The 2012–13 Detroit Waza season was the fifth season of the

Detroit Waza The Waza FC (also known as Detroit Waza) is an American professional arena soccer team based in Metro Detroit competing as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The team's nickname, "Waza", is both a Japanese word that mean ...

professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

club, also known as Detroit Waza Flo Pro FC. The Waza, an Eastern Division team and charter member of the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

, played their regular season home games in the

Taylor Sportsplex The Taylor Sportsplex is a sports facility owned by and located in the City of Taylor, Michigan. The indoor facility contains four arenas that host a variety of sporting events—especially ice hockey and soccer—and a variety of special events. ...

Taylor, Michigan Taylor is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 63,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Taylor is the fifth most-populated city in Wayne County and the 17th List of municipa ...

. Post-season home matches were played at the Melvindale Ice Arena in

Melvindale, Michigan Melvindale is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city population was 12,851. History Melvindale began as the unincorporated settlement of Oakwood Heights in the northwestern part of Ecorse Township in ...

. The team was led by owner Mario Scicluna, general manager Kathy Coyne, and head coaches Dominic Scicluna and Matt Johnson.

Season summary

Detroit was very successful in the regular season, finishing 14–2 and clinching the Eastern Division title for the second consecutive year. The team was a perfect 8–0 at home with its only two losses (a close match against the

Cincinnati Kings Cincinnati Kings were a professional American association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid ...

and an upset by the Harrisburg Heat) coming on the road. The Waza advanced to the postseason and earned the right to play for the Ron Newman Cup in the PASL National Championship. The Waza defeated the

in two straight games, winning the Eastern Divisional Finals and advancing to the Semi-Finals in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, where they defeated the

Rio Grande Valley Flash Hidalgo La Fiera (also known as "La Fiera FC") was an American professional indoor soccer team based in Hidalgo, Texas. They played in the Southern Division of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The team was founded in 2012 as the Rio Grande Va ...

in overtime. The team played the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

for the league championship and lost 6–8 in regulation. The Waza won the

2012–13 United States Open Cup for Arena Soccer The 2012–13 US Open Arena Soccer Championship is the fifth edition of an open knockout style tournament for arena/indoor soccer. In this edition, teams from the Professional Arena Soccer League, Premier Arena Soccer League, and other independen ...

. They received a bye in the wild-card round then defeated the Ohio Vortex in the Round of 16, the Harrisburg Heat in the Quarter-Finals, the Chicago Mustangs in the Semi-Finals, and the reigning Open Cup champion

in the Championship game.

Awards and honors

On January 8, 2013, the

named Detroit

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Joe Kapinos as its Player of the Week. Citing the rookie's 8–0 record, including two wins the previous weekend, and his low 4.13

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

, the league described Kapinos as "the anchor of the Detroit Waza defense this season". On January 15, 2013, the PASL named Detroit player Ricardo Lopes as its Player of the Week. Citing his 7 goals against the Harrisburg Heat the previous weekend, the underused Lopes helped the Waza improve to 10–1 on the season. In postseason honors, defender Costea Decu was named to the 2012-13 PASL All-League First Team and goalkeeper Joey Kapinos was named to the 2012-13 PASL All-League Second Team.

Schedule

Regular season

† Game also counts for US Open Cup, as listed in chart below.

Postseason

2012–13 US Open Cup for Arena Soccer

Roster

References

External links

Detroit Waza official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Detroit Waza season Detroit Waza

Soccer in Michigan