Lansing City Football begins third season with roster full of known returners and intriguing newcomers
Lansing City Football options its season at home at 7 p.m. Saturday at Okemos High School against Midwest United. Here’s a look at this year’s team, season and schedule:
The skinny
It’s taken Lansing City Football a couple years to build an identity and understand exactly what it takes to compete in USL League Two. Head coach Marco Bernardini believes the club is there in terms of momentum and roster recruitment.
“We know who we are a little bit more,” Bernardini said. “And for us, that means that we can assemble a team better and we're aware of the level of the league, we know what we're getting into.”
Lansing City finished last season 4-4-4, but closed well after a bumpy few weeks in the middle of the season. From that group, they’ve got a number of players they can lean on, but Lansing City is replacing the bulk of its starting attacking group, including Nathan Ntalu, who signed with North Carolina FC after last season. The replacements, however, are fairly intriguing and well-known, including returners Jack Guggemos and Guershom Sylvain.
Beyond them, keep an eye on forward Sam Dolopaipu, who Bernardini saw play against his Spring Arbor University team in the college season. Dolopaipu is a sizable forward, originally from Libera. Another promising forward is Sahel Yessen, who hasn’t played any college soccer yet, but was among the best rookies in USL2 last season, playing for South Bend.
“We think the combination of those young guys and the older guys to show them the way is a really great mix to have and to help them develop and build a really a cohesive team that's on the same page and playing exciting football,” Bernardini said. “That’s great for the Lansing area to see.”
In terms of trying to finish at the top of the table …
“We we want to win, but the reason why we do this is to improve the players,” Bernardini said. “The guys that come play for us, hopefully they can have opportunities in the future or improve in a certain way that they're ready for opportunities in the future. That's what it's all about for us.”
Players to watch
Lansing City has a good mix of key returners and promising newcomers. Among them: Goalkeeper Zac Kelly (Michigan State, Holt), defender Josh Adam (MSU, Brighton), and midfielders Jack Zugay (MSU, Ann Arbor) and Jack Guggemos (MSU, Okemos), forward Guershom Sylvain (Detroit Mercy, Lansing), as well as defender Aiden Messinger (Spring Arbor, Ottawa, Ontario), James DeCosmo (Aquinas women’s head coach), forward Jeff Victoria (Spring Arbor, Edmonton, Alberta). Midfielder Jack Beck (MSU, DeWitt), who played with Lansing City two years ago, is back after spending last season with Lansing Common.
Newcomers to keep an eye on include 6-foot-4 forward Sam Dolopaipu (Huntington University), 19-year-old Sahel Yessen, who was nominated for USL2 Rookie of the Year last season in South Bend, and David Magalhães, an accomplished Portuguese international futsal player. Also on this season's roster is Zach Carroll, a former MSU player, who just finished an eight-year pro career.
The schedule
(Home games, played at Okemos High School, in bold)
May 11: Midwest United, 7 p.m.
May 17: At Kalamazoo FC, 7 p.m.
May 22: Michiana Lions, 7 p.m.
May 25: At Flint City Bucks, 7 p.m.
May 28: Union FC, 7 p.m.
June 1: At Oakland County, 7 p.m.
June 8: At Michiana Lions (South Bend), 7 p.m.
June 15: Flint City Bucks, 7 p.m.
June 21: Kalamazoo FC, 7 p.m.
June 26: At Midwest United (Grand Rapids), 7:30 p.m.
June 29: AFC Ann Arbor, 7 p.m.
July 3: Oakland County 7 p.m.
July 6: Union FC (Macomb), 6 p.m.
July 12: At AFC Ann Arbor, 7 p.m.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing City Football begins third season with an intriguing roster
