Midwest Premier League: July Preview
This weekend the Midwest Premier League enters the final month of play in their inaugural season with the last matches of 2021 being played on August 1st. Those are one East Division match between BiH Grand Rapids (3rd Place as of 7/2/21) and Michigan Stars U23 (2nd Place as of 7/2/21). One West Division match will be played along side that as DeKalb County United (11th as of 7/2/21) hosts Rockford FC (9th as of 7/2/21).
East Division
Heading into the final four weeks of league play the East Division has been entirely dominated by Detroit City U23, the developmental side of NISA's Detroit City FC. Le Rouge sit atop the East at a perfect 9-0-0 with 27 points. Detroit City U23 can clinch the MWPL East Division title inside the next month if all circumstances go right for them. Right below them but not quite as successful are the aforementioned Michigan Stars U23, another NISA development side. The Stars are 4-2-2 with 15 points and with 6 matches left in their final month. With how much of a lead Detroit has there isn't a huge chance the Stars can take the title but the possibility is still there.
Sitting in third is BiH Grand Rapids, a former UPSL club they have done surprisingly well in this extremely tough division of the MWPL. BiH has the second highest amount of goals scored in the East at 16 entering the month and is tied for the fewest goals against on the year. With 8 matches to play in their final month BiH will have to balance a late gasp at the title with keeping players healthy. The league website lists BiH as having a back to back double header against Inter Detroit on July 10th followed by another game against Detroit City on the 11th to start July. However the team site lists the second match as being played on July 25th.
Rounding out the top four is expansion side Lansing Common. The Robins are a double replacement and a true Phoenix Club for soccer in Lansing, MI. Initially Lansing United (who still has a women's UWS side) was the men's team in the city. LUFC dissolved their men's side following the 2018 season due to the impending arrival of Lansing Ignite in USL League One. Ignite however would only last one season, folding immediately following the 2019 USL League One Final, that gave way to Lansing Common FC to begin play. The Robins are 4-1-1 on the season and similar to BiH have 8 matches left to play this month before the season comes to a close.
Currently LK St. Clair sits bottom, Livonia City at second bottom, Inter Detroit at third bottom, and West Michigan Bearings at fourth bottom. The full East Division standings can be seen below.
West Division
As we head across Lake Michigan we take a look at the physically larger but short schedule West Division. Unlike the East which plays a 14 match double round robin, the West only plays an 11 match single round robin. This actually has a direct impact on the title race for the West Division as only two teams have a chance at winning it. Those are the first place RWB Adria and third place Bavarian Soccer Club. Adria has a single match left to play, that being on July 31st against Bavarians, currently Adria sit at 9-1-0 with 28 points. Bavarians are in third place with a 5-1-0 record with 16 points and five matches left to play. However, in order to win the MWPL West, Bavarians will need to win out the entire rest of the season as , if they drop more than 3 points before playing Adria, then RWB Adria will win the inaugural MWPL West Division Championship.
Bisecting the two title contenders are the second place Steel City FC who are 5-2-2 with 17 points. SCFC will finish their season with some very winnable matches against DeKalb County United (July 7th, Home) and Chicago Athletic (July 31st, Home). Rounding out the top four of the West are Berber City FC, the men's affiliate of WPSL side Chicago City SC. Berber City is 4-1-3 with 13 points through eight played matches and with three left to play in the month of July. Those matches will have Berber City take to the road against Chicago Mustangs (July 1st), Bloomington, IL's FC Diablos (July 11th), and end the season against Cedar Rapids Inferno (July 17th).
At the bottom of the West Division table is Chicago Athletic (0-0-7, 0 points), DeKalb County United (1-1-4, 4 points) are at second bottom, DKCU's arch rival Union Dubuque (1-2-4, 5 points) are third bottom, and Rockford FC (2-0-7, 6 points) are at fourth bottom after starting the season with seven straight losses. The full West Division standings can be seen below.
Midwest Premier League, Week 8: Preview
Saturday:
West Michigan Bearings vs Inter Detroit: 1 PM - South Christian High School, Byron Center, MI - No Stream Announced
West Michigan is just three points back from East Division leaders the Michigan Stars, a win tonight will put the Bearings even with the Stars U23 side in the Division. And for a league without playoffs this is big. Inter Detroit however is fighting to get out of the mid-table and up to the top. After a 1-1 draw last weekend with the Stars U23 a win is not out of the question.
Livonia City FC vs BiH Grand Rapids: 4 PM - Total Sports Wixom, Wixom, MI - No Stream Announced
After a win 10 days ago against the Bearings, BiH will play their third match of 2021 and look for their second win to get on a winning streak. The only other team they played? It was this Livonia City side who they drew 0-0 with back in May. LCFC on the other hand defeated LK St. Clair last week after coming off a 5-0 loss to the Detroit City U23 side, and look for Livonia City to do everything possible to get on a win streak.
Chicago Athletic vs RWB Adria: 5 PM - Redmond Park, Bensenville, IL - Eleven Sports
A regular battle of Chicagoland sides takes place, though this one for the first time and a bit different. Chicago Athletic sits with 0 points at the bottom of the table right next to Rockford FC and has to face RWB Adria, who are at this time, running away with the West Division title. Adria should be able to heavily dominate tonight and jump to 7-0-0 with 21 points.
Chicago Mustangs vs Rockford FC: 7 PM - The MAC Sports Center, Crystal Lake, IL - No Stream Announced
The other team sitting with 0 points on the season heads to the Chicagoland area to face the Mustangs outdoor senior squad. However Rockford has had some tight contests with some of the best sides in the Midwest Premier League. This is a sleeper pick for a match to watch but Rockford just might be able to sneak out their first win of 2021.
Bavarian Soccer Club vs Steel City FC: 8 PM - Heartland Value Fund Stadium, Glendale, WI - Eleven Sports
While the BSC Women are away in Suburban Chicago over in the WPSL, the Men are at home against a side from Suburban Chicago. The visiting Steel City FC have drawn their last two matches, a tough look in the West Division that only plays 11 matches. On the other hand the Bavarians are going to come in off a MWPL bye week but will be taking all their anger from last weeks National Amateur Cup loss to FC Minneapolis on the visitors from Joliet.
Edgewater Castle vs Union Dubuque: 8:15 PM* - CIBC FirePitch, Chicago, IL - Twitch
Union Dubuque comes off a bye week which was preceded by their first win of 2021. That win was their first in the MWPL and first league win for manager Mike Paye. Edgewater has drawn their last two matches with their last win coming in Mid-May against Berber City FC. And while that is the case Union Dubuque will need to shape after looking gassed two weeks ago in the second half in order to defeat Edgewater in the Castle Derby.
*As note while the kickoff time on the MWPL Website is 8:15, Edgewater Castle are advertising it as 8:15 gates and 8:45 kickoff
*Note – All Times CDT-
Midwest Premier League, Week 8: Where to Watch
Tuesday:
West Michigan Bearings, 1 vs BiH Grand Rapids, 2 : 7:30 PM - Midwest United FC Soccer Complex, Grand Rapids, MI - No Stream Announced
Thursday:
Michigan Stars U23, 3 vs LK St. Clair, 0 : 7 PM - Michigan Stars Sports Center, Washington, MI - Eleven Sports
Saturday:
Detroit City U23, 3 vs West Michigan Bearings, 0 : 3 PM - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI - No Stream Announced
Cedar Rapids Inferno, 1 vs RWB Adria, 3 : 5 PM - Fairfax City Sports & Park Complex, Fairfax, IA - No Stream Announced
Berber City FC, 3 vs Chicago Athletic, 2 : 7 PM - Lions for Hope Sports Complex, Chicago, IL - Eleven Sports
Chicago Mustangs, 5 vs DeKalb County United, 1 : 7 PM - The MAC Sports Center, Crystal Lake, IL - No Stream Announced
Edgewater Castle, 2 vs Steel City FC, 2 : 8:15 PM - CIBC Fire Pitch, Chicago, IL - Twitch
Sunday:
LK St. Clair vs Livonia City: 3 PM - Mount Clemens High School Stadium, Mount Clemens, MI - Eleven Sports
Michigan Stars U23 vs Inter Detroit: 3 PM - Michigan Stars Sports Center, Washington, MI - Eleven Sports
MWPL Week 7, Where to Watch
Wednesday:
Michigan Stars U23 vs Livonia City: 6 PM - Michigan Stars Sports Center, Washington, MI - MyCujoo
RWB Adria vs Steel City FC: 8 PM - Hales Franciscan High School, Chicago, IL - Facebook
Friday:
Inter Detroit vs Lansing Common: 4 PM - Evolution Sportsplex, Auburn Hills, MI - MyCujoo
Saturday:
Union Dubuque vs Rockford FC: 3:30 PM - Dubuque Soccer Complex, Dubuque, IA - MyCujoo
Livonia City vs Detroit City U23: 6 PM - St. Joe's Sports Complex, Livonia, MI - MyCujoo
Berber City vs Steel City FC: 7 PM - Lions for Hope Sports Complex, Chicago, IL - MyCujoo
Sunday:
Edgewater Castle vs Chicago Mustangs: 3 PM - CIBC FirePitch, Chicago, IL - Twitch
*Note – All Times CDT
Midwest Premier League Scores - Weekend of May 15th, 2021
This past weekend the Midwest Premier League played a total of 7 matches between it's East and West Divisions. The two Eastern matches in Michigan saw LK St. Clair host Inter Detroit in one match while Livonia City played host to the Michigan Stars U23 side. Out West between Illinois and Iowa there were a total of five matches played with Rockford FC hosting RWB Adria, Chicago Athletic battling Edgewater Castle in an all Chicago matchup, Bavarians headed from Milwaukee to Normal to face FC Diablos, and Berber City FC hosted DeKalb County United all on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Steel City FC traveled from Joliet, IL to Dubuque, IA to face Union Dubuque FC.
