LANSING, Mich – The top two teams in the Great Lakes West Division battled it out for the only time this season at Eastern Stadium on Saturday, June 27.

After the road team won each game in last season’s series between Lansing Common FC and Goshen City FC, the Robins were eager to rewrite the narrative surrounding this matchup. 

In a back-and-forth battle, Goshen’s offense controlled the pace in the opening half as it pressured Lansing’s defense and forced goalkeeper Vaios Papadoudis into six saves. 

The match remained scoreless after the first half, but an injured Papadoudis would face an early exit in the second after a dominant performance in net.

“He [Papadoudis] thought he pulled something,” head coach Brent Sorg said of Papadoudis’ injury. “It’s unfortunate because he did so well.”

Goalkeeper Jackson Kiszka stepped in for Papadoudis as Goshen continued to apply pressure. The visitors earned their only goal of the night after a corner kick bounced around inside the box in the 77th minute.

“[In the halftime huddle] we talked about trying to avoid giving up set pieces or restarts, obviously that’s how they [Goshen City] scored their goal,” Sorg said. “Them getting a goal comes off a broken play, kind of a rebound; poor clearance or lack of a clearance, and next thing you know, that’s the game.”

Prior to the match Sorg emphasized the importance of emotional intelligence and keeping a level head, regardless of the circumstances. Tensions were simmering throughout the game and began to boil over in the final frame, leading to frequent fouls and confrontations, but only a single yellow card throughout the contest.

Goshen’s persistent possession throughout the game left Lansing with only a few big opportunities to score. Forward Carter Hagan found himself one-on-one with Goshen’s goalkeeper in the first minute of added time, but he was unable to convert.

The visitors held on to their 1-0 lead until the final whistle, and the road team won again in this hotly-contested series.

“We knew coming in that they [Goshen] were going to play desperate, and we talked about that,” Sorg said. “I didn’t think we were at our best, especially in the first half. We weathered the storm. I thought we did a good job defending, but we didn’t really have any scoring opportunities until late in the game.”

Despite the loss, Lansing remains in first place in the division, but their lead over Goshen has been reduced to a single point.

“We’ve done the body of work ahead of time,” Sorg said. “This past week wasn’t our best in terms of preparation, so practice this week is going to be intentional, it’s going to be by design, it’s going to be short and sharp,” Sorg said. 

With only three games remaining in the regular season, the Robins have an opportunity to bounce back and clinch the top spot in the division if they win out. 

Lansing heads to Holland, MI to take on Tulip City United SC on Wednesday, July 1. Tulip City currently sits in third place, three points back of LCFC, with a game in hand. A win or draw would secure the tiebreaker for the Robins after Lansing defeated Tulip City 4-1 in a matchup earlier this season.

Lansing Common’s next home game will be against Grand Rapids SC on Friday, July 10, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are just $5 online or $7 at the gate.