Columbus Start the NAPFL Season on the Road Against Lansing City
Columbus is set for a 7pm kick-off tonight at Aim High Sports against Lansing City for the first game of the North American Premier League (NAPFL) season. The NAPFL is an amateur league in the Midwestern part of the US consisting of teams from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Columbus, Ann Arbor and Chicago.
Tonight's match will be the third time Columbus and Lansing have faced off this year (2017). The two teams have been up against each other twice, during the 2016-17 season. Columbus has yet to defeat the Lansing City team in those two match-ups although they have been some of the most electrifying games you'll ever witness.
This is Lansing City's home opener coming off a road match win against Grand Rapids ABK last week over Thanksgiving and they are expecting a record breaking crowd.
Columbus will host their home opener against Lansing on December 30th, 2017 with details TBD.
Tonight's roster consist of new and veteran players on the Columbus squad. Starting 5 are all returning players from last season. This is the first game for the Columbus Futsal team since ending the Major League Futsal (MLF) season in May.
"Preseason practice has gone extremely well for the team and I'm eager to see some of the new playing style that has been implemented and have a good idea of where we stand as a unit", said Dante Garcia before the team left Columbus today.
Captains: Braxton Snavley, Gui Karaoglan.
Both of whom play the Pivo position so it will be interesting to see how Coach Dante Garcia will start off the players for this match. Either Snavley or Karaoglan may need to drop into the Fixo position with Garcia and Pelletier on the wing.
Goleiro: Lucas Marques. Lucas has been with the Columbus Futsal team since the 2016 USAF Nationals.
Follow on Twitter: @ColumbusFutsal @LansingCity No live streaming will be available for this match.
The Story
City and Columbus have faced off twice, once in Lansing and once in Columbus. City won both of the intense futsal matches Both games against Columbus were a sight to see. Columbus plays a controlled, disciplined, and defensively stout game. City plays the exact opposite style of futsal. A high flying attacking style that proved to be a very interesting combination with Columbus. Get ready for a battle.
STARTING 5
No. Name
1 Dante Garcia
2 Braxton Snavley
7 Jaie Pelletier
14 Gui Karaoglan
12 Lucas Marques - GK
SUBSTITUTES
No. Name
11 Diego Valdez
6 Oscar Carvajal
10 Skyler Kamp
99 Hamza Belasari
5 Jamie Rooke
43 Jon Perger
4 Trevor Lewis - GK
Reserve (Did not travel)
No. Name
33 Mo Abubakar
13 Peter Darko
9 Alex Cottle
3 Brennan Williams
8 Zak Boggs
25 Jeremy Manus
21 Luke Klatt
0 Ygor Talasca - GK
