We Are Soccer Central Host Robert Kerr is joined by University of Detroit Mercy head coach Nate Kopunek. Coach Kopunek is entering his second season with the Titans and is looking to build from a solid first year. U of D Mercy Titans compete in the Horizon League Soccer Conference and kick off their regular season on August 22nd against Dayton.…

We Are Soccer Central Host Robert Kerr is joined by Butler University Mens Soccer Head Coach Paul Snape in the midst of the rigors of preseason. Snape is entering his 14th season in charge at Butler and shares coaching insights, recruiting dynamics, and stories from his playing days in Michigan. The Butler Bulldogs compete in the BIG EAST Conferenc…

The Western Michigan Broncos are entering the 2024 season as the 12th ranked team in the nation, higher than they've ever been to start a campaign. Head coach Chade Wiseman joins Robert Kerr to talk about his team, the state of college soccer in the ever changing collegiate sports landscape, and much more.…

Talking serious grass on We Are Soccer Central, as host Robert Kerr is joined by World Cup 2026 project Co Lead for turf management, Professor Trey Rogers. The mammoth nation spanning project includes 16 stadiums, eight turf fields, and five domes. Prof Rogers describes the science, scale, and process behind growing and maintaining world class temp…

Robert Kerr comes on to quickly recap Detroit City FC's epic shootout win over the Houston Dynamo in the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup. It was Le Rouge's second win over an MLS side in their history and their first away from Keyworth Stadium.

Host Robert Kerr is joined by Ken Seelman and AJ Badge, two of the founding members of the Northern Michigan Faux Football Leagues. The fictional soccer leagues were started by a handful of Lansing Common supporters looking to stay connected through the long offseason which has now become a group of over 40 member and 56 clubs. Please remember to l…

LK St Clair is the first MLS GO operator in Michigan and Co-founder Zuhair Issa joins the program to discuss the new program, what it will bring to the club, and his ultimate goals for his community.

Host Robert Kerr is joined in conversation by Marco Bernardini to talk Lansing City Football. The USL2 club returns to the great lakes division for another summer of preprofessional action. Bernardini describes how he got involved in the team, how the last three years have shaped him, and to look at the season ahead. For up to date coverage follow …

Robert Kerr reviews Detroit City FC's hot start to the season under new Head Coach Danny Dichio and NWSL's record breaking attendances, then, is joined by the founder of Troy City Womens Football Club John Ardnt. We Are Soccer Central is your connection to the worlds game being played here in our back yards.…

Host Robert Kerr is joined by Pat Hodgins, Commissioner of the Midwest Premier League, a regional league run by its member clubs. Pat describes the leagues initiative to introduce Promotion and Relegation and its continued club-friendly approach. The league has four conferences and has 37 member clubs in 2024.…

This week, We Are Soccer Central heads to the Pacific Northwest as Robert Kerr talks to Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times. Seattle has been a hotbed for successful soccer for a half century thanks to the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, and a plethora of lower league and amateur teams. Jayda has seen clubs at all these levels in her brief time in th…

The 2024 edition US Open Cup will be like no other as MLS will enter just 8 teams into this year's tournament. Open Cup expert and senior editor of TheCup.us Josh Hakala joins Robert Kerr to review MLS's unprecedented decision to withdraw their participation from the 100+ year old domestic tournament. Josh describes the move as a 'gut punch to the …

This week on We Are Soccer Central, host Robert Kerr welcomes Indy Eleven vice president Brad Hauter to talk about how his club is preparing for the 2024 USL Championship Season. Brad pitches Indianapolis as a destination city for athletes, how Indy Eleven has a new stadium development coming along, and the entire scope of the club from the youth l…

Michigan Stars FC fell in last season's NISA championship game on their quest to repeat as league champions and keep the title in the state of Michigan once again, but that will not stop them from progressing forward both on and off the pitch. Host Robert Kerr welcomes their brand new COO Chris McInally to talk about where the club is going into 20…

Another 2024 episode, another new head coach for a local club. This week Robert Kerr welcomes Steve Walker to Oakland County FC in his first interview since taking the job. Steve comes to the Purple and Gold from Vardar's MLS Next Academy Team and from an assistant job at Northwood University. The Mancunian now lives in Saginaw and has an excellent…

Robert Kerr rings in a new year with a new local head coach. Detroit City FC's new boss Danny Dichio joins the pod this week to discuss what brought him to the Keyworth Stadium technical area. Dichio talks about how his experience as a player in England and an assistant coach here in the States has led him to this point and why he chose Detroit Cit…

As soccer season here in Michigan and throughout the United States is in the offseason, host Robert Kerr leans into his Liverpool fandom for this episode as he documents his journey to Loaded Dice Brewery in Troy to watch last weekend's Liverpool-Manchester United rivalry clash with a bunch of Red Devils supporters. Come join him on his journey thr…

Robert Kerr welcomes Michigan State Women's Soccer coach Jeff Hosler to the program to talk about how he led the Spartans to a back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Jeff touches on his time at Grand Valey State, his coaching methods, and the players that have made the program a consistent winner in rece…

Head coach Chad Wiseman has the Western Michigan Broncos in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third time in the last six years. He joins Robert Kerr on the program to tell us all why nobody should be sleeping on his squad after their second round victory over Duke. The Broncos will travel to South Bend to face Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 on Sunday, November…

A lot has happened since the last MSC episode, so show editor and producer Jenny Hojnacki comes onto the show with Robert Kerr to discuss what's been missed in the last two weeks. Detroit City FC squeezed into the playoffs on the final day of the season and is starting their search for a new coach. Also, Michigan Stars revived their unique brand of…

With renewed interest in the U.S. Open Cup thanks, in large part, to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami playing in the 2023 Final, Josh Hakala joins Robert Kerr the pod to talk about this year's tournament, how Messi bumps the popularity of anything he touches, and look ahead to the 2024 edition. The qualifying for that tournament has already begun and it …

Robert Kerr returns from a vacation/day job/music festival induced hiatus with Detroit City FC co-founder, DCFC women's head coach, University Ligget High School coach, and math teacher, David Dwaihy. David talks about how he balances all those commitments, what is in store for Detroit City on both the men's and women's side, how his high school bo…

Although her reappearance on the podcast is premature for most listeners, University of Michigan head coach Jen Klein comes back into the show to join Robert Kerr in a discussion about the U.S. Women's National Team's exit from the Women's World Cup after the Round of 16.They talk about what led to their demise, what they could have done better, an…

Robert Kerr brings Nolan Bianchi back to get the latest on Detroit City FC. Le Rouge is beginning to find their stride after the addition of Dario Suarez. The team is scoring more goals while keeping their excellent defensive record in tact. Nolan offers his thoughts on what has led to the revival and what City can do do earn a spot in the USL Cham…

The Women's World Cup started in the wee hours of Thursday morning with New Zealand upsetting Norway, which calls for a special bonus episode of Michigan Soccer Central! Robert Kerr brings on University of Michigan women's head coach Jennifer Klein to talk about the tournament, the U.S. Women's National Team's chances, her experiences coaching some…

Host Robert Kerr is joined by fellow Oakland County FC supporter to relive the final weekend of USL2 regular season. Oakland County FC came back to win on the final day via a Mike Melaragni second half hat-trick.The pair also detail the exciting final week of action for the Midwest Premier League.For more Michigan soccer, follow @misoccercentral on…

Host Robert Kerr opens with his excitement for USL2's final week with Oakland County FC & AFC Ann Arbor vying for the final playoff birth. The two clubs are set to go head-to-head on both 7/12 & 7/16. In this week's feature segment, Robert speaks with Michigan Jaguars MLS Next Academy Director Pete Pososki. Pete explains MLS Next's place in the you…

Robert Kerr sits down with childhood best friends, Stoney Creek High School graduates, and current Oakland County FC players Bobby Harris, Kevin Buca, and Mike Melaragni to talk about their life growing up together as soccer players, best friends, and so much more. The trio are all playing together on the same team at the same time this season as t…

Robert Kerr reviews the weekend then has Michigan Girls' Division 1 State champions Stony Creek High School. Head Coach Bryan Mittelstadt comes onto the show along with senior players Lily Solek, Kaeli Butcher, and Lilley Bosley to celebrate their victory, which included a Gatorade bath, familial connection to Stony's first state title, and a speci…

Robert Kerr brings on Scott Rezendes, CEO and co-founder of The Soccer Syndicate, to discuss the group's recent partnership with the United Soccer League. The Soccer Syndicate is an independent scouting network that identifies players at all levels with the aim to help amateur players make the jump into the professional ranks. Scott talks about the…

Robert Kerr has it easy this week as frequent contributor Josh Hakala takes over the bulk of the show with Brendan Schabath. The pair were on the calls for the State Cup Finals in Saginaw this past weekend where they saw plenty of exciting young talent on display across two days of intense championship action.…

Robert Kerr is joined by fellow soccer diehards Luke Zagorski and Chris Rosin to discuss the holiday weekend that was in soccer around the world. After a brief discussion about the finale in the Premier League and Bundesliga, the trio returns to Michigan to touch on the Detroit City FC Men's and Women's doubleheader, Oakland County FC, Liquid Footb…

This week, host Robert Kerr catches up with former podcast guest and Michigan Mr. Soccer Jack Guggemos, who recently finished his freshman season at Michigan State and he is spending his summer playing for Lansing City in USL League Two. He had a chat with Robert following Lansing City's 1-1 draw against Oakland County FC on Saturday night.…

This week, Robert Kerr quickly reviews the week's headlines and scores. Robert then talks kit design with Scott Balogh, designer of Oakland County FC's new look for the 2023 season. Scott is a professional graphic designer and a first time kit designer with a passion for digital design. Scott explains how this was a bucket list project and how he c…

Robert Kerr welcomes Chris Rosin back onto the show this week to shoot the breeze about the weekend that was in Michigan soccer. Chris, for his part, had quite the sports filled Saturday that included a pair of amateur soccer games and a venture down to Ford Field for some American football action with the Michigan Panthers. Chris also has thoughts…

the National Independent Soccer Association takes center stage on MSC this week as Robert Kerr brings Michigan Stars fiery and ambitious owner George Juncaj on to talk about his club, the current state and future of NISA, and much more. George has a grand vision for both his club, the league they play in, and even American soccer itself and is not …

Robert Kerr highlights a coaching change this week as Paul Doroh takes over as the new boss of the Flint City Bucks. He takes over last season's USL League Two national semifinalists and four time national champions from Andy Wagstaff, someone Paul has a lot of respect for. His job brings a bunch of challenge, even after coaching for upwards of 25 …

Robert Kerr welcomes a pair of guests to this week's show as we highlight some amateur action across the state of Michigan. First up is Craig Beebe to talk about the adult divisions of the Michigan State Cup. While the youth ranks often get the bulk of the State Cup attention, there are a handful of amateur clubs throughout The Mitten that take par…

Robert Kerr goes back to the Midwest Premier League this week as he brings on Eric Walcott, founder and president of Lansing Common FC. Eric talks about how his club rose from the ashes of Lansing United and how it tries to stand out in the Capital City community through charitable works and a soccer team open to everyone.…

Detroit City FC and Gold Star FC faced off in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday and Le Rouge escaped Keyworth Stadium with a gritty 1-0 victory. Robert Kerr caught up with Gold Star FC general manager and head coach Alex Lubyansky, Detroit City FC goalkeeper Ryan Shellow, and Man of the Match Adrian Billhardt to talk about the game and what comes next f…

The state of Michigan features a pair of teams competing in the third division National Independent Soccer Association, which kicks off this weekend. Gold Star FC plays their first ever competitive game and Michigan Stars will begin their third season as a professional club. To welcome the occaision, Robert Kerr brings on Dan Creel and John Howard …

Detroit City FC had a rather strange time of it during their first home match of the season on Saturday. The wind was howling and blowing pizza and drinks away from fans like our host Robert Kerr and his fellow soccer dad guest Chris Rosen. Robert and Chris look back on the first three games of the DCFC season, including their 1-0 loss at home to I…

Robert Kerr brings on a very special guest as he welcomes Chloe Ricketts onto the pod. Chloe just finished preseason with the NWSL's Washington Spirt after becoming the youngest ever player to sign in the league, beating Olivia Moultrie by three days. The former AFC Ann Arbor midfielder talks about her unexpected journey from youth soccer all the w…

Bonus show for episode #101. Robert Kerr had a chat with Drew Ducker, better known as Ducks, who serves as the executive director of Futsal Factory Academy (FFA) in Canton. They field a team in the National Futsal Premier League (NFPL) and their final home game is this Saturday 3/18/23, so Ducks is here to promote the team and tout his facilities a…

To celebrate the 100th episode of Michigan Soccer Central, Robert Kerr brings back Jer Staes & Fletcher Sharpe from Daily Detroit to look back on how the pod has developed over nearly two years and how the vibrant soccer scene throughout the entire state of Michigan continues to evolve and grow from the youth, amateur, and professional levels.…

The Midwest Premier League held its preseason Annual General Meeting last weekend in Chicago and Robert Kerr was there personally to take in the experience. Robert got the chance to sit down with board members Ben Rode and Steve Beckman to talk about the club driven approach to the semi-pro league that features a large contingent of Michigan teams.…

Oakland County FC's fixture list is out and fan voting for the new kits is dropping soon, which means Robert Kerr needs to geek out about his number one club! Robert welcomes fellow OCFC supporter Andreas Gikas on to talk about the club, what it means to them, and what to look forward to in this upcoming season. For more Michigan Soccer updates & i…

This week's special guest takes the show across the world as Robert Kerr welcomes Ukrainian refugee and DeWitt High School forward Ruslan Masalitin to the show. Ruslan came to Michigan after war broke out in his hometown of Kharkov and his journey shows how soccer is the world's game and can unite people half a world away and can help a new country…

Detroit City FC has begin their preseason camp, so Robert Kerr brings on Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News to take a look at Le Rouge's second USL Championship season. The team will look different up front, but the back line is back and there will be plenty of new faces leading to optimism down at Keyworth Stadium.…

Robert Kerr has a pair of guests this week to talk about a couple different forms of soccer in Michigan. First up is former Detroit City FC standout Javi Bautista, who comes on to talk about Liquid Football, his new Midwest Premier League club. Bautista and his former DCFC teammate George Chamakov are looking to make a name for themselves with thei…