AFC Columbia will be competing for their second win of the season against Southside FC in the team’s first home game of the year. The battle will be held at Marvin Owens Stadium on May 30 at 7:30 p.m..
AFCC sits at 3rd out of 6 teams in the Gateway West Division with 1 win and 1 loss. A win this week would be huge for season momentum, and would keep the teams playoff hopes thriving.
Meanwhile Southside FC is not having a favorable start to the season, they dropped their first two games of the year, including a 2-1 loss to AFCC’s lone win, Great Plains FC.
Southside FC is bringing up the rear in the division, and look to nab their first victory of the year.
Head Coach Chris Miller knows that the goal for this matchup is simple.
“We need to play with the level of skill and enthusiasm that rivals the excitement of playing our first league home game,” Miller said. “This is a results-based league and getting three points at home is crucial.”
He notes that the home opener has been a big focus for the organization.
“We put a lot of effort to make a professional environment for the players, fans, opponents and anyone else associated with the club, so a beautiful night with a full set of stands watching us play at a high level would be a great way to kick things off for us,” Miller said.
AFC Columbia stayed busy during their week of no MWPL matches. On May 21, they faced 314 SC in a non-conference game.
The game served as a great opportunity to give a lot of players quality minutes against excellent competition, which has been one of the teams biggest aims of the summer according to Miller.
AFCC ended up on top in a 3-2 victory that took place in Forest Park STL.
“Anytime you get to play against someone else and see how your training has been going is a blessing,” Miller said. “We’ve worked hard to give our players purposeful sessions and seeing them implement them against opponents has been extremely rewarding.”
Along with the non-conference matchup, AFCC traveled to Illinois on May 28 to face Ehtar Belleville FC in a friendly scrimmage.
Coach Miller stated that they took 20 players, who all got to play solid minutes in the contest.
“Both teams greatly benefited from it {the scrimmage},” Miller noted “Neither team worried about results, but used it to give us a litmus test before the season ahead.”