Year: 2022

Lansing Common FC’s opening weekend didn’t go as originally planned, but the club and its supporters made the most of the schedule shakeup.

In place of a cancelled matchup against Ann Arbor FC, Lansing Common hosted a Community Soccer Kickoff night, welcoming fans to Eastern Stadium for a few different events. 

Giving back to the community

Collecting donations from fans throughout the night, Lansing Common FC raised $1,477 for the Mikey23 Foundation, a Lansing-based charity. 

“We improve the lives of young people through innovative education and training in the area of skilled trades,” is part of the foundation’s mission statement. Mikey23 was started to honor the memory of Michael McKissic II, who was shot and killed in 2015. 

“Our motto is very simple: instead of picking up a gun to commit gun violence in your community, pick up a hammer and build up your community,” said Mikey23 founder Michael McKissic.

More information about Mikey23 can be found on its website, where you can also donate. 

The night’s events

The night started with an open training session, followed by a team scrimmage. 

“It was massive for us to get some type of a day together, ” said Head Coach Josh Oakley. “To have an event like this that doesn’t necessarily put the stress on the mental side of things, it was great. … (it) worked out better than I could have ever thought.”

After the 11v11 scrimmage, folks from all over Lansing participated in a celebrity soccer scrimmage. Highlights included goals scored by Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, the Lansing State Journal’s Phil Friend and WLNS Reporter Ian Kress. 

The event concluded with a meet-and-greet with this year’s players. 

Up next for the Robins

With the matchup against Ann Arbor FC canceled, the Robins’ home opener will now be on May 21. LCFC will welcome Midwest Premier League newcomers Tulip City United SC to Eastern Stadium at 6 p.m. But first, the season officially kicks off with a road game this Saturday, May 14, when Lansing Common FC travels to Pat Patterson Stadium in East Kentwood to take on BiH Grand Rapids as part of the inaugural Grand River Ope!n Cup. Tickets are only $5 and available for sale online or at the gate.  

To our fans,

Nine months is a long time. It’s been nine long months since over 500 of you joined us for our final game of the 2021 season. In just 5 days we’ll welcome you back to Eastern Stadium for the first game of our 2022 season and WE. CAN’T. WAIT. 

Nine months is a long time without all of you at our home stadium and seeing some of the best young soccer talent this great city has to offer. We’ve been missing it, but we’ve also been busy. 

Here are some of the things we’ve been up to since last season ended:

• Last October, the board, along with some members, worked on a long-term strategic plan, identifying goals that will drive the future growth of this club
• In November we held elections for our new board term, saying goodbye to Cameron Tanner and thanking him for his great work, while welcoming Erika Weadock and Dean Jong to the board. 
• We prepared meal packages so local students wouldn’t go hungry over the weekend, partnering with Blessings in a Backpack.
• Last fall we donated soccer goals and balls to Pattengill Elementary to help them transform a vacant field into a soccer field for their students. 
• We donated nearly $3,000 to the Refugee Development Center, St Vincent’s Refugee Resettlement Programs, Greater Lansing Food Bank, and One Love Global, to support the incredible efforts these organizations contribute to our community.
• We’ve continued our commitment to encouraging volunteerism, organizing multiple park cleanups throughout the City, including a volunteer event yesterday with members of our team at Potter Park Zoo. 
• We continued our work to break down barriers to soccer for all, donating over $2,000 to help 43 kids participate in Lansing Parks and Rec soccer this spring at no cost to their families. No kid should be excluded from playing just because they can’t afford a registration fee. 

None of this would be possible without the support of our members and fans. Whether you support these efforts by volunteering your time, being a member, or coming to games and buying our merchandise, your support helps us make a difference in our community. 

We can’t wait to welcome you back to Eastern Stadium this Saturday and we’re looking forward to even more of you joining us this summer and throughout the year as we keep working to make Lansing a stronger community for all of us. 

This community is a special place to so many of us. We’re excited to celebrate Lansing by putting a team full of players from the Lansing area to represent this community. We hope you’ll join us, on Saturday at our home opener, and year-round as you help us celebrate our community both on and off the field by giving back. 

See you soon,

The Board

Today Lansing Common FC announced its schedule for the 2022 season. Lansing Common will open its season on May 7 as the club hosts Ann Arbor FC at Lansing Eastern Stadium. The club’s first home Midwest Premier League match will follow on May 21, also at home. 

Lansing Common will compete in the Midwest Premier League East Division, which includes 10 other Michigan-based teams. In addition to LCFC, the East division includes BiH Grand Rapids, Cedars FC, Detroit Union, Grand Haven Admirals, Inter Detroit, Livonia City FC, Michigan Jaguars FC, Michigan Stars FC, Tulip City United SC, and West Michigan Bearings. Teams will face each other once throughout the season for a 10 match regular season. The team at the top of the standings at the end of the season will be the Division Champion. 

The 2022 schedule includes matches against MWPL newcomers such as Cedars FC on June 18, and returning teams like Inter Detroit on July 26. Lansing Common will also host Tulip City United on July 1st in the inaugural Grand River Open Cup. 

“I am looking forward to another summer coaching Lansing Common and navigating this schedule the only way I know how – one game at a time,” said Lansing Common Head Coach Josh Oakley. “We will work tirelessly to pursue excellence with this hungry group of players. Great attitude and consistency will be our targets, and sometimes with a young team, that will take constant reminding that performance with us must, and will, always follow our collective attitudes.”

“Everyone at the club is thrilled to welcome fans back to Eastern Stadium this spring,” said Eric Walcott, President of Lansing Common FC. “We’re excited to continue to introduce new fans to the club, continue making a positive impact in our community, and put on a good show on the field.”

In addition to its 10 league matches, Lansing Common’s schedule includes the May 7 friendly against Ann Arbor FC, at least 2 matches in the Grand River Open Cup, and at least one additional home match to be announced in the coming weeks. 

Lansing Common home games will be played at Eastern High School Stadium. A complete 2022 Lansing Common schedule can be found at lansingcommonfc.com. Memberships for the 2022 season are still available through the team website, and single-game tickets can be purchased through Passage, the Official Ticketing Partner of the Midwest Premier League.

This spring and summer six Michigan soccer clubs will compete in the inaugural Grand River Open Cup. The competition, named for the river that connects the communities these clubs represent, will feature Midwest Premier League clubs BiH Grand Rapids, Grand Haven Admirals, Lansing Common FC, Tulip City United SC, and West Michigan Bearings will be joined by USL2’s Midwest United in the competition, which is organized by the participating clubs. 

Teams have been drawn into two groups of three and will play each team in their group one time. The winners of each group will advance to the final, which will be held in July. 

Playing in Group A: BiH Grand Rapids, Lansing Common FC, Tulip City United SC.

Playing in Group B: Grand Haven Admirals, Midwest United, West Michigan Bearings.

The full schedule for group play can be found below. Tickets to each match will be available for purchase from the home team. 

Group A Matches (home team listed first)

• BiH Grand Rapids vs. Lansing Common FC – May 14, 7pm
• Tulip City United vs. BiH Grand Rapids – June 15, 7pm
• Lansing Common FC vs Tulip City United – July 1, 7pm

Group B Matches (home team listed first)

• Midwest United vs. West Michigan Bearings – May 12, 8pm
• West Michigan Bearings vs. Grand Haven Admirals – May 25, 7pm
• Grand Haven Admirals vs. Midwest United – June 22, 7:30 pm

Today, Lansing Common officially becomes a member of the Anti-Racist Soccer Club (ARSC) coalition. Lansing Common is a club for the community, built by the community, and dedicated to celebrating the rich soccer culture in the Lansing area by combining soccer with impact in our community.

We know that without actively engaging in the work of anti-racism we cannot be the force for the good we strive to be. We also know the history of businesses and sports teams making empty proclamations and hollow commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. That’s why it’s important to us that accountability is part of the ARSC process, and that our 10-point plan is a public document, as well as an invitation for people in our community to join us in our efforts, let us know whose work we can amplify and support, and let us know when we’re falling short.

When Lansing Common announced last summer that the club was seeking community input to inform its plan as part of membership in the ARSC coalition, the club received responses from all across Lansing and the region. To the Board, and the committed group of members and volunteers who spent the following months turning that input into a 10-point plan to guide Lansing Common’s actions as part of the coalition, this was reinforcement that fans and people across the community are committed to working towards change and see the role that sports can play in combating racism in our communities.

“We are really excited to work with Lansing Common,” said ARSC Co-founder Brandon Miller. They are an organization that have shown a commitment to serving their community and using their platform as an organization to be a positive influence in the soccer space. I can’t wait to see more organizations like them join the coalition!”

The 10-point plan is not an end, it’s a beginning. As goals are met and new opportunities present themselves, the items in the plan may shift, but our commitment is to work alongside our players, our staff, our members, and our community to understand and address racism and its impacts in soccer and our community. You can read our 10-point plan on our website, and please contact us on social media or by email with questions, ideas, or to get involved.

As part of our ARSC membership, one of our home games this season will be ARSC Night at Lansing Common. This will be an opportunity to learn more about ARSC and opportunities to engage in our work as members of the coalition. The event will also feature a Juneteenth event in partnership with Black-led organizations and Black-led small businesses from Lansing, honoring Juneteenth and sharing opportunities to support local Juneteenth celebrations.

Lansing Common FC will kick off the 2022 season on May 7 at 6:00 PM at Eastern Stadium, as they take on Ann Arbor FC. The match will mark the start of Lansing Common’s second season, after a successful 2021 season in which the Robins went 10-1-3 to finish 2nd in the Midwest Premier League East Division.

The Robins will compete in the Midwest Premier League in 2022. They will be joined in the East Division by Livonia City FC, Michigan Stars, Inter Detroit, Cedars FC, Michigan Jaguars, BiH Grand Rapids, West Michigan Bearings, Tulip City United, Detroit Union, and the Grand Haven Admirals. The full MWPL schedule will be announced later this spring. 

Lansing Common will again play home games at Lansing Eastern Stadium, located at 400 N Pennsylvania Ave in Lansing, and tickets for all home games will be just $5. Tickets to the home opener are now on sale by clicking here. Anyone wishing to join the club as a member, which includes a season ticket, can do so by visiting the team’s Membership page. 

The club has announced the first 8 players that will make up its 2022 roster and will be holding open tryouts in March for interested players. Tryouts will take place on March 6 and 27 at Eastern Stadium. Interested players should visit the registration page for more information. 

Lansing Common FC announced their first signings of the 2022 season today, bringing back two key players from their successful 2021 season and adding a local high school standout. 

Returning to The Robins for the 2022 season are captain Julian Birge (East Lansing/Alma College) and Munir Sherali (Haslett/Eastern Illinois University). Birge and Sherali were instrumental in seeing Lansing Common go 10-1-3 and finish 2nd in the Midwest Premier League in their inaugural season. Birge was second on the team with 7 goals. 

On Birge’s return to the Robins, Head Coach Josh Oakley said: “How vital is it to have a first-class leader back with your group? To me, it’s a must-have, and I am so grateful that our captain returns for us. As our team gets a little younger this year, Jules remains that force that will drive us forward on the field and off.”

“Munir was our best player in the first month of last year,” Oakley said of Sherali. “He was sharp in training, great on the ball, and just as good without it. We will be counting on him to provide even more for our team this year, starting with an important helping of leadership. He knows what we are after here, and as he helps us take aim at it, I expect him to be in great form all summer long.”

Also joining Lansing Common this summer is Holt standout Guershom Sylvain, who earned First Team All-State honors this past season and is committed to play for Detroit Mercy in the fall. 

“I think everyone associated with our club and community is as excited as I am to welcome this young man to our team,” continued Oakley. “His gifts and talent are obvious, and I can’t wait to get started working with Guershom. We are a team that really likes to score goals and I am confident he can do that and more for Lansing Common in his first year with us.”

In 2022, Lansing Common looks to maintain our historic emphasis on building a roster primarily of players from the Lansing area. The club kicks off its second season in early May, and we will again play our home games at Eastern Stadium on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing. 

Players interested in joining Lansing Common FC for the 2022 season should visit the team website for details on upcoming opportunities to learn more about the club, including tryouts on March 6 and March 27.