With 19 points, Stars just ahead of Cedars FC, Jaguars and Liquid Football
WASHINGTON TWP., Mich. – The league lead for the tight Midwest Premier League-Great Lakes East Division is with the Stars.
As in the Michigan Stars.
For the time being.
The host Michigan Stars made some second-half adjustments Friday and mounted a comeback before earning a 2-1 victory over the Michigan Jaguars at the Michigan Stars Complex.
The win gave the Stars the three points to move into sole possession in the Great Lakes East Division with 19 points.
The Stars (6-1-1) entered the night in a three-way tie for first in the 10-team division as the Stars, Jaguars and Liquid Football all had 16 points with Cedars FC sitting in fourth with 14 points. Liquid Football did not play Friday, while Cedars FC posted a 4-3 victory over Inter Detroit to gain three points and jettisoned into second place behind the Stars.
Liquid Football is idle until Tuesday with a home game against Inter Detroit.
“It was a great comeback,” admitted Stars coach Angelo Grillo. “We made a bunch of changes at the half and that really helped us.”
Even though the Stars held a 8-6 shots advantage in the first half, the Michigan Jaguars did get behind the Stars defense several times in the opening half.
Vincent Stockton (University of Detroit-Mercy) scored in the 32nd minute to put the Jaguars (5-3-1) up 1-0, sneaking in behind the defense for a breakaway goal. Ryan Sanborn (Detroit-Mercy) slotted a perfect pass between two defenders and Stockton raced onto it before blasting home his shot past Stars goalkeeper Marko Matovski.
The Stars made some adjustments at the half and were able to post an 8-4 shots advantage in the second half – plus score a pair of goals to take the lead before holding on to snare the victory and the all-too-important three points from the Jaguars.
After a Stars player was tripped up just a strike inside the box on the right side, Babacar Sene nailed his penalty kick to level the game-up in the 58th minute.
The Michigan Stars continued to press the Jaguars back line which resulted in the go-ahead and game-winning goal in the 82nd minute.
After the ball was sent into the box by Gjon Melakuqi (Northwood Soccer), the ball bounded around the box before Richard Humphrey collected the loose ball in traffic and poked one home from eight yards out with just over eight minutes plus stoppage time to play.
The Jaguars did have one more chance in stoppage time to tie the game, but misfired on that attack to drop back into third place in the four-team race.
“We made a lot of tactical changes. We put in some of our better players with fresh legs into the game in the second half and that made a big difference,” added Grillo. “
The Stars have now outscored the opposition 20-8 this season for a plus-12 margin, have posted a 1.00 goals-against-average, have averaged 2.50 goals-per-game offensively, posted a .750 win percentage and have averaged 2.38 points-per-match to go along with their 19 points. The side has now defeated the Michigan Jaguars
The Michigan Stars have two more games to be played both on the rod this week. The Stars will play Futsal Factory on July 16 at Dexter High School and then FC Pontiac on July 18 at United Wholesale Mortgage in Pontiac.
“We have to go on the road for our last two (games), but we know what we have to do,” added Grillo, insinuating that six points will be needed to win the division.
The loss dropped the Jaguars down to 5-3-1 in the Great Lakes East Division and remained with the 16 total points in the division. The Jaguars have outscored their opposition 18-13 for a plus-5 margin over nine games, have averaged 2.00 goals-per-game offensively, allowed 1.45 goals against, have a .556 win percentage and a points-per-match average of 1.78.
The Jaguars still have a make-up game with Liquid Football that to be made up down the stretch. That game was originally scheduled for May 28.
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