Michigan club Vardar won a couple of indoor field turf matches last weekend in USSF Development Academy play.

Playing at Ultimate Soccer Arena in the Detroit area, Vardar defeated Ohio Elite 1-0 on a 34th minute strike from Quinn Kotsko, and Indiana United 1-0 behind a 58th minute tally from Jarrett Kersten. Goalkeeper Sheldon Medici pitched shutouts for the Michiganders in both matches.

The wins give Vardar an early tie for first place in the Central Conference Great Lakes Division with archrivals Derby County Wolves.

Vardar Technical Director Mike Lupenec (Mark Christensen is the team coach) said the team, which had a recent coaching change, switched to a 4-4-2 formation for the weekend matches and responded well.

“We went to a 4-4-2 and created a lot of scoring opportunites,” Lupenec said. “We should have had more goals than we did, but the other teams did well defensively and in the one game even had a couple of chances to tie it. In the Academy you have to put teams away and they hit the crossbar late on a set piece, so I’m glad we were able to come away with all the points.”

Lupenec said a number of new faces on the roster mean that the coaching staff has been working hard to educate the squad on proper decision-making. He added the Academy format makes motivation an unlikely problem.

“You have to bring it every day, every practice. We select who will play based on what they do in practices before that,” he said. “If they are not doing the right things, they don’t start the next Academy game.”

One player who did a lot of the right things is U15 developmental player Mike Leone, who started both games in the back line and was “a big contributor” according to Lupenec.

The midfield trio of Zachary Carroll, Jarrett Kersten and Fatai Alashe are key for the squad as well.

“They’ve got good experience and really understand what we are all about.”

The team travels to Ohio March 20 and 21 for road matches with divisional rivals Columbus Crew and Internationals.