Grand Rapids Makes History Again

Grand Rapids, MI – On Saturday February 11th, 2023, Rapid City Football Club (RCFC) made history at home against the Detroit Waza Flo in Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). They were crowned the highest scoring team in a single game, as they dominated their instate rival.

During the first thirteen minutes of play, Rapid City saw five different scorers get on the board. It wasn’t until thirty seconds remaining in the quarter that they saw the Waza Flo get on the board after a turnover from Rapid City.

Through the first two minutes of the second quarter, both teams played with high intensity. Elmedin Zukic added to the lead making the score 6-1, but off the kick-off RCFC let their guard down and allowed Detroit to score a counterattack goal.

After RCFC let in two goals within three minutes, they finally started to impose their will on the Waza Flo on the offensive side of the ball. In the span of eleven minutes, Rapid City scored nine straight goals. The score at halftime was 15-2.

It did not take much time into the third quarter for Rapid City to get on the board again, as we saw Zukic complete his hat trick within the first two minutes. RCFC continued their onslaught of goals as they blanked the Waza Flo in the third quarter. At the conclusion of the third, they had put six more goals past the Waza Flo making the score 21-2.

 “Throughout the week we spoke about paying attention to detail regarding our defensive assignments. If you focus defensively, it will ignite our offense”, said Head Coach Louis Stephens. “The guys were hungry tonight. It seemed like the goal mouth was as big as Lake Michigan, the more shots we got off the more confidence we gained.”

To open the fourth quarter, Detroit scored a beautiful wonder goal to the top corner, but that did not stop Rapid City from continuing their offensive prowess during the fourth quarter. With just over nine minutes remaining in the game, Daire O’Riordan completed his hat trick, along with scoring the historic twenty-fifth goal of the game to break the previous record, a 24-1 Springfield Demize win over the Austin Emerald on December 10. Alexis Mendez, Nermin Crnkic, and Zukic each finished with five goals for the game. The final score was 27-4.

Alexis Mendez (Player of the Match) spoke briefly about making history and achieving greatness through amazing team chemistry. “We are here to compete for that championship, and for it to be our first year in the league, we want to break records.”

Rapid City FC return to action this weekend in a big home game against Cleveland Crunch this Saturday February 18, 2023, at MSA Sports Spot. Game time is set for 6:30pm. Tickets are available at www.rapidcityfc.com/tickets.

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