker’s head but went over the bar. AFCAA responded back seven minutes later as Chloe Ricketts and Brooklyn Whitehead made the opposition’s defense uncomfortable with some excellent play. The eventual effort led to a free kick, but Tatiana Mason’s shot missed the net.
Despite putting some decent actions up on front, The Mighty Oak allowed the first goal to be in favor of Flint. A smoothly-struck delivery passed between defenders found the Flint City attacker who only had Kendall Robertson to beat. Robertson tightened the angle, but Jenna Blackburn, forward for Flint City AFC, comfortably found the net in the 22nd minute.
AFCAA went back on attack to pull one back, and the move troubled Flint’s defense. The closest chance came in at the 25th minute mark. Mason tried the long range, right footed effort just outside of the penalty arc, but it was denied by the post. Four minutes later, Flint extended their lead to two on a penalty awarded after a handball inside the box. Kendall Robertson was able to get her hand on the ball, but it slipped off her and went back into the net.
The first goal of the season for The Mighty Oak came in action in the 34th minute from the fearless youngster Chloe Ricketts. From the left flank, Ricketts received a fine one-time pass from Tatiana Mason and dribbled at the edge of the box to get away from pressure. She then launched a curvy shot which ended up in the top right corner that the goalkeeper couldn’t reach out to.
It was at this moment that Ricketts, the youngest player in club’s history, put herself on the book as the youngest goalscorer of the Mighty Oak at age of 14. Previous record was held by Emily Eitzman, when she found the net against North Oakland in the Michigan Milk Cup. When Eitzman set the achievement in 2019, she was 17, which means Ricketts had put it three years earlier.
The joy from a historic goal didn’t last long as the home side responded immediately before the half time. Flint provided a through ball down the left flank, and the forward Jenna Blackburn collected it and went for a chance in a tight angle. Robertson successfully punched away the first, but couldn’t keep it away far enough. Blackburn reclaimed the ball and struck it inside the net in the 35th minute.
The Mighty Oak started off the second half with a strike on the post, this time from Anni Rusanen. In the 53rd minute, Rusanen pushed through the box after a cheeky one-two with Jenna Smith, and attempted inside the box. The initial shot deflected off the defender, but she would recollect it and hit with her left foot, which bounced off the post.
The series of attacks benefitted off in the 63rd minute. A corner kick was followed after Ricketts’ solo run passing through two defenders. Tatiana Mason whipped the corner inside the box and Brooklyn Whitehead put it under her feet after it ricocheted off defenders. The striker comfortably sent it to the bottom left corner to narrow the gap by one.
However, less than a minute after Whitehead’s goal, Alli Leonard scored Flint’s fourth from the 18-yard mark, pushing the lead back to two goals (4-2) in favor of the home side.
The Mighty Oak pushed forward to level the game, and some turned out to have decent chances. But unfortunately, these opportunities never turned into a legitimate outcome. Ricketts’ 50-yard solo run at the 80th minute mark ended up deflecting off the defender. A combination play from Chloe Ricketts, substitute Angline Kieh and Brooklyn Whitehead in the 90th minute went straight to the goalie. The last chance for AFCAA came from Tatiana Mason’s 25-yard free kick. The shot hit the target, but was easily collected by the goalkeeper.
The defeat put on ice AFC Ann Arbor’s search for their first victory in USL W League, but the season opener was also full of optimistic energy and stories to be told. The AFC Ann Arbor women get back to action on Friday, May 13 against Kings Hammer FC at Corcoran Field in Cincinnati.