Troy City Has Complete Game vs Michigan Jaguars

By Garrett Pog

In a hot and humid Evolution Sportsplex on Thursday night, Troy City WFC had tough opposition sitting in front of them as they looked to jump higher in the UWS season before it came to a close. The Michigan Jaguars had been to the National Championship Weekend for the past two seasons, and the home team had something to prove.

With a complete effort from all 18 women that stepped on the field, Troy City thumped the Michigan Jaguars 3-1 to give themselves a better chance of finishing 1st in the Great Lakes Division. Their current record sits at 4-2-1, tied for 1st with Flint City AFC and FC Pontiac.

“We can compete with anyone, we just need to have that confidence,” Head Coach John Arndt said following the win. “We approached this game a lot better than in other games we had this season.”

That confidence skyrocketed early when Madi Bajis (Saginaw Valley State) committed thievery from the back line, and passed it off to Sarah Fromm (Grand Valley State) to score in the 5th minute. Shortly thereafter, Fromm found Emerson Lukomski (Ferris State) for a nice finish. Lukomski would certainly be in the race for a Golden Boot award if the UWS handed out those awards.

“I really like the energy,” Fromm said when asked about why she joined Troy City WFC this season. “Even going to practice, this team has so much fun and it makes me want to be here. That’s the most important part for me, you can’t succeed without having fun.”

The entirety of the match was very fast paced, with both teams being forced to make decisions early, and being punished when they held on to the ball too long. This came to a head in the 17th minute when a Troy City player dribbled too long before getting tripped and pushed over. Despite the clear and obvious foul, the ref allowed play to go on, and the Jags capitalized and scored a goal seconds later.

There were many players that flashed greatness throughout the midfield, including Izzy Baron (Ferris State), whose speed and quick movements changed momentum on many occasions for TC. Addison Tulik (Minnesota State) and Kelly Rodak (Ferris State) displayed prowess as Troy City’s keepers, playing two different styles but excelling at keeping things out of the net, including a scary occurrence when Rodak nearly landed on her neck trying to grab a ball over an attacker. Mila Rustin (Minnesota State) played exceptional defense and dribbled the ball well as the full back, and often doesn’t get challenged because of how tight her off-ball defense is.

In the 2nd half, Troy City continued to pressure through 67 minutes, where Syd Hewer (Heidelberg) flipped the field and found a wide open Lukomski for another score. After this, Troy City could settle in as they had almost guaranteed the win at that point.

Though both teams kept firing off, Troy City did more than enough to secure the win and give themselves a real chance at potentially hosting the National Championship, as is rumored among the Great Lakes community.

Troy City WFC has only one more game in the UWS, Wednesday, July 9th against FC Pontiac. They’ll look to avenge their loss on that night, with a win potentially securing themselves in the Great Lakes Championship. That game will take place at Wisner Stadium in Pontiac at 7pm.