By Jinseong Kim
In the back-to-back Flint City men’s and women’s matches at Hornet Stadium on June 17 and 18, AFC Ann Arbor, the men’s and women’s sides combined collected four of the available six points from their opposition. The women created a fashionable three-nil victory over Flint City AFC on a chilly Friday, the 18th. The day before, the men managed to grab a hard-fought late 1-1 draw against Flint City Bucks on the 17th.
Women
Flint started off stronger in the early first half, but Stefane Rosa made some vital saves that kept the scoresheet clean. The Brazilian made two consecutive saves in the 4th and 5th minute, with first action coming from the corner and second from the long range. Rosa easily caught the header on the first occasion, and tipped the shot over the goal a minute after.
AFCAA forwards started to give pressure on Flint defense with Tatiana Mason’s floating strike in the 11th minute. Her effort aimed for the top right corner, but it surpassed the net and would go out of play. It was a sign of things to come ahead of the host’s first goal that would be seen in the 19th minute. Debutant Marcella Helena provided a high cross inside the box, and Lina Berrah was able to head it in, beating a defender in the air.
Ann Arbor’s hunt for the second continued right away, and they were only an inch away from fruition. The Brazilian combination of Marcella Helena and Luana Grabias in the 26th minute was the highlight of the remaining first half. Helena found Grabias running down the right wing and fed a through ball to the winger. Grabias faced a one-on-one chance but it was saved by Flint goalkeeper Kayla Shuk. The forwards tried for several long range shots throughout the remainder of the first half but all went off the target.
It was an unexpected second-half start for either team as AFCAA’s Brooklyn Whitehead and Flint’s Lexy Smith were both shown a red card around the 58th minute mark. Following the foul on Whitehead, two players were involved in a conflict involving physical action. Flint pushed forward after the touchstone moment of the half to that point, but Stefane Rosa prevented all the threat.
What brought the game back to The Mighty Oak was from none other than Chloe Ricketts’s tremendous dribble in the 74th minute. Reclaiming possession back with a great pressing on the 27-yard mark in their own half, Ricketts made an unbelievable 70-yard sprint. The 15-year-old wasn’t in the middle of wide space; she had to face the pressure from two defenders instantaneously. But Ricketts was able to overcome the press, dribble past four opponents, and finish the action by herself. The effort was less than a centimeter wide, however, Ricketts’ run ignited the entire Mighty Oak side.
The outcome came in only after two minutes. It was Marcella Helena and Lina Berrah duo again who found the net, but this time, it was the other way around. Berrah held the ball up on the front and flicked to Helena rushing to the box. After beating two defenders with a cheeky touch, Helena found the left bottom, registering her first goal for AFCAA.
The icing on the cake was placed by Lina Berrah in the 87th minute. Receiving Tatiana Mason’s pass on the left wing, the Women’s Player of the Month for May finished with her left foot. It was not only the third for the host, but a finishing action of the game and a brace for the Swiss national.
Thanks to the win, AFCAA women maintained the unbeaten run at Hornet Stadium, seeing three wins and two draws in a total of five games. The Mighty Oak also avenged a 2-4 loss against Flint on May 7, which was the season opener and women’s first game in the USL W League. In an individual level, Lina Berrah now has six goals on the season – good for a tie for the most goals on the club level this season (Shion Soga of the men also has six) and Berrah stands alone as the women’s top scorer for this season.
Men
The men struggled to find a breakthrough in the first half against a very disciplined Bucks side. AFCAA attackers attempted to strike some long range efforts but failed to hit the target. The most promising chance came in place at the end of the first half. Sean Kerrigan fed a through ball from the right wing to Yushi Nagao cutting inside the box, but the one-on-one effort from the Japanese was blocked by the goalkeeper.
It was also up to debutant Jonathan Gomes to make some crucial saves in net for The Mighty Oak. In the first half alone, he had five saves, all varying degrees of comfort, but multiple coming in very sharply and with significant pace on them.
He was part of a defensive effort that, especially up the spine, with David Garcia and Jackson Kasanzu at center back, dominated the run of play and ensured that any Flint attacks would be dealt with in a sufficient manner.
The second half went in a similar fashion with the attack moving back and forth until the 81st minute, when the Bucks broke the deadlock. Substitute Brajdi Cekrezi aimed for the near corner, and it went past Jonathan Gomes who had been crucial in the goal.
A late goal conceded didn’t let the men down on their feet as they kept pushing forward for the equalizer. The effort profited with a late goal right in the stoppage time. The Mighty Oak earned a penalty off a handball in the box at the brink of the final whistle. Shion Soga comfortably converted a penalty he earned by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Marking his sixth goal of the season, Soga became the 4th most goalscorer of all time in men’s history, joining Yazeed Matthews and Kyle Breitmeyer in a tie for that spot.