Heartland Conference

Good afternoon, my name is Adnan Bašić, and welcome to the second-ever Midwest Premier League whiparound!

We’re a bit past the midway point of the MWPL season, which makes now a great time to take a look around the league and take stock of what’s going on. There’s been some good from teams, some bad, and some really intriguing results. 

What exactly are those results? Let’s find out. 

A tour of the standings

Before we get into the storylines and narratives, we’ll see how each conference is shaping up at the moment.

(All results as of July 11th)

The Gateway Conference sees Cedar Rapids Inferno ahead of the rest, as they’ve picked up five more points than AFC Columbia with one less game played. There’s three teams from St. Louis all hanging around in midtable, with St. Louis Stars SC, Club Atletico Saint Louis, and Ajax St. Louis separated by only three points. The bottom sees Pearl City Soccer Club and Southeast Soccer Academy fighting to avoid the last spot in the standings.

The Great Lakes East Conference is a real battle at the top. Michigan Stars Semipro sit two points ahead of Thundercats FC at the top, who themselves are only two points ahead of Troy United FC and Cedars FC. On the opposite end of the table we have Ypsi Yetis FC, who have just a single draw to their name this campaign.

The Great Lakes West Conference has two teams above the rest. Northern Indiana FC have been perfect this season, winning all eight of their games so far, with a dominant +22 goal differential ahead of this afternoon’s matches. They’ve not been able to pull away, though, as 1927SC have won all but one of their games, setting up a tasty title race. Indy Boyz FC are the basement dwellers here, losing each of their matches. 

It’s a similar story in the Heartland Division 1 Conference. Bavarian United are narrowly ahead of Chicago House Athletic Club, with a three point lead and one more game played, but Chicago does own the tiebreaker between the two. This conference has relegation, and the fight to avoid the drop is a thrilling one, with Czarni Jasło, Dekalb County United, and Steel City all tied on points at the moment.

The Heartland Division 2 Conference, as a result, has promotion. The current favorite for that is AFC Roscoe, who sit in 1st place following a strong run of results. Green Bay Glory is on their heels, though, and they could go top themselves if they take advantage of their game in hand. Holding down the fort here is Strikers Fox Valley SC, with one point from eight contests.

Alright enough of the facts and figures, let’s get some quotes from the teams themselves. 

Catching fire

One of the most impressive teams in the league this year has been the aforementioned Cedar Rapids Inferno, who are very likely to win the Gateway Division. Up five points with only three games left to go, they pretty much just need a single point to lock up the title.

While they did finish in a solid 2nd place last time around, a new generation of players have helped them make that next step forward.

“There’s usually a lot of college egos when you bring in those players, but we have had none of that this season,” said club owner and head coach Kenan Malicevic. “No one thinks they’re above anyone else here, and it’s not usually like this. We have a hardworking group of guys, they work for each other, and they celebrate each other. It’s been remarkable to watch and they’ve been a joy to coach.”

Fans would be right to assume that the smart thing to do is bring in younger players, but while that’s usually true, getting those players to perform is a lot harder than it seems. They’re still in the process of learning about what it’s like to be a soccer player on and off the field, and they sometimes lack the maturity needed to grow. 

That’s why the coaching they receive at that stage of their career is so important.

“I’ve treated them as professionals, I don’t treat them as youngsters,” said Malicevic. “The only way for them to improve is to have them train for the level they want to be at. That starts with standards, and the standards here are high, in terms of what time practice is, to what they wear during practice, to having the right behavior during practice. It’s all translated onto the field.”

You can’t forget about the old guard, though.

“We have a solid mix of guys that have been here and fresh new blood that are just out of high school. Our returners have been my right hand men out there. We don’t really have assistants like that, so the old guys have been role models in their own ways,” said Malicevic. “They lead on and off the field, they work hard, and they’re always supportive even if they don’t play. They are welcoming to the new guys. It’s all translated to hard work in practice, and then they all want to win when it’s gametime.”

Just like for Spain at Euro 2024, this mixture of young and old seems to be a winning formula for the Inferno.

Northern perfection

There are only two perfect teams in the MWPL this campaign, and the only team to have played and won more than six in a row in Northern Indiana FC, who are a remarkable 8-0-0.

It’s a stellar start for the debutantes, and the key to their success has been getting everyone on board and on the same page.

The perfect season so far is credit to our community support. Everything we’ve done has been intentional when it comes to collaboration,” said club director Omar Gallo. “Myself, fellow director Thiago Pinto, and our president Pablo Rodriguez all have the same vision, as do our board and community partners. If the vision is clear and concise, it makes the players’ and coaches’ jobs easier. From a playing standpoint, the coach has done a great job of managing the players when it comes to training and playing, creating an environment that allows our guys to be successful off and on the pitch. Each session the guys enjoy themselves, they stay competitive, and they hold each other to a standard which translates to our games.”

They’ve been winning these games in some style, scoring 29 goals and only conceding 7. That has seemingly set them up for a clear run to the division title.

However, they’ve not clinched anything just yet. The bad news for Indy is that they’ve got competition right on their heels, with 1927 sat only three points behind in 2nd since they’ve won seven out of their eight contests.

1927SC is having a great season, and credit goes to their entire club. Having them right behind us every week is exciting because it creates a challenge for our players. “This ties in to one of the reasons why we’re also having success. Them being behind us motivates our players to want more,” said Gallo. “It creates a great experience for the entire league to have two teams battling up until the last day!”

The two sides will face off on the final day on July 17th, and that’s looking like it’ll be an absolute classic. 

Proper relegation scrap

Chicago House Athletic Club are in pole position to win the Heartland Conference’s top division, which would be the first title in club history.

“There’s a long way to go. This is a tougher road because of the two-tier system,” House president Peter Wilt told me. “There’s no easy games. Last year there were some teams at the bottom of the table that made things easier, but this season every game is a battle. Being able to be in the running at the top is a credit to the coaches and the players.”

However, the more intriguing battle is at the other end of the table. There are currently three teams tied for last place, with them being Steel City FC, DeKalb County United, and Czarni Jasło. This fight to avoid the wooden spoon would be interesting in any division, but it’s especially exciting in a division that features relegation, where the team that does end up in last will be sent down to Division 2.

That has added a real pressure to every contest, and it’s set the stage for a hell of a battle.

“We are aware of our position in the table and quite honestly we are disappointed in the results at this point in the season. For whatever reason things haven’t clicked like the past few years but that’s the game. We will come up short of our preseason goals but we’ve shifted our mindset now to survival in the first division,” said DeKalb president John Hall. “We aren’t afraid of the fight. Our players and coaching staff are hard at work to get the results we need over these next few weeks. I’m personally thrilled that the MWPL has backed the two division system so we have the chance to worry about these things. Now we just have to get the job done. As they say ‘ball don’t lie.’ So it’s time to show that we deserve to stay up.” 

“We had a slow start to the season, so there was that worry early on. Our mentality is that we’re focusing on one game at a time, and we aren’t really scared or afraid of getting relegated,” said Brandon Camacho. “I think our communication has improved, the team is a lot more open with each other and together, and that is a credit to our head coach. We’re still growing as a club, implementing new things every day.”

Most fans would be really surprised to see Czarni Jaslo down here, as they were the winners of the Heartland Conference last year. However, it seems like the club has suffered from their previous success.

“One significant factor is last year’s success, where we won the MWPL Hartland Division, the Illinois State Cup, and numerous tournaments. This recognition led to our players receiving offers from professional clubs or teams that provide financial incentives, resulting in key players leaving,” said vice president and head coach Maciej Orlowski. “Additionally, our status as reigning champions has made us a target, with every team aiming to defeat us. Even teams with no chance of winning the championship circle our team on their schedule because we are the team to beat.”

“Avoiding relegation is crucial for the club, as remaining in the premier division ensures better sponsorship deals and attracts quality players eager to compete against top-tier competition. It also maintains the club’s prestige and helps us appeal to top players and coaching staff,” said Orlowski. “Relegation could lead to financial instability, loss of fan support, and a prolonged struggle to regain top-tier status, especially given the quality of teams in the lower tier.”

The final stretch of the season is going to be huge, as no one wants to become the MWPL equivalent of Hamburg.

La remontada de Rockford

AFC Roscoe lead the way in the second division at the moment, with fellow newcomers Green Bay Glory right behind them.

“I’ve learned a lot about how willing our guys are to step up to the challenge, and I’m very proud to see it all come together,” Roscoe president Adam Nijhawan told midwestpl.com. “We started as a Sunday league team, and to see the level of commitment now is incredible. We showed a lot of mental toughness to rebound from our start to the season, we put our heads down and kept working, and the results showed that, it shows the character of the team.”

However, the most interesting storyline involves the team in 4th place. That would be Rockford FC.

For those who have paid attention to the MWPL in recent years, you’ll know about the team’s struggles. Things were especially bad last season, as they were dead last in a 10-team Heartland Division, only picking up two points and ending with a shocking -39 goal differential.

That’s changed this time around. While they won’t have enough to seal promotion, they’ve still amassed a remarkable 13 points, with four wins on the campaign. Their goal differential is only at -3 now. 

What’s been the catalyst? Internal competition.

“As with any program or company, when you have no competition, you don’t bring the best out of people cause there’s no need to perform. What we did this year was develop our U23 program, thus creating an internal battle for spots in the first team,” said club president Samir Romero. “That created a major need for players to develop, create goals, and push themselves to the next level.”

Taking on a challenge like that, especially after an awful season for the first team, was always going to be a risk. Fortune tends to favor the bold, though.

“That’s the scary part. With a new developmental program, you don’t want to overdo things. We thought we would’ve taken steps forward before, but we took steps back. Our goal was always to develop the program. The worst thing you could do at that point is try to over-expand, but the reality was that we needed that revolt and that different view to push the first team,” said Romero. “We knew the U23’s were the answer to grow further and we took that leap of faith. The biggest worry was not having enough players for the season, but we knew if we had better performances and did more for the players, then they’d be more likely to stay.”

This quick turnaround has put Rockford in a much better position for the future, and they don’t plan on going backwards again anytime soon.

“At some point we’ll have to stop thinking about growth and development and focus on the now, but we still have room to grow,” said Romero. “The dream has always been to have a girls team, but that might have to wait a little longer. We’d love to get the community involved, get the players involved in the community and not just have this be a summer program, but a year long team. That’s for later, though.”