LANSING, MI – Lansing Common FC (7-3-2) concluded its third season as a club on Saturday, July 22, with a 5-2 win over Livonia City FC (6-2-4) at Eastern Stadium. The win secured a third-place finish for the Robins.
“The fans were great. Especially when there wasn’t much to play for, the fans showed up and supported us,” said head coach Brent Sorg.
After 30 minutes of scoreless action, Lansing Common got on the board first. After a series of deflections inside the box, the ball managed to cross the line and Victor Toune was credited with the goal.
Another Lansing defender achieved a career milestone in Saturday evening’s match, as Landon Hungerford surpassed 2,000 minutes played as a Robin.
In the 45th minute, Munir Sherali had another opportunity to add to his 2023 free-kick highlight reel, and he did just that. The Lansing Common midfielder fired a strike from 20 yards out into the top-left corner of the net to put the Robins up 2-0.
After Livonia City FC pulled one back to make the score 2-1, Jack Voight restored Lansing’s two-goal lead and put his name into the club’s record books. A long throw-in to the center of the box by Josh Rosendale glanced off the head of Fady Omar and found its way to Voight. The forward from Spring Arbor University smashed the ball over the head of the Livonia keeper to score his fourth goal of the season and tenth goal of his Lansing career. The goal made him the club’s all-time leading scorer and put the Robins up 3-1.
Later in the contest, Omar would score a pair of goals of his own. In the 78th minute, the forward from Haslett, MI made a solo run from the midfield line and then fired a shot from 15 yards out that beat the keeper. A shot by Rosendale in the 86th minute was deflected into Omar’s vicinity by the Livonia keeper and he calmly put it in the back of the net. Omar’s brace gave Lansing five goals on the day and the match would finish 5-2 in favor of the Robins.
“We talked about it before the game, but our goal was to finish strong. We knew every guy in that locker room was going to get minutes, and it was important to finish strong in front of our fans,” said Sorg.
A pair of original Lansing Common FC players announced that this match would be the final competitive game of their careers: Rosendale and midfielder Julian Birge. Both Lansing-area natives joined the club when it was formed in 2021 and scored multiple goals in a Robin jersey. They connected for one earlier this season when Birge assisted Rosendale in a match against United West on June 14. Birge finishes his Lansing Common career with seven goals, good for fourth all-time in club history.
Lansing Common FC concluded their season with 24 points and a third-place finish in the Great Lakes West Division of the Midwest Premier League. We would like to thank all of our fans for supporting us all season long and look forward to another entertaining season in 2024.