HOLLAND, Mich – Lansing Common FC faced its toughest test of the season in sweltering conditions on the road against Tulip City United SC.
Coming off its first league loss against Goshen City FC, the Robins stood one point ahead of second-place Goshen in the Great Lakes West Division standings with Tulip City sitting in third.
Goalkeeper Vaios Papadoudis and defender Spencer Powe, the team’s captain, were unavailable due to injury and illness, leaving the Robins to endure the extreme heat without a pair of their usual starters.
Jackson Kiszka stepped up in net for Lansing, but the Tulip City offense was dialed-in from the very first minute of play and sent shock waves through the Robins’ camp.
“We didn’t deal with balls over the top. I mean, we’re giving up a corner kick 25 seconds into the game,” head coach Brent Sorg said. “We were not at our best.”
Tulip City went on to score three more unanswered in the first half to go up 4-0 on the Robins, who struggled to generate anything offensively with very little time of possession.
“Credit to their [Tulip City] goalkeeper and their team. I thought they played very well,” Sorg said. “They capitalized on their chances. They made the game ugly.”
Midfielder Mikey Kostoglanis came off the bench and made an immediate impact for the Robins late in the first half, putting a shot to the left of Tulip City’s goalkeeper to get Lansing on the board.
Momentum began to shift in favor of the Robins, but Tulip City responded by scoring another goal of its own, playing a ball through Lansing’s back line that found an attacker one-on-one with Kiszka.
Lansing earned a corner kick shortly before halftime that midfielder Owen Resch put in from 10 yards out, but the celebration was quickly extinguished by a decision from the referee. Midfielder Jack Heald was knocked down inside the box and tripped a Tulip City defender in the build up. Heald attempted to plead his case, but was issued a yellow card for the foul.
“Obviously disappointed in the second goal taken away,” Sorg said. “If it’s 5-2, the game looks a little different in the second half.”
Coming out of halftime, the Robins plan was to earn the first goal of the half, gain the momentum back, and score again in hopes of a comeback.
Sorg moved defender Damain Addai up to left wing, looking to generate something for the offense, which had been locked down by Tulip City throughout the first half.
Able to generate shot attempts, Addai was able to use his speed to beat defenders down the sidelines, but the Tulip City keeper prevented his shots from going in.
“We just know that Damien can strike a ball. He’s got pace. He’s strong. You could see the first shot that he got off, he hit a great ball. Obviously the keeper made a save,” Sorg said. “It was a little bit of a risk [moving Addai to the wing] because he wasn’t doing well at the back, so let’s throw him in a position where he doesn’t necessarily have to defend as much.”
Looking for any offensive opportunities, forward Xtreme Hauk dribbled into a sea of Tulip City defenders along the right wing and found midfielder Joey Farhat, who attempted a scissors kick over the middle that went off target.
A Tulip City goal in the 56th minute would increase their lead to 6-1, moving any hope of a comeback by the struggling Robins further out of reach.
“Obviously, disappointed in how we started today,” Sorg said. “I think we’re in similar territory that we were in last year. We had a good run and we were in good form, and then we come in and stink and drop points.”
Lansing finished last season in second place in the Great Lakes West Division behind Goshen City, missing out on another elusive postseason opportunity.
With back-to-back league losses, the Robins find themselves backed against a wall once again.
“We’ve got to look at the ‘why’. Why is this happening?” Sorg said. “We played really good soccer earlier in the year and why is it now that we’re not able to bring and do that.”
Lansing is no longer in control of its ability to capture the division title, but the opportunity to redeem itself still sits on the horizon with two more matches left to play at Eastern Stadium.
“Let’s hit the reset button. Come in Monday and let’s see if we can be hungry,” Sorg said. “Anything can happen.”
LCFC will be back at home to host Grand Rapids SC on Friday, July 10 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are just $5 online or $7 at the gate.
