UPDATE: LANSING - Lansing United won their season opener 3-0 against Ann Arbor Football Club on Saturday, May 7th at the East Lansing Soccer Complex. “I was excited to get the guys out here in a real match situation, we had some goals we wanted to achieve and I just thought the first half was pretty sharp. We’re working through some kinks, I thought our pressing was pretty good, we’ve been working on that in training,” says Lansing United Head Coach Nate Miller.

The team has also been working on rotating nearly 20 guys in before the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) play starts and they were able to do that in tonight’s game scoring three goals in the first half. “Three pretty good goals, we also wanted to see a lot of different guys play and we accomplished that as well,” says Miller. The three United goals came from Danny Brandt, Danny Cawley and Tim Daniels.

The atmosphere might have played a role in their first half victory with the Sons of Ransom in full force along with fans from the local community. “Everyone on the team was really impressed by the fans and the turnout tonight and I think it was a great atmosphere. I think we’ve still got some stuff to get used to and just to blend together on the team but I think it was a good night overall,” says United Midfielder Danny Brandt

They played this game without a full roster still waiting on many key members to arrive in Lansing. “A big goal of mine today was to keep fresh legs so that on Monday we can really hit training hard again so that we wouldn’t have to rest guys because we do bring some impact players on Monday,” says Miller.






ORIGINAL STORY: LANSING - Last October, Lansing United Owner Jeremy Sampson was in the market for a new head coach, and Nate Miller, the Head Coach at Spring Arbor University had always been interested. Miller did not apply for the position but was contacted by Sampson and did not hesitate to take it.

Miller started to build his team right away selecting each player for a specific reason. He returned around six players from last season's squad. "I spoke individually with each one of those guys to make sure it was a guy that I wanted to come back but those guys that are returning what is common in all of them is that they love Lansing United," says Miller.

Miller along with his coaching staff have used training sessions over the past week in order to evaluate the talent on the team. “I’m looking for competition and I’m looking for guys to show some desire to win a spot,” says Miller.

Not all hands are on deck yet with only about 25 of the roster being featured in training this week and the rest said to arrive periodically by May 8th, creating a new incentive for the team. The more players that arrived throughout the week resulted in competition for a starting spot increasing daily.

One of Lansing United’s main focuses was coming together as a team as well as getting used to each player’s individual playing tendencies and strengths. “I think the best part so far is that everyone is really willing to work with each other, which is not easy when everyone is coming to a new team,” says Brandt.

Miller has spent a good amount of time on getting the team organized for the season opener. “Two of the biggest things we worked on was our team pressing and what our shape looks like in possession, what our roles are especially in midfield, and how we want to attack,” says Miller.

The team’s work ethic is one characteristic that can already been seen and Brandt says he is excited to play in front of the the United faithful on Saturday night for the first time. “I think everybody here knows the fans make it a wild atmosphere. We’re playing for the fans and for the city. It’s something bigger than yourself,” says Brandt.