OCFC picks up first score and conference points in draw against Kalamazoo FC

Oakland County Football Club drew against Kalamazoo Football Club in a hard fought match Friday evening.

OCFC went down early in the match, as Matt Whelan contested Ben Rosenblatt up the left side of the pitch and knocked it past goalie Max Loria’s outstretched hands to hit the back right of the net and put KZFC in the lead.

County went into the halftime locker room with a 1-0 deficit to overcome, but the squad came out ready to fight. In the 61st minute of the contest, the Purple Gang got on the scoreboard for the first time this season thanks to Alex Dalou and his rocket of a kick into the left side of the net. Shortly after, Dalou connected with Logan Lee with a cross to the left side, and Lee banged it in during the 67th minute for OCFC’s first lead of the 2022 campaign.

Alex Dalou tallied the first goal of the 2022 campaign.

After 23 minutes of regulation with four minutes of grit and grind stoppage time, the whistle sounded. County will pick up a point in the USL2’s Great Lakes Division and get moving in the right direction as a team. Man of the Match Alex Delou was ecstatic to finally be able to get on the field, make an impact for his team and end the scoring drought, as he finished with one goal and one assist on the day.

“It feels so good to finally be in front of the fans,” Dalou said. “It definitely felt good, our team really needed this. We were struggling in the first half, but after we scored everyone’s heads were up and they were smiling.”

Head coach Vinnie Vasilevski was proud of the way his team fought Friday, and is confident that the team can get on a roll due to their performance against Kalamazoo FC.

“There’s a ton of belief in the locker room,” Vasilevski said. “We have the talent, it’s just a matter of getting the team to gel together and getting guys back from injury. I think there’s a lot to look forward to.”

OCFC will be back on the pitch tomorrow, as they face Midwest United Football Club at 3 p.m. at Royal Oak High School. Tickets to the match can be purchased at oaklandcountyfc.com/tickets.