Top Detroit Soccer Stories of 2008

Hello, all! It's been a while since I restructured this blog, and have spent more time on the calendar and link functionalities, instead of posting, but now the Holiday crush is over, and I am ready to post on a semi-regular basis. To start, here are my top-10 Detroit soccer stories of 2008, in no particular order. (And, no, I didn't set out to get 10, or to mimic an MLS writer's "First XI" format; I just started writing, and ended up with this.)

1. Ultimate Soccer Arenas Opens

The Michigan Bucks moved into the newly-constructed site, with the potential of making a much-needed "home" of soccer in the area. Yes, there were quite a bit of growing pains, as the Bucks had set aside their strategy of "flex scheduling" their matches all over the region (and state, with even one game played at Columbus Crew Stadium). The Bucks have also hosted college games at the Ultimate, and high school teams play there. And needless to say, the center has also been a boon to youth programs.

2. Bucks Crash Out of Playoffs

Honestly, the one team that I didn't want to meet in the playoffs, were the improving Kalamazoo Outrage. The Bucks had struggled their way into the second season, but it wasn't without worry...see below.

3. Bucks Ace Regular Season

The Bucks ended up the regular-season champions of the entire Premier Development League, although some late-season results (especially some draws against some middle-ground opponents), they ended up in first. And it caused a quirky scenario where the Toronto Lynx side had to lose to the Bucks in the last game, in order for the Canadians to make the playoffs while giving the Bucks the top seed.

4. Bucks Open Cup Loss in First Round

For the second straight season, the Bucks caught the wrong end of the draw, matching up against a powerful USL pro team in the form of the Cleveland City Stars. I always dislike it when ping-pong balls, instead of soccer balls, are more important in determining a tournament result. The Bucks goal of matching up against an MLS side got an early crash-out.

5. College Tournament Contests

I froze my way through the Oakland U-Ohio State NCAA clash in Rochester, where the Golden Grizzlies outplayed the Ohioans (where I had to keep telling myself that they are the "Buckeyes," and not the "Bucks") in the Round-of-48 matchup, leading to a nil-all draw followed by a Buckeye PK win. The Grizz's chance to nick a Big Ten side for a second straight year goes away. Elsewhere, Michigan got a R-32 win over Cal-Davis, then bowing to Indiana. Michigan State also took a nil-all PK setback to Illinois-Chicago, and Kentucky's Lindsey Wilson (with several Bucks ties) easily win their NAIA R-32 matchup, but get upset in the second round.

6. Bucks Support Tay-Sachs Funding

Dakota Bihn, a young girl stricken with Tay-Sachs disease had become the focal point of the Bucks charitable efforts, including such programs where fans donated according to the number of Bucks goals. When Dan Duggan's daughter won a volunteerism award, the award money also went to the cause.

7. U.S. Women's National Team Match

U.S. Soccer finally came back to the area after more than a decade, with the USWNT team getting a game at Ford Field. An attendance of 11,000 was about what I expected (given the Detroit economy and the rather high ticket prices), but I was hoping for more. It was the second straight national event (the first being the MSU-North Carolina basketball game) where tickets were overpriced; with some questions arising on if the prices were dictated from the national groups, instead of more input from the local groups. The match itself was quite interesting, with the USA scoring on a rebound, and then holding off a scrappy Chinese rush for the last half-hour. But I doubth, though, that this puts Ford Field on the list for a potential US Mens World Cup qualifier.

8. Detroit Ignition Lose in Playoffs, Leagues Restructured

The pro indoor side once again wins the regular season title, but bow out of the playoffs in the semi-final round after making the finals a year earlier. After that, the league dissolved (under the laudable goal of getting rid of "deadwood" franchises which didn't field a team), but a drawn-out offseason led to the several competing leagues being created, with differing business models, most of which had small smattering of teams. The Ignition ended up in the strangely-named Xtreme Soccer League (with a whole four teams), while a second circuit, the larger (but lower-cost) Professional Arena Soccer League, recruited the Detroit Waza as a member club. Most external observers see the entire situation as a backward step for the indoor game overall.

9. Women's Club Teams Sub-par Performances

Both the W-League's Michigan Hawks, and the Oakland University teams, missed out on their post-season tournaments, after making them the last couple of years. The Hawks had a poor regular season, and the Grizzlies lost out in their conference tournament. I do wish that the women's game got more coverage on a regular basis.

10. Detroit Economy

Mentioned by me a couple of times earlier in this column, this would be item #1 in any Detroit story list, for any topic. Boy, am I glad that the Ultimate was already finished, before the huge Detroit economic (and political) collapses. And I am still watching the proposed baseball stadium in Waterford (because the head of that organization is a soccer guy), and if it were me, I would scrap the building, and just continue their contract to play games at Eastern Michigan.

Welcome to CKD

Corner Kick Detroit will keep you up-to-date on soccer happenings in the Detroit area. Our main focus will be the Michigan Bucks PDL team, and local college teams, but we will branch into high school and senior-level (i.e. non-youth) teams when the need arises.