Another Midwest Premier League season is underway, and would you look at it…another Indiana debutant causing headaches for Great Lakes West Division. After losing three Grand Rapids, Michigan area clubs for 2024 citing various reasons, and a further two due to conference realignment, Northern Indiana FC’s addition was announced by the league on January 31, 2024. It was revealed roughly a month later that Indy Boyz FC was moving from the Heartland Conference to the GLW, splitting the six-club division 50/50 between Michigan and their southwest neighbors. The Travelers are looking to go back-to-back for the Hoosier State after 1927SC’s one loss, double trophy season in 2023. The current pacesetters in the six-team division sit undefeated after eight matches sporting a league-high +22-goal differential with an experienced 1927SC (7-1-0) nipping at their heels sitting at +17.

When you peel back the layers of this club, the resumes of the leadership alone would make anything less than top of table a disappointment:

President Pablo Rodriquez

-First Division player with Pachuca, Puebla and UAT

-Three-time Conference & Regional Champion with Bethel University

-NAIA N. Central Region Coach of the Year (2003-04) and NAIA Mid Central Coach of the Year (2002-2004)

Director Omar Gallo

-Men’s & Women’s Head Coach at Holy Cross College

-UEFA B license holder

-Level 3 goalkeeping diplomas & USSF D license holder

Director Thiago Pinto

-Men’s Head Coach Bethel University

-2022 NAIA National Champion and Select Sport NAIA Men’s Soccer COTY

-Assistant Coach U.S. Virgin Islands National Team

Head Coach: Gerardo Mascareño

-First Division Forward for Puebla, Atlante, Atlas, Pachuca Chivas, Morelia and Leon playing more than 300 matches with 42 goals to his name.

-Called up to Mexican National Team 1996

A few international friendlies were peppered into the Traveler’s league schedule for the month of June, as they welcomed Mexican sides Chivas De Guadalajara’s U-23s on the 14th and Mineros De Zacatecas on the 28th.

If the Boot Fits

Choose any of the major pillars of the MWPL and you will see why it made sense for NIFC to join one of the best regional leagues in the country. “We have three guys who are running the club that have been in our community for a long time,” Pinto said. “Even though it’s kind of our inaugural season, we launched the club last year. We played friendlies, and we played one international match at Notre Dame soccer field, so I think where we are located as well as the relationships that have been built and trust that’s been established in our community with the network of college coaches allows us to a have top of the line semi-pro team on the field.” Expectations going into the 2024 MWPL season were up in the air with a new league, but the competitive standards for the players and the club were not up for discussion. “We were expecting to be competitive, but we didn’t really know until we played what to fully expect in those matchups,” he added. The Travelers have the formula for on-field success and are continuing to hunt down permutations to bring the other operations to the same standard. “Just the way other clubs are set up off the field, it really reflects performance. Lansing Common & Fort Wayne to name a few teams that kind of reflect the structure we do as well,” Pinto explained. Even though 1927SC and NIFC are having their way with the GLW, don’t be too quick to call it a rivalry just yet. An often-contentious subject among supporters can safely be stowed away for the time being. Skill level, geographic location and supporter presence gives MWPL fans a chance of an annual marquee duel twice a year. Pinto is not blind to the current climate and did not shut the door on the possibility in the future. “I think there might be something there,” he said.

The MWPL style of play as opposed to the collegiate season is a beast of its own according to Pinto. “It’s a very fast paced and defensive minded where with the Midwest Premier League, I think teams have been more open to play,” Pinto explained. Trying to mold a group of young gentlemen (and ladies for those MWPL clubs with women’s teams) into a cohesive unit by meshing collegiate players with post college players that possess a few extra years under their belt, is a sight Pinto has loved to see. Defenders Diego Rodriguez of Southern Indiana University and Martin Von Thun of Holy Cross College were mentioned by Pinto as players who have solidified a backline that has only surrendered seven goals in 2024, second only to their in-state neighbor’s conference leading five goals allowed. Forward Piero Sabroso who plays collegiately for Bethel University, bagged 12 goals for the Pilots during their 2023 season. The Lima, Peru native’s offensive skill earned him 2023 Second Team NAIA All-American honors and was lauded by Pinto as a big contributor to their league-high 29 goals.

You Get what you Travel For

The energy that NIFC has expended to ensure fans will be back for another Travelers matchday was not lost on Branch Supporter Rufus Isaacs on his road trip to the division leaders. “The best of the MWPL clubs I have been to [Lansing Common aside],” he explained. “They had a huge volunteer crew helping to get cars into parking sports and they were all very welcoming A beer garden provided by nearby Westwind Brewing Company along with inflatables and soccer skill area, Indiana Invaders Stadium had something for all ages. Isaacs was glad to see amenities geared towards more than just the diehards. “Making it a fun event for more than soccer diehard soccer fans seems to work really for them,” he added. “Love seeing the train going past during the match!”

Don’t Forget About Us

Despite the Travelers taking the GLW by storm, there’s a reigning double cup champion that refuses to let the division leaders out of their sight. With two games left in the season Head Coach Nick Potter’s squad gave themselves a fighting chance, netting a 94’ winner on the road against determined Lansing Common side on June 7th. Dropping the first home matchup 2-1 on May 19th via last minute penalty might be a sign 1927SC has met its match, but Potter has confidence that his squad has reminded clubs in Great Lakes Conference about the damage they are capable of in a few summer months. A July 17th final week showdown between the two has the potential to make this one for the books.

“It was unfortunate we didn’t get that win and I knew that first game was going to be important because they were a quality team and I knew they were going to come out,” he explained. “I think with us, we just take it one game at a time. They are top of the division we are pushing to keep putting pressure on them and let them know that we are not someone who is going to back down and defend the championship that we have.” At the end of the day Potter is focused on sending a good quality team on the pitch to put on a performance to give their fans something to be proud of. “If it happens to be in our favor, great. But we know we can’t drop any more points,” he admitted.

Although the team may be in its infancy, Potter’s stamp of approval regarding their quality is about as good of a stamp of approval you could receive. “I’ve known some of the guys that have been involved with the team,” he said. “I was happy to have another northern location within Indiana that we get to play. I was real excited, I knew they were going to be good, so I knew they were going to raise the level of the league.” Potter described NIFC their first meeting as a very aggressive team, as mentioned earlier by Pinto the MWPL fosters the ability for clubs to attack the game in their own style. He also went on to mention their mentality in possession to control the game. Their ability to dictate the game has corralled offensively skilled clubs like Lansing Common to 3 goals between the two meetings. “They play the game as a very positive team and a lot of confidence which was good,” Potter added.

If the last two years are any indication for the remaining GL West, you better step your game up in 2025 or be left in the dust. Competition that benefits the club also benefits the fans. Of course, MWPL want to see their clubs play meaningful games at the end of the season but only if you can keep up. “When you start to expand the league and you start to bring new teams in that offer a different level, it sets the guideline for the other teams,” Potter explained. “The more we can bring talented organizations…and not so much just talented teams, but quality organizations that are committed to the league and committed to the guidelines of the league and really trying to make every aspect better.”

Fly South for the…Summer?

To provide a little more detail about the previously mentioned alterations to the GLW, Livonia City FC and Futsal Factory left the GL West due to conference realignment and the entire Grand Rapids delegation (BiH Grand Rapids, West Michigan Bearings, United West FC) is not participating in the 2024. These developments led to quite a bit of offseason turnover with the transfer of Indy Boyz FC from the Heartland Conference and the addition of NIFC, leaving the conference with its smallest roster of clubs since the league’s founding.

I asked Potter whether he had noticed any extra freshness with the team due to the reduction of hours on the road and he honestly could not really tell a difference. Being the defending champions, witnessing the effort of clubs to increase their level of play to make the season a gauntlet is what really caught Potter’s attention. “The biggest thing that we anticipated was the idea of us being successful our first year and the blessings of winning those championships, we knew there would be a target on our back,” Potter explained. “People were going to increase their level and really try and come after us, we were the team to beat. I think that’s always the thing we notice, a lot of clubs going out and getting better talent and putting better quality on the field. We are really happy with the league in general in what it provides talent wise and quality of play, which is what we are looking for.”

With the growth of the MWPL in this region, the potential for a Great Lakes South Conference could be realized as soon as next season. Another Indiana club from the Elkhart/South Bend region has appeared as potential expansion in some conversations I have had with MWPL officials. There is also chatter that some operations around the Indianapolis area are aware of what the MWPL is doing and might be looking to hitch their wagon. “The GM of the team, he’s let me know that there are guys in the Indy area, Indy is obviously large enough to host another team, I think they could,” Potter said. “That’s a big city and there’s a lot of soccer down there, so he’s told me there’s rumblings of another team in Indy.”

- Rich Schenck