Troy City WFC Gains Confidence and Experience in Preseason Friendly

By Garrett Pog

On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Pacesetter Park, Troy City WFC battled with Toledo Villa FC of the USL W League, looking to play a close game and learn to play with each other as they logged their first minutes of the season. Many fans traveled across state lines for a great matchup, and they did not disappoint.

Troy City kept it interesting, losing only 3-2 by the time the final whistle blew. Only trailing 1-0 at the half, the away side continued to gel together as the game went on, and kept the game exciting.

To start the match, Troy City found themselves on the defensive end a lot. Toledo would make several chances for themselves, but didn’t get a shot on until the 20th minute. Cecily Hughes (Lourdes) used her head of steel to keep the ball away from the goal line. On offense, the team struggled to get into rhythm, despite good runs from Cam Quidort (Toledo commit). It often felt like the communication on the field wasn’t sound, which is to be expected in the first game of the season. After a great cross from Villa, they would knock one in just before halftime, taking a 1-goal lead into half, despite holding possession for the majority of that time.

There was lots of tactics discussion amongst the players, as Captains Syd Hewer (Heidelberg) and Keira Boskovich (Lourdes) led the halftime meeting. Head Coach John Arndt, as well as new Assistant Coaches Liz Wood and Patrick Reyes, would come together and decide to shift to a 4-3-3, as opposed to the 4-4-2 that felt disjointed throughout the first half. They emphasized how important communication is to the team, especially amongst the back line. If they wanted to come out with a win, they needed to shape up and support each other when those runs are made on offense.

Toledo Villa would come out the gate swinging to start the 2nd half, cracking a wondershot goal from distance to lead 2-0. Toledo continued to press forward, including drawing a free kick in the danger zone, but it was blocked by Jorja Lewis (Nationals ‘09 Blue) to send it away. Troy City created some pressure on defense, and when Toledo’s center back looked frazzled, Emerson Lukomski (Ferris State) ripped the ball away from the defender before sending it in the goal to get Troy City on the board in the 59th minute. Unfortunately, less than 5 minutes later, a mishandled header from the Troy City defense went straight into the feet of Villa’s attacker, who scored effortlessly.

With the game not over yet, and the players getting used to each other, the runs from Troy City became more confident each time they made their way down the pitch. Lukomski would send a beautiful cross over the heads of the back line to Boskovich, who sent it into the goal with 15 minutes to go. Still creating chances for themselves, TC was unable to tie the game up before the ref signaled game over. In a game where the end result didn’t matter from a standings perspective, there was a lot of good to reflect on in the final team meeting.

“We can play with anybody,” Arndt said, encouraging his team that a close result with a USL W squad bodes well for their chances in the UWS and MPSL. Boskovich praised the team’s energy, while Hewer implored the team to take care of their body so they’re ready to go for the upcoming season.

“This is a great way to start,” Arndt said, following the game. “It was good competition, and we easily could’ve tied or won that game.” Arndt also praised the cohesiveness his team had, and mentioned how he’s looking forward to seeing this team grow even closer as the season goes on.

Troy City will get their seasons started in the MPSL and UWS this upcoming weekend, playing their first two home games on Friday, May 30th at 7pm against Pinnacle in the MPSL at Avondale High School, and on Saturday, May 31st at 7:30pm against the Michigan Stars in the UWS at Evolution Sportsplex. On Sunday June 1st, the MPSL team will travel on the road to play Caboto in Windsor, Canada at 3pm. There’s lots of action this season for Troy City WFC, and you can check it out here at troycitywfc.com, or at youtube.com/@TroyCityWFC.

All photos courtesy of Kevin Roberts, Roberts Game Day.