ACFC nets first USL 2 win against Cleveland Force

Writer: Sideline and Beat Reporter, Liv Sharp

Akron City FC won the inaugural Battle of Northeast Ohio toppling the Cleveland Force 2-1, with two second-half goals and 90 minutes of staunch defense. Akron City entered the match off a draw with Steel City, while the Force entered with a win under their belt against Erie Sports Center. 

While these two teams had never met before, ACFC’s squad boasts several Force alumni including, Captain Jannis Schmidt, Quinn Groves, Will Wagner, Uros Jevtic, and Marko Rimac.

The match-up at Krenzler Field on the campus of Cleveland State, felt more like it took place down at Green Street Stadium with the domineering presence of the Rubber City Underground.

ACFC came out hot, drawing two corners within the first seven minutes, the Force quickly responded picking up their pace as well.

This resulted in the first test for the ACFC defense, especially Colin Biros and Remi Agunbiade. The intensity was kept high throughout the first twenty minutes of the match promising a physical, and at times chippy, match.

Saturday was also the first start for Goalkeeper Brett Kaminski, who was seen between the pipes for the back half of the Steel City game last week. Kaminski fielded several shots but was able to slide and trap all of the Force’s attempts.

Despite several shots on goal for Akron City in the first half, with a pair of promising ones from Biros and Schmidt in the 40th and 44th minutes respectively, the squads entered the break tied at nil.

When asked about halftime adjustments, head coach Andy Hoggarth said, “We’ve got to get an urgency and a tempo, when we’ve penetrated quickly we’ve been able to get in a little bit behind them, create a couple of opportunities, but we’ve slowed the game down too much.”

The biggest halftime adjustment for ACFC saw James Buebendorf entering for Stajkovic. The rising sophomore from the University of Akron showed his defensive swiftness early, pairing with Agunbiade to keep Cleveland forward Zsombor Onodi in the spin cycle.

The stalemate would finally be broken around halfway through the second, by Force alum Jevtic.

The ball was tossed in around the 69-minute mark before Jevtic got possession. He dribbled til about six feet back from the penalty box before sinking his shot, obscured from Smith’s vision by a handful of Cleveland’s defenders.

“He doesn’t just play as a six and break the game open, he’s obviously very good in the attacking side as well, we saw what he can do and that’s what we expect of him.”

Both teams then slowed the pace, with Cleveland making several substitutions to get fresh legs on the pitch. One of whom was Josef Rimac, brother of ACFC forward Marko Rimac, who had subbed out moments earlier. This also marked the first ACFC appearance for Dylan Halm and the return of Matt Roberts.

The Force’s first real chance of the second half came from a free kick drawn by Aiden Ptacek. The kick was taken by captain Csiszar but was deflected by a man in red before Kaminsky fell on it, ending the possession. 

Akron City struck again in the 83rd minute, this time off a flick from Colin Biros. After a brief stoppage for injury, Jevtic got the pass from Biros before swiping it back to Colin who was there at the front post to poke it in. 

A beautiful finish for ACFC on a goal that left most of the team in disbelief, “Uros played a good ball and got a little fortunate in the finish, but you need that sometimes,” said Biros.

Towards the final minutes of the match, chants of “Andy Hoggarth” began to surround Krenzler Field showing that this away game had become a home match for ACFC.

The boys were not able to complete the shutout after a last-minute goal from Adin Ibrahimovic, just above the head of Kaminsky. This made the score 2-1 and that’s how it would remain at the final whistle.

What’s the goal for Hoggarth in Co going into their third match?

“We’ve got the dangerous players we’ve just got to have a little bit more success in the final third.”

ACFC’s next match will be in Pennsylvania facing off against the 0-2 Erie Sports Center Squad. As mentioned, Erie suffered their first loss, 3-1, to the Cleveland Force and their second, 2-1, to Steel City. Kickoff is at 4 pm on May 31st.

Akron will return home on June 3rd to take on Toledo Villa FC at Green Street Stadium, kickoff is at 7 pm and you can buy tickets now at https://tickets.uslleaguetwo.com/events/akron-city-fc-2025-season/event_times