LANSING, MI — In a hard-fought match between two top Great Lakes West Division clubs, Lansing Common FC played division leaders West Michigan Bearings to a 2-2 draw on Friday evening at Eastern Stadium.

Lansing Common has two more home matches remaining on their schedule, with matchups against 1927 SC on Sunday, July 16th and Livonia City FC on Saturday, July 22nd.

West Michigan Bearings completed its season with a record of 8-3-1, good for 27 points and a spot at the top of the division. The results of 1927 SC’s final two matches will determine which club claims the title.

“I’m incredibly proud of the performance in the second half. We created some chances, but we missed a sitter, a penalty. That’s just the breaks in the game, and we just weren’t good enough to put the deal away.” said head coach Brent Sorg. “Do it for the fans. Do it for your brother to the left and right of you. That was the message, and we have to finish strong.”

Center back Kevin Payne tallied the first goal for the Robins in the 20th minute. Payne got his head on a corner kick from Seth Russ to tie the match at 1-1 with his second goal of the season.

Starting forward Fady Omar suffered a blow to the face late in the first half and was replaced by Brandon Dixon in the 41st minute. The game would go into halftime with the score still 1-1.

West Michigan took the lead in the 49th minute by curling a shot from just outside the box around a wall of Lansing defenders

Trailing 2-1 in the 56th minute, Aidan Antcliff came through when his team needed him. The fullback from Okemos found Landon Hungerford’s cross and fired a missile into the bottom right corner of the net for an equalizing goal.

The Robins went on to have several scoring opportunities after Antcliff’s goal. Two minutes after the equalizer, West Michigan committed a foul inside the box and Lansing was awarded a penalty. Jack Beck stepped up to take the spot kick, but the attempt was saved by Bearings goalkeeper Patrick Restum.

In the 82nd minute, defender Ben Derby was shown his second yellow card of the match, forcing Lansing to see out the game with only ten men. The Robins pushed forward, but were unable to find the elusive third goal the club was in need of, settling for the 2-2 draw.

“We’re obviously disappointed that we can’t finish top of the table right now, but [Brent] Sorg’s message was to continue working hard, keep playing, and give it our all so we can make our fans proud for a great season,” said midfielder Munir Sherali. “We had a lot of guys play heavy minutes today, so it’s important that we focus on our recovery, and come out with the same mindset, which is to win.”

Lansing Common FC will take one day off before hosting another match at Eastern Stadium against second-place 1927 SC on Sunday, July 16th at 4:00pm. Tickets are just $5 online through the Fanbase Clubs app or $7 at the gate.