Year: 2021

Compete for a chance to represent Lansing Common in the 2022 Lower League eCup on Xbox, Playstation, or PC.

Tuesday afternoon in Lansing a group of excited elementary school students, ranging from 1st-6th grade, gathered on the field outside Pattengill Biotechnical Magnet School in Lansing to celebrate their new soccer field. Lansing Common Head Coach Josh Oakley and Captain Julian Birge led the students in some skills practice and games on the new field, made possible by a donation from Lansing Common.

“The Pattengill Biotech family is beyond grateful to receive this generous gift of soccer goals and soccer balls,” said Pattengill Principal Missy Arocha. “Each grade level rotates daily to this field for one recess.  With soccer now being the main use of this space, we look forward to the constructive and organized activity where students will play and have fun.  THANK YOU LANSING COMMON!!!”

Since the founding of the club, Lansing Common has been committed to being active partners of the Lansing School District, working to provide opportunities for students, and this donation worth over $3,000 is part of that effort. 

“We want to make soccer as accessible as we can to all kids in Lansing,” said Lansing Common President Eric Walcott. “When we met Missy and she asked for help building a soccer field for the students at Pattengill, we saw that as an opportunity to meet a need in our community and make sure kids in Lansing have a chance to play soccer with as few barriers as possible.”

Lansing Common FC is committed to making sports and soccer in particular accessible for every child in Lansing. We are thrilled to be able to make this donation to Pattengill and will continue to seek out opportunities to break down barriers to participation and give every kid in Lansing the chance to enjoy the game we love so much.

Check out the video below for great coverage of the event from WILX.

Today Lansing Common Football Club announced it has offered a raise and extension to Coach Josh Oakley, following an incredibly successful 2021 campaign and comprehensive review conducted by the board with members, players, and other community and club stakeholders. This also comes with an expansion of the salary pool for assistant coaches for the 2022 season and into the future.

Lansing Common’s 2021 season featured a Midwest Premier League record of 10-1-3 with 35 goals scored, good for second in the league and first among independent clubs (those MWPL clubs without affiliation with a professional club). The Robins did not lose a league match between May 28th and July 7th, an unbeaten streak of seven matches. 

“All of us are thrilled to be able to welcome Oaks back for another year,” said Eric Walcott, President of the Lansing Common Football Club. “We’re honored by and proud of the standard of excellence set by our coaches and players in our first season and can’t wait to see that in action for another year and into the future.”

“I’m extremely excited to have the chance to coach Lansing Common again in the 2022 season,” said Josh Oakley, Head Coach of the Lansing Common Football Club. “All thanks go to the club’s inaugural players, coaching staff, and the board. It is a fantastic honor to be able to continue the process of growth and success with this wonderful club.” 

Oakley brings over two decades of experience to LCFC. His experience ranges from collegiate coaching positions at NCAA Divisions I and III, to NAIA, as well as high school and club assignments. Oakley currently coaches for Michigan Jaguars serves as their Talent Identification Scout for MLS Next programs, and College Recruitment Coordinator. 

“The hard work of many set the club on solid footing in year one in many ways, not least of which was getting results on the field,” continued Oakley. “Our Common goal for the second year is simple: improve upon the first year, and all of us knows exactly what that means for the club.” 

Oakley has coached All-American soccer players at every institution he has served, and of the college and club players he’s worked with, over a half dozen have been drafted and/or signed to play at the next level. 

Originally from Illinois, Oakley has called the Lansing area home for more than a decade.

This week, Oakley was interviewed on the podcast The Robin Needed a Podcast, to talk about his return to Lansing Common. You can listen to that interview here, or find it in your regular podcast feed.

Our annual meeting took place on October 10 at Ozone’s and was a resounding success.  We had many members participating either in person or virtually and contributing to that process. For those who weren’t able to attend, here are a few highlights: 

• Board and Officer Elections – The 2022 Lansing Common FC Board is:
  • Eric Walcott – President
  • Geoff Sykes – Vice President
  • Steve Beckman – Secretary
  • Josh Pugh – Treasurer
  • Jay Biggs
  • Scott Oberlander
  • Erika Weadock

• Women’s Soccer – The membership supported a motion to begin planning to launch a women’s team no sooner than 2023. This does not mean that we are committed to launching a team in 2023, but that we are committed to that being part of our future and will take active steps to prepare for that.
• Board Terms – Our bylaws were amended to change Board terms from 2 years to 3 years, with staggered terms. This will allow us to continue to have at least 2 seats up for election every year while ensuring increased stability by not having all 7 members of the board up for election in the same year. 
• Long-term planning – We continued discussion and brainstorming towards long-term goals. Look for more information coming soon on those ideas and how you can be part of that process. 

Looking for Volunteers

As we look towards 2022 and continuing to build this club, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! We have 6 active committees that each provide opportunities for members to volunteer. Whether you can attend every meeting, have some ideas to contribute, or just want to stay connected to what’s going on, we would love to have you join and contribute to helping us grow. 

Our current committees are: 

• Community Outreach
• Communications
• Merchandise
• Sponsorship
• Gameday Operations
• Finance

Anyone interested in being part of a committee should email info@lansingcommonfc.com.

Hello, Lansing Common Football Club fans. I’m Charlie Tuley, and I’ve been helping the Lansing Common coaching staff this summer by doing some analytics and data tracking for the team. I took on this job as an internship gig for credit toward the University of Michigan Sport Management program. As a 2019 graduate of Haslett High School, I’m a proud member of the Lansing community. I, for one, am so happy that there is a men’s football team back in the city of Lansing, and I’m even happier that I could be a part of the club’s inaugural season.

Though it wasn’t my main focus, I spent quite a bit of time tracking all of the shots that Lansing Common took (and had taken against them) this season. At the beginning of the season I had two main goals that I had hoped would come from recording all of the shot locations: to see if the Common players would focus on shooting from certain areas of the pitch more as the season went on, and to create the world’s most basic (yet still functional) Expected Goals model.

For those that aren’t familiar with the Expected Goals concept (or xG as it’s better known), it’s all about calculating the probability that a shot finds the back of the net based on where the shooter is on the field, where the nearest defenders are, and how well the shot was taken. Building an Expected Goals model also requires you to have A LOT of shots (over 1,000), and over the course of the season I only recorded 351. 

Needless to say, I didn’t end up making the xG model, both due to the lack of recorded shots, and the lack of information that I had about each shot (I only made note of the shot’s location, who took it, and who assisted it). However, I still have quite a few interesting takeaways (and some even more interesting visualizations) from the data that I have. It was also very helpful on a game-to-game basis to see where the team gave up shots from and how this shifted throughout the season and with different players in the lineup.

Before I get into it though, I do have to make a disclaimer: I’m missing data from some of the games. Due to the lower-quality video from some of the team’s away matches, I wasn’t able to pull shooting data from their streams. Therefore, everything I talk about for the rest of this article will be excluding data from the away matches against Inter Detroit, Michigan Stars U23, Livonia City FC, and West Michigan Bearings. However, I do have data from three of the four friendlies that the team played, so it evens itself out. 

Creating data visualizations has been a hobby of mine for quite some time, and it’s how I first broke onto the scene of soccer analytics. And while I don’t have anything groundbreaking here (purely because I don’t have the time to manually track every bit of data from every Lansing Common match), the focus of this article will be on the team’s shot maps, which are still very insightful and interesting to look at.

The first shot map that I’ve prepared is very simple- it’s every shot that I recorded this season (for reference, all shot maps will use the same key, found in the bottom-left corner of the image). There’s not a ton that can be taken away from this map, it’s really quite cluttered, other than the Midwest Premier League players as a whole take far too many shots from outside the penalty area. While there is something to be said for teams having to defend differently (more aggressively) when facing a team that shoots from range, the probability of these shots finding the back of the net is quite low.

Let’s filter the data down a bit, shall we? This next map is limited to the shots taken by Lansing Common players this season. As you can see, our Robins are genuinely fantastic at shooting from outside of the penalty area. They’re making me eat my words a bit. Maybe teams should only take shots from outside the box if they have players that are capable of scoring from those positions? Five of the six goals that I recorded from outside of the penalty area came from Lansing Common players. Either they were very good at shooting from range, or our opponents were not. My guess is it’s a bit of both.

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to analyze if the Common players focused their efforts at shooting from certain areas as the season went on. There wasn’t any definitive evidence that the players actively tried to get into certain positions, but this shot map does have a couple of “high intensity areas.” Most notably, the area above the left side of the six-yard box, just to the left of the penalty area, and above the top-right side of the penalty area. While none of these areas yielded many goals for the Robins (aside from the area just outside the six-yard box), it shows that certain Common players did target these locations.

Next, I’ve narrowed down the shots once again. This time we’re only looking at Lansing Common’s top scorer (and fellow Haslett High School alumnus), Shady Omar. While Shady proved that he can score from just about anywhere this season (including brilliant, Cristiano Ronaldo-esque freekicks), he definitely has a niche spot- the right side of the six-yard box. Whether his teammates are finding him with crosses, or he’s acting as a poacher and tapping in loose balls, Shady does quite well at finishing from close range. Also, quick note, I went back and manually pulled Shady’s goals from the matches that had low-quality recordings, so all of his goals (but not all of his shots from those matches) can be seen here.

Finally, I wanted to share a look at the team’s shots taken in the final leg of the game. Below is a visualization of the team’s shots taken after the 75th minute in all of their matches. The squad often waited until late in the game to grab their winning goals, and this graphic really illustrates that.

Many different visuals can be made with the shooting data I’ve recorded, and I don’t want that data to go to waste now that the season’s over. I’m willing to share my spreadsheets with anyone who’s interested, and I’d happily walk them through the Python code that would allow them to manipulate it. Also, I’ll open up a request line if any of the players would be interested in seeing their personal shot maps (or ‘assisted shot maps,’ so players can see the locations of the shots that they assisted). Feel free to shoot me a Twitter direct message at @analyticslaliga, or email me at ctuley@umich.edu.

I want to thank everyone on the board of Lansing Common FC and the coaching staff for allowing me to do this kind of work and for bringing this amazing club into existence and making it function so well in its first season. Most importantly, I want to thank the fans of Lansing Common. Since, above all else, I am a football fan, it’s incredible to know that there are so many like-minded people in the Lansing area. Football is nothing without the fans, and this club has some of the best.

Lansing Common FC concluded their inaugural season with a 2-1 victory over Livonia City FC with goals from midfielder Noah Canlas and forward Shady Omar. Omar scored his 10th goal for the Robins and secured a second-place finish in the Midwest Premier League East Division. 

“We wanted to get a win for the fans, the board, and the entire community,” Omar said. “That was the most important thing.”

The Eastern Illinois University striker became the club’s first double-digit scorer, and his performances this season will be remembered by many.

The Robins were without Aidan O’Connor, Kyle Scott, Ty Usiak, and Ben Derby due to them returning to the Western Michigan Broncos for preseason training. Captain Julian Birge was also absent due to personal reasons. 

The Lansing coaching staff made several changes to their regular starting lineup and placed Ben Meschke at forward alongside Omar to start the game. Meschke scored his first goal for the Robins against LK St. Clair in the previous game.

“I don’t think we were at our complete best [today], but there is something special about a team that continues to win games,” head coach Josh Oakley said.

Canlas opened the scoring in the third minute of the game when a back-heel pass from Meschke set up Canlas to take a first-time strike and put it past the goalkeeper and inside the near post. 

Canlas, who scored the opening goal against Detroit City FC U23 on July 4, was no stranger to getting momentum on his team’s side with an early goal. 

The former Alma College midfielder won the “Toughest Robin Award”, which goes to the player “who always gave 110% on the field, and who displayed the grit and toughness that would make any Lanstronaut proud all season long.”

Then, at the 11th-minute mark, Omar took advantage of a defensive mistake by Livonia that gave him a clear lane to goal. With a quick breakaway past two defenders, Omar used his left foot to comfortably fire the ball to the goalkeeper’s lower-left corner, making it 2-0.

“We have to do everything we can to get the win,” was Omar’s message to his teammates during the game. 

Livonia made it 2-1 in the 42nd minute when a deflected cross from Griffin Storr found its way to Patrick Smith, who volleyed it past Lansing goalkeeper Zac Kelly. 

At halftime, the Robins subbed on Esteban Russell and Nick Robinson for Dante Morrissette and Josh Adam. Robinson, who made his debut against LK St. Clair, played significant minutes for the Robins in the final 45 minutes of the season. 

The best chance of the second half came at the 47th minute when a cross from Munir Sherali found Omar near the penalty spot, but his shot went over the goal. 

Possession was split evenly for the majority of the second half, but Lansing was testing Livonia’s defense more as the game progressed.

“I am so excited for what we can and will do for this club in the future,” said Oakley. 

Lansing had an opportunity to make it 3-1 in the 67th minute when midfielder Trevor Towghi’s right-footed shot on a counterattack was put just wide of the post. 

Then in the 80th minute, captain Marco Bernardini received a standing ovation as he was subbed off for Owen Swan. The veteran midfielder was announced as the next head coach of Spring Arbor University’s men’s soccer program, and he bid farewell to the Lansing crowd. 

“A lot of them [players] were old relationships that were rekindled,” said Oakley. “So the chance to coach a lot of these men again was an unbelievable experience.” 

With a second-place finish in the MWPL, the Robins finished with a league record of 10-1-3 and will be invited to compete in the NISA Independent Cup in 2022, as the division’s top independent club. 

“Wins tend to bring communities together and tend to make everyone a little excited about your team,” said Oakley.

Lansing Common FC will complete their inaugural season in the Midwest Premier League with a game against Livonia City FC at Eastern Stadium on Saturday, July 31, 2021. 

“It has been a great season and a great summer,” said head coach Josh Oakley. “We are really happy with it to this point, but there’s work to do.”

Lansing Common (9-1-3, 28 points in 13 GP) officially clinched second place in the East Division after games against Michigan Stars FC’s U23s and LK St. Clair last weekend. The second-place finish earned the Robins an invitation to the 2022 NISA Independent Cup as the division’s top independent club. 

Livonia City FC (2-3-8, 9 points in 13 GP) is coming off consecutive losses in the 2021 NISA Independent Cup, including a 10-0 defeat at the hands of Detroit City FC’s professional team on Wednesday night. The first meeting between these two clubs ended in a 2-1 victory for Lansing Common on the road after the Robins were able to withstand Livonia’s second-half attack. 

“It was a close match last time, but it maybe didn’t have to be close,” said Oakley. “We eked it out and it became close. Hopefully this time we can get back to those fast starts that we haven’t really seen in the recent past.”

Last Friday against Michigan Stars FC’s U23s, it took the Robins 93 minutes to score, while on Sunday it took 35 minutes for Lansing to find the back of the net. The Robins have not been able to capitalize on early chances recently and have conceded the first goal in three out of their last four games. 

This weekend will provide Lansing with another challenge as the roster will be missing some regular starters due to the upcoming collegiate soccer season. The Robins will be without forward Ty Usiak and defenders Aidan O’Connor and Kyle Scott, who have all since left the team to return to Western Michigan University. Lansing will also be without the services of midfielder Julian Birge.

“Even last week we had a hard situation with the forfeit game, but we kept the game and we played. I can’t say that it was a bad decision. We needed that game,” said Oakley. “Some of our guys that have had very limited minutes to that point for the last month, they got minutes. Some of those guys will be called upon in this last game.”

Though there is still one more game to be played, Thursday’s final training session proved to be the perfect setting to take a moment of reflection on an eventful and productive season. 

“You are never going to forget your first group of guys,” said Oakley. “These guys have been more than special, to be the first group of Lansing Common players, and the first team to have success on and off the field. I couldn’t be happier and I am so proud of them.” 

Kickoff for Saturday’s season finale at Eastern Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Tickets are available for $5 at https://app.gopassage.com/events/lansing-common-jul31

Matchweek Fourteen saw the hunt for second place come to an end when Lansing Common clinched the spot with a perfect weekend. Though the Robins earned six points from the two games they played last weekend, the pressure was on as the teams from West Michigan made their last-ditch efforts. 

Lansing Common’s 93rd-minute winner against Michigan Stars U23s started the weekend off in dramatic fashion. With one point separating second and third place, both Lansing Common and West Michigan Bearings needed victories to keep their hopes for a cup berth alive. After West Michigan dispatched BiH on Saturday, the Robins were awarded three points due to an LK St. Clair forfeit on Sunday to secure second place and a 2022 NISA Independent Cup invitation. 

Five teams will be in action this weekend as the 2021 season comes to a close. With three games in the span of two days, every club that takes the pitch will be looking to end their summer with a victory. 

Here is your Matchweek Fifteen preview for the Midwest Premier League’s East Division. 

Last week’s results 

Lansing Common FC def. Michigan Stars FC U23 (1-0)

Lansing Common kicked off Matchweek Fourteen with a dramatic 1-0 finish at Eastern Stadium on Friday Night. After a 45-minute rain delay, it took the Robins a full 90 minutes plus stoppage time to net the game’s only goal. Midfielder Marco Bernardini’s cross into the penalty area found the foot of forward Shady Omar who blasted the ball into the top-left corner of the goal in the third minute of added time. The win gave Lansing another three points toward their effort to lock up second place in the East Division. 

West Michigan Bearings def. BiH Grand Rapids (3-1)

Saturday’s action began with the second installment of the Grand Rapids Derby when the West Michigan Bearings earned a 3-1 victory in Kentwood. Ian Adams and Bobby McCaw got on the scoresheet to help the Bearings build a 3-0 lead. BiH scored a consolation goal, but the Bearings took the full three points to split the season series between the Grand Rapids sides. 

BiH Grand Rapids def. Inter Detroit (2-1)

BiH handed Inter Detroit their second-consecutive defeat in the final match of the season for the club from Auburn Hills. BiH won the first meeting between these two clubs 3-1, but this time around it took a 90th-minute goal to secure the full three points for the home side. 

Lansing Common FC def. LK St. Clair (3-0 forfeit)

The final game of Matchweek Fourteen was decided before a ball was kicked when LK St. Clair forfeited their game against Lansing Common due to an insufficient number of registered players. However, LK was able to secure enough players to participate in a friendly against a Lansing team that saw a lot of squad rotation. The ensuing game was all LK as rising Holt High School senior Guershom Sylvain scored four goals to lead St. Clair to a 4-1 victory. Sylvain found himself on the pitch after LK reached out to Lansing-area players in an effort to field a full 11-man squad. Ben Meschke scored the only goal for the Robins, who locked up second place and an invitation to the 2022 NISA Independent Cup due to Detroit City FC’s U23s being ineligible as an affiliate program.

This week’s fixtures

West Michigan Bearings vs. Michigan Stars FC U23 (July 31, 2021, 1:00 p.m.)

The final Matchweek of the 2021 season will begin on Saturday afternoon on the west side of the state when Michigan Stars FC’s U23s take on the West Michigan Bearings. The Bearings are on a three-game winning streak and coming off a 3-1 victory in last weekend’s Grand Rapids Derby. The Stars are coming off a 1-0 loss in Lansing and lost their first matchup against the Bearings 6-2. The Bearings will be looking for a home win to finish their inaugural season on a high note. 

Lansing Common FC vs. Livonia City FC (July 31, 2021, 6:00 p.m.)

The Robins of Lansing Common will conclude their 2021 season when they host Livonia City in Saturday’s nightcap. Lansing has already secured second place in the East Division and will be looking for a good performance in front of their home crowd. Livonia will be coming off a pair of tough losses to FC Buffalo and DCFC’s first team in this year’s NISA Independent Cup. Both teams will be looking to end their season with a victory and an eye towards better things to come next year. 

BiH Grand Rapids vs. Michigan Stars FC U23 (August 1, 2021, 1:00 p.m.)

BiH and Michigan Stars feature in the final game of the East Division when BiH hosts the Stars in Kentwood. BiH won last week’s match against Inter Detroit 2-1, while the Stars have not earned a full three points since the end of May. The two teams drew 1-1 in their first matchup two weeks ago and will be looking to end their respective seasons with a good result. 

Standings

1. Detroit City FC U23 (13-0-1, 39 points in 14 GP)
2. Lansing Common FC (9-1-3, 28 points in 13 GP)
3. West Michigan Bearings (7-3-3, 24 points in 13 GP)
4. BiH Grand Rapids (6-2-5, 20 points in 13 GP)
5. Michigan Stars FC U23 (4-4-4, 16 points in 12 GP)
6. Livonia City FC (2-3-8, 9 points in 13 GP)
7. Inter Detroit (1-5-8, 8 points in 14 GP)
8. LK St. Clair (1-2-11, 5 points in 14 GP)