Michigan Bucks News Release -- www.buckssoccer.com
Thursday, June 30, 2011
AKRON, Ohio -- The Michigan Bucks achieved yet another Premier Development League milestone when they became the first team in league history to win 200 games when they beat the Akron Summit Assault 4-3 on Wednesday night. The Bucks (8-1-1, 25 points) kept their slight lead in the Great Lakes division by winning their eighth consecutive match, while Akron (4-3-3, 15 points) dropped to fourth place in the standings, percentage points behind Toronto for the division's final playoff spot with six games remaining.
The two teams played for the second time in seven days and the advantage went to Akron early.
"They came out with a good game plan and pressured our back four from the outset. We knew what they were going to do and what they are capable of," said Bucks head coach Gary Parsons, "and we failed to execute our game plan in the first thirty minutes."
The Bucks game plan is usually pretty predictable; play solid defense and play the high powered attackers in to create offensive opportunities. The Bucks did create some early opportunities starting with a corner kick in the game's first minute and a potential breakaway for Lucky Mkosana in the twelve minute. Mkosana and Akron goal keeper Brad Stuver would arrive at a loose ball behind the defense thirty five yards from goal but Stuver was able to get a foot on the ball to keep the speedy forward from opening the game's scoring. Stuver would leave the game shortly thereafter with a leg injury suffered while making the save. Then came possibly the strangest 16 minutes in Buck's history.
In the 17th minute, confusion between two Bucks defenders and goal keeper Mitch Hildebrandt allowed a ball to sit unattended in the box. Akron forward Aodhan Quinn tapped in what might be the easiest goal of his career to put the home team on top and marked the first time the Bucks trailed in a game since the 93rd minute of their only loss of the season on May 23.
Bucks midfielder Simon Omekanda would suffer a hamstring injury that brought striker Tom Catalano off the bench in the 22 minute and it wouldn't take him long to get into the action. Catalano took a nice pass from Mkosana and buried a shot in the top corner to knot the score at 1-1 just a minute after entering the match. It would take only one additional minute for the Bucks to take their first lead of the night when Luke Holmes beat his defender and laid off a great ball that Mkosana finished neatly. The goal was the third in three games for Mkosana and Holmes' fifth assist of the season put him atop that category for the team.
With the 2-1 lead, coach Parsons was a bit more comfortable, hoping his team had settled in defensively and would keep things in order. But just two minutes later a poorly cleared ball fell to the feet of Akron's Tom Schmidt, who finished another first-time chance to tie the score. If the first two mental errors were not enough for the Bucks fans, six minutes later a third giveaway put Akron striker Ashton Campbell in alone on Hildebrandt and he coolly slotted home the go ahead goal.
While most teams would be devastated by the bizarre turn of events over the short period, the Bucks continued to do what they do best, and that is attack. Catalano took a pass from Sebby Harris in the 34th minute, cut across the 18-yard box, beat two defenders and ripped a left footed shot in the top corner to knot the score at 3-3, which was the score at the break.
"With the mental errors we made tonight, we were lucky to get to halftime with a tie," Parsons said. "I don't know whether it is lack of concentration or arrogance, but we often try to make a low percentage pass into dangerous area. Good players and good teams will make you pay. Tonight we didn't give Mitch a chance in goal. We game them three gifts and they buried them all. The key to the second half was to not give up the ball. If they were going to beat us, they were going to have to break us down defensively."
The second half did indeed look much better for the visitors, as the Bucks tightened things down and didn't allow a second half shot on goal. Offensively the team continued to counter attack and had a few chances but couldn't break through with the game winner until the game's 60th minute.
Bucks leading scorer Kenny Uzoigwe was a consistent force, keeping the Akron defense busy. He took a long ball into the goalmouth and was ready to head in the go-ahead goal when an Akron defender came over the top with a handball to deny the striker the opportunity to finish. Bucks co-captain Stew Givens stepped up to take the team's first penalty kick of the season and scored his third goal of the campaign and second against Akron in back to back games, for the game winner. Hildebrandt recorded his eighth win in goal for the Bucks this season and was only forced to make two saves on the night.
The nature of the game put a bit of a damper on the 200-win milestone, as the team was disappointed with the mental breakdown that occurred in the first half.
"We'll take the road win and the three points and move on," said a relieved Bucks Chairman/CEO Dan Duggan. "You need a gut check like this during the season. We talked this weekend about how we would react when we got to that one game that would be a shoot out. The guys were convinced they can score goals with anyone and proved it tonight. I would prefer in the future if they just did their job defensively and didn't have to prove they could come from behind. As an organization, we are proud to be the first PDL team to ever reach the 200-win plateau.
"I suspect in years to come we will be in a very select and special group of franchises that ever achieve this milestone. It reflects our team's consistency over the years. We have played for 16 seasons and never had a losing season, which is something that we are quite proud of."
The Bucks now turn their sights to their upcoming rematch with the Hamilton FC Rage in Ontario on Sunday. The Bucks defeated the Rage 3-0 earlier this month and will be looking to run their winning streak to nine games. The team then heads to South Bend, IN on Wednesday for a mid week rematch with the Indiana Invaders before coming home to Ultimate Soccer Arenas on Saturday, July 9 for their special home game which is Hall of Fame Night.
This year the Bucks will be inducting three more players to the Michigan Bucks Hall of Fame. This year's class includes Tim Richey (1996-97), Kheli Dube (2005-2007) and assistant coach Dan Fitzgerald (2002-present).
Tickets for the game are $10 Adults (16 and over) and $7 Youth (5 and under free) at the door but all tickets are on sale now for only $5 when buying in advance. Discounted tickets can be purchased at Ultimate Soccer Arenas or on line by visiting the Bucks web site at www.buckssoccer.com and clicking on the TICKETS link.