A scrappy local team unseated last year's champs Saturday night to win the U.S. Open Cup of the Professional Arena Soccer League.
The Detroit Waza Flo beat the San Diego Sockers by 7-6 at the Melvindale Ice Arena, according to a post on the home team's Facebook page -- with 16 exclamation points. Yes, they're that excited, as are more than 150 fans who post congratulations.
San Diego had won the cup 13 times in previous tournaments.
Waza Flo, playing its fifth season as Michigan's only pro soccer team, now has a 15-2 record this year. Home games are played at the Taylor Sportsplex.
Earlier Saturday, Terry Foster set the scene in his Detroit News sports column.
This isn't just any soccer match. . . .
Detroit's forgotten pro soccer team, which has worked its way into the final stages of two of the biggest indoor tournaments in the nation -- the U.S. Open Cup and the Ron Newman Cup. First up is the U.S. Open Cup final this weekend.
Dominic Scicluna is at left in previous match.
[Photo from detroitwaza.com]
"We can play with all the best teams in the country," head coach and midfielder Dominic Scicluna tells Foster.
Games can get rough, according to the sportswriter:
The Waza Flo is made up of regular guys who work 9-to-5 jobs and hustle each week.You see checking and bumping -- and tempers flare. Think Red Wings-Avalanche, and you've got PASL soccer. . . .
But mostly, the players are area coaches. They coach high school, college and at three of the top local club teams — Waza, Plymouth and the Rush.
