Bucks' Individual Statistics

Insider 23 July

Playing in their final contest of the season, the Mid Michigan Bucks dropped a disappointing 3-0 decision to the visiting Indiana Invaders at the Alma College football stadium on Sunday. Competing under extremely hot and muggy conditions both teams came out sluggish to begin the game but action picked up, forcing Buck goalie Eric Pogue to stop several golden scoring opportunities of the Invaders. Eventually Indiana was able to slide one by the resilient Pogue to go up 1-0.

A late first half surge by Mid Michigan did not end up successful and the Bucks went into the half down one goal. Coming out of the half the Bucks seemed to swing the momentum to their side, putting pressure on the Invader defense but not registering a score. Soon that would come to haunt the team when Indiana scored to go up 2-0. Despite several more spectacular saves by Pogue in net the Invaders connected on one more score in the closing minutes to close out scoring at 3-0.

With the loss the Bucks end their season at 10-9-1 and conclude their sixth year in existence without a Great Lakes Division championship for the first time.

Insider 13 July

The struggles continued for the Mid Michigan Bucks on Thursday evening as the Bucks dropped a 3-2 decision to the West Michigan Edge in Holland. All five goals in the game came in the first half of play with the Bucks notching one in the 16th minute of action on a goal by Chad Schomaker and an assist by Paul Snape. The next Buck goal came in the 39th minute on an unassisted goal by Kevin Robinson, but three goals by the Edge in the half gave the hosts a 3-2 lead going into the half.

That one-goal advantage would hold up for the Edge in the second half as both teams did not score. The Bucks played well enough to win but struggled to find the back of the net, just as they have for much of the season. Playing a nice game in net for the Bucks was goalie Mike Skolnik, who turned away seven Edge shots in the game.

The Bucks next game is a home contest this Saturday at Plymouth Canton High School versus the Dayton Gemini at 7:30.

Insider 10 July

This coming Saturday, July 14 at Plymouth Canton High School in Plymouth, MI, the Mid Michigan Bucks look to end the regular season on a positive note versus the visiting Dayton Gemini at 7:30. Although not mathematically eliminated from playoff action, the Bucks must win on the road this coming Thursday at Holland versus the West Michigan Edge and again at home on Saturday to even have a chance at the
postseason.

You can pick up your tickets for this Saturday’s game against the Gemini at the Trading Post or Soccer Post for $6. Tickets at the gate are $7 and for those interested in group rates please call Bucks headquarters at 989-781-6888.

Insider 8 July

The Mid Michigan Bucks took on Great Lakes Division leader Chicago Fire Reserves looking to gain some ground in the standings and stay in the hunt for a spot in the Premier Development League playoffs but couldn’t get the job done as they fell 3-1 to the Fire.

Despite controlling play during the first half, the Bucks found themselves in a hole at halftime when a defensive miscue led to a Fire goal in the 44th minute of play.

Showing some resiliency out of the gates in the second half, the Bucks launched an offensive attack early and often and finally came up successful when Ousmane Coulibaly scored on a nice pass from Erik Nelson in the 48th minute to tie things up.

The Bucks continued their dominance for the next 20 minutes of play but just couldn’t notch the go-ahead goal and were eventually dealt a huge blow when the Fire scored in the 76th minute to go up 2-1 in the game. Several other Bucks scoring chances were thwarted in the remaining minutes until the Fire scored one more time on a breakaway in the 89th minute of play to put the game away 3-1.

This coming Thursday the Bucks take on the West Michigan Edge in Holland for rights to second place in the Great Lakes Division. The next home game for the Bucks takes place next Saturday at Plymouth Canton High School versus the Dayton Gemini.

Insider 7 July

The Mid Michigan Bucks took on the West Michigan Edge on the road Friday night, falling to the Edge 2-1. The Bucks looked good early, getting several chances before finally banging one in during the 47th minute on a goal from Pat Noonan and an assist by Paul Snape. The Bucks carried that 1-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half the Bucks failed to convert on some scoring opportunities and eventually paid the price when the Edge came back to post two unanswered goals and steal the game.

Next up for the Bucks is a match-up with the first place Chicago Fire Reserves at Oakland University tomorrow starting at 6:30.

Insider 28 June

In a rematch of last season's second round U.S. Open Cup game, the Mid Michigan Bucks took on the New England Revolution on Wednesday evening with hopes of repeating their feat from a year before. The Revolution on the other hand, had a different idea and quickly erased thoughts of another upset by jumping out to a 4-1 lead at the half and cruising to a 7-1 win over the Bucks at Foxboro Stadium.

The injury-plagued Bucks battled hard early and after a Revolution goal in the fifth minute of play, came back to tie the game at 1-1 in the 11th minute on a goal from Paul Snape and an assist by goalie Eric Pogue. After the tie the Revolution went on a tear, reeling off three straight goals to end the half at 4-1 and in the second half things only got worse for the Bucks. Player/coach Joe Malachino was tossed from the game after a handball and shortly thereafter Tino Scicluna was accessed a red card to leave the Bucks two men down for the remainder of the game. The Revolution finished the game with three more goals to make the final tally 7-1 and advance to third round U.S. Open Cup action.

Bucks goaltender and possible future Revolution player Pogue had a good game in net. Despite being continually peppered with shots all game long, Pogue managed to make several tough saves on breakaways while thwarting 11 shots in the game.

The Bucks now must regroup quickly as they take on the first place Chicago Fire Reserves on Friday on the road and then travel to Des Moines to face the Menace on Saturday. The Bucks now stand at 8-5-1 on the year.

Insider June 26

Tomorrow evening the Mid Michigan Bucks will take on the Major League Soccer's New England Revolution in second round U.S. Open Cup play. The match-up is a rematch of last year's second round when the Bucks upset the Revolution to advance in the tournament.

Following Saturday's loss to the Kalamazoo Kingdom the Bucks are now 4-4-1 since jumping out of the gates at 4-0 and qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup.

Injuries to key players have taken its toll on the Bucks as of late as the team is without the services of six starters including Ryan Mack, Alan Laskawa, Chris King, David Hall, Justin Detter and player/coach Joe Malachino.

Malachino will be likely to miss the contest due to his wife being overdue to deliver their first child while Boyzzz Khumalo will make the trip but will be listed as questionable after injuring his knee this past weekend.

"We have always been pretty lucky in the past to be healthy for the Open Cup," said Bucks GM Jim Duggan. "You expect for these things to even out, but not to lose six starters for a game of this magnitude."

With the departure of Mack several games ago to a knee injury he sustained during a scrimmage in Bloomington, Paul Snape has taken over the scoring lead on the team after playing some tough soccer as of late.

"It is a shame Ryan will not get to show his stuff to the higher leagues this year because he was playing great," said Duggan.

A 7:30 kick-off is scheduled at New England's Foxboro Stadium on Wednesday night. Other upcoming games include a tilt with first place Chicago Fire Reserves on Friday, June 29 and a game the next day versus the Des Moines Menace; both games are on the road. The next home game for the Bucks is on Saturday, July 7 at Oakland University versus the Chicago Fire Reserves.

Insider June 25

The Mid Michigan Bucks fell on Saturday night in a hard-fought 4-3 overtime loss to the Kalamazoo Kingdom.

Getting things started for the Bucks in the 16th minute of play was Tino Scicluna on an assist from Paul Snape, but the lone goal of the first half was not enough as the Kingdom took a 2-1 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Facing the one goal deficit, the Bucks came out strong in the second half and managed to knot the game up a 2-2 when Snape scored on a penalty kick in the 50th minute. After 30 minutes of back and forth soccer, the Kingdom broke the tie with a goal in the 80th minute only to see the Bucks strike back with a goal in the 83rd minute when Snape scored on a pass from Scicluna to force overtime.

With the scored locked-up at 3-3 in overtime, the Kingdom put the game on ice four minutes into the extra session to record the win. For the game the Bucks out-shot their opponent 10-8 and goalie Eric Pogue notched four saves in the contest.

Next up for the Bucks is a huge second round U.S. Open Cup game versus the New England Revolution on Wednesday, 7:30 at Foxboro Stadium.

Insider June 23

The Mid Michigan Bucks came up big with a 2-1 win over the host Indiana Invaders on Friday night.

The Bucks struck first in the 26th minute of play on a goal from Kevin Robinson from an assist from Paul Snape. After the rest of the half being closely contested, the Bucks walked into half-time with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, the Bucks found themselves in a tie despite controlling play for the most part of the first half after the Invaders scored on a goal in the 53rd minute of play.

But just as the good teams do, the Bucks responded from disappointment to post a game-winning goal when Bobo connected with the back of the net on another assist from the unselfish Snape.

Next on tap for the Bucks is a trip to Oakland University for a home contest at 6:30 versus the Kalamazoo Kingdom.

InsIder June 20

Coming off a disappointing weekend which saw them tie one and lose one, the Mid Michigan Bucks came to play last night at West Michigan, beating the Edge 2-1 and avenging a loss from earlier in the season.

Despite dominating play for a good part of the first half, the Bucks could only walk into halftime with a 1-0 lead thanks to a Paul Snape goal on a pass from Boyzzz.

Play in the second half continued in the Bucks favor as the team controlled action but found the game tied up in the 57th minute of play when the Edge scored to tighten things up. But after the goal the Bucks continued to dominate play and were rewarded for their persistence when Erik Nelson scored the team's second goal of the night in the 64th minute on an assist from Scott Deopere to derail any comeback attempt for the Edge.

With the win the Bucks improve to 8-3-1 on the year heading into Friday's match-up versus the Indiana Invaders at 7:30 on the road. After the Indiana game, the Bucks travel back to Oakland University for a home contest at 6:30 versus the Kalamazoo Kingdom.

Insider June 18

Following a big win on Wednesday in first round U.S. Open Cup play, the Mid Michigan Bucks ran into a snag, going winless in two games last weekend. On Friday the Bucks traveled to Chicago to take on the Chicago Eagles and could only walk away with a 2-2 tie after a furious comeback in the end of regulation.

Heading into the second half down 2-0, the Bucks fought back relentlessly to no avail until the 85th minute when Pual Snape found Boyzz for a goal to cut the lead to 2-1. Only a minute later in the 86th Snape drilled one in on a penalty kick to knot the game at 2-2 and send the game into overtime. In overtime the teams played even up for two 10-minute overtimes and left the field in a tie.

Saturday turned out to be more disheartening to the Bucks than the night before as the team took on the Kalamazoo Kingdom and lost 2-1 in the final minutes of play to the hosts.

The Bucks struck first in the game but got the goal taken away on a controversial call, only to have the Kingdom strike back to take a 1-0 lead into the half. Tino Scicluna tied things up for the Bucks in the second half at 1-1 on an assist by Jason Perry. Despite the Bucks clearly out-shooting their opponents in the game, the 1-1 tie held up for the remainder of the game until the Kingdom scored one minute into injury time to put the game away with a 2-1 victory.

The Bucks now look to recover tomorrow in a big game versus the West Michigan Edge on the road, the team that knocked the Bucks from the ranks of the unbeaten earlier this year. Also, the team will be preparing for their second round U.S. Open Cup game versus the New England Revolution who the Bucks disposed of last year in the tournament.