Kalamazoo FC Falls Short against Grand Rapids FC

By Andrew Streitel/Kalamazoo FC

Kalamazoo FC suffered its first loss of the season as they fell to Grand Rapids FC 2-1 on Friday night.  Nils Valdmanis was able to score his first goal of the season late in the match.

Friday night was yet another important match for KZFC in their race for a playoff spot.  Grand Rapids FC came into the match ranked 13th in the latest National Premier Soccer League power rankings and second place in the conference.

The first half was not pretty, as both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively.  However, both defenses were playing well stopping every attack that came their way. The first half was mostly back and forth until the 40th minute when GRFC would score their first goal of the game.

“We struggled a little bit to get out of first gear and were very sloppy,” said head coach Brian Clements. “Grand Rapids broke up our play very well and a lot of credit goes to them.”

A turnover by the KZFC defense led to a 3-on-2 that GRFC was able to capitalize on.  James Decosemo was able to slot the ball into the bottom right corner. KZFC goalkeeper Isaac Walker, made some nice saves to finish the half and KZFC went into halftime with a 1-0 deficit.

After a good first 10 minutes of the second half for KZFC, GRFC was able to find their second goal of the night.  TJ Ifaturoti used his speed to break down the right side of the field and placed his shot in the left corner of the net.  GRFC would able to hold most of the possession in the next 15 minutes until KZFC would make things interesting and score a goal of their own.

With his first touch of the game, Valdmanis, finished a pass that was slotted back to the middle of the box.  After erasing the two-goal deficit to one, KZFC would raise their intensity trying to find the equalizer. KZFC was not able to find the tying goal and would lose the match 2-1.

“This loss was a massive eye opener for us tonight,” said Clements. “Our ability to move off the ball and keep the ball are things we still need to work on.”

Photo Credit: Gary Maystead