Michigan Bucks own Chicago, clinch Great Lakes Division title
SMOOTH SAILING: Tommy Catalano and the Michigan Bucks claimed the PDL's Great Lakes Division title Wednesday with a 1-0 shutout of the host Chcago Fire. File Photo..
BY DAN DUGGAN
CORRESPONDENT
PONTIAC — When the Premier Development League schedule was released early this year everyone pointed to the end of the season showdown in Chicago where perennial powerhouses, the Michigan Bucks and Chicago Fire Premier would meet — a game that has historically held playoff implications for both squads.
Once again Wednesday night’s match was for all the Great Lakes Division marbles and then some. Much like the first meeting last month, Michigan came away with a shutout victory, this time a 1-0 triumph to douse the Fire and claim the PDL’S Great Lakes Division title.
Both teams came into the match tied for first place with identical 10-2-2 records and have one game remaining on the season’s upcoming final weekend. With the Bucks holding the tie breaker compliments of their 2-0 victory on Memorial Day, the Fire came into the game knowing it had win to conquer Michigan and avoid a Tuesday night playoff game with FC London.
In a game worthy of a PDL final both teams came out attacking from the opening whistle. While most of the game’s first 20 minutes were shared between the 18 yard boxes the Bucks created a couple of opportunities through the run of play while the Fire had several free kick chances that had Bucks keeper Mitch Hildebrandt on his toes.
A match of such magnitude would not be complete without a bit of controversy. In the 18th minute Bucks striker Kenny Uzoigwe was pulled down in the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. When Stew Givens stepped up to take the PK he was forced to wait several minutes to find the game ball that had been cleared into the stands. By the time the ball was retrieved the referee changed his mind and gave Chicago a free kick.
“I have been in this game for over 40 years and I have never seen anything like that. I still don’t know what happened. There must be a time limit to take a PK but there was no ball to shoot,” said a bewildered Bucks head coach Gary Parsons.
While the coaching staff was still fuming over the reversal the team kept pressing and four minutes later Uzoigwe was pulled down again in the box and the ref again pointed to the spot. Givens stepped up to take his third spot kick of the year and was denied for the first time by Fire goal keeper, Jordan Godsey.
“I think I just took it too quick,” said Givens. “I wanted to take it before the ref changed his mind again,” the co-captain joked. Godsey’s save would prove to be the only meaningful save of the first half. Hildebrandt was only forced to make one save in the half and did get some help from the goal post in the 37th minute.
The Fire came out attacking in the second half while the Bucks decided to rely on their competent back four to protect Hildebrandt and the goal.
“We didn’t just decide to defend by design but we all knew the situation. They had to win the game and we knew they were going to come at us with everything. I had hoped we would have kept the ball a bit more to create some chances in the first 15 minutes of the half,” said Parsons, who also noted “they are a very talented and disciplined side.”
The Bucks chances in the second half were sparse. Tom Catalano took an aggressive strike from 35 yards out that dipped down in time to hit the crossbar but not the netting. Uzoigwe would be forced to leave the game with a thigh injury in the 58th minute and was relieved by striker Stefan St. Louis. The third year Bucks striker from Trinidad has been quiet this season but has provided some highlight reel goals over the past several years.
Wednesday night he added another to his resume.
In the 74th minute St. Louis took a pass down the left sideline from Simon Omekanda and found a defender on his back and two more center backs lurking to keep the lone striker in check. St. Louis beat the first defender and streaked past former Bucks team mate Kevin Cope at the top of the 18 where he released a rocket that left Godsey no chance and put the Bucks ahead, 1-0. The game winner was St. Louis’ fourth goal of the season and the shutout registered by Hildebrandt was his PDL leading 11th clean sheet.
BUCKS NOTEBOOK
The win gives the Bucks a season-series sweep of the Fire and their ninth Great Lakes division title. With the loss the Fire will finish in second place and host FC London next Tuesday in a play-in game to see which team will join the Bucks in representing the Great Lakes division in the Central Conference Final Four to be held the weekend of July 29-30.
With a win in their last regular season game on Saturday against the Toronto Lynx coupled with a few results in the Heartland Division going the Bucks way, there is still a possibility Michigan will host the Central Conference playoffs should the team secure the best record in the conference. The Bucks are battling with Real Colorado and Thunder Bay for this honor and both teams play each other in back to back games on Friday and Saturday. The United Soccer Leagues will be announcing the playoff hosts on Saturday night.
Tickets for the Bucks home game on Saturday (7:30 p.m. kick off) 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 $4 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.
Category: Colleges / Other, Michigan Bucks
