By: Scott Bentley | C&G Newspapers | Published July 22, 2025
ROYAL OAK — Oakland County Football Club finished with the team’s best regular season point total in club history and got more eyes on the product than ever before in 2025.
In 12 matches played, OCFC recorded 20 points and finished fourth in the USL League 2 Great Lakes Division. While the team missed out on the playoffs, there is a lot of success to be found in the 2025 season.
“We’re really pleased with the season,” OCFC head coach Steve Walker said. “A record number of points. … It was a scenario where I think if one or two games go differently, then we’re in a playoff situation.”
Becoming a team that’s on the rise despite playing in a league that has constant roster turnover is difficult, but OCFC has done a great job of bringing back standout veteran returners, as well as targeting young players who could play for the club for multiple years.
“I think we had a better blend this year of some of the older players … but we also had seven guys that are going to be freshmen and haven’t even played a minute of college soccer yet,” Walker said. “It enables you to bring that experience back next year. … Those guys will be young but have already then had experience of playing in a USL2 game.”
2025 also was the first year of new ownership for the club with Dennis Weiss at the helm. This year indicated that the momentum being built in the front office is directly translating to the pitch.
“We’ve already had a few conversations and we’re looking to bring a large portion of this squad back,” Walker said. “This is the group that’s been with us for the new ownership. ‘The new era,’ as Dennis likes to call it. … Hopefully, we bring back the same core.”
Ultimately, the retention of players is vital due to the structure of the league. The USL2 league exists in large part for the purpose of developing young college-aged players. As OCFC trends upward, that purpose will only become more solidified as well.
“Word of mouth will get around to other programs about how well those guys are taken care of, how well everything went with the training, and how everything went as a team,” Walker said. “I think that will definitely help us next year.”
The season was also a massive success off the pitch. OCFC saw some of the biggest numbers in terms of fan turnout and online viewership in club history.
“We hit some milestones online,” OCFC Communications Manager Robert Kerr said. “We hit 5,000 followers on our Instagram … and we put more video content out than ever before.”
Kerr gives credit to the intern and social media staff for OCFC this season for helping the club establish itself online more. There’s a YouTube video the team clipped together that is a compilation of every OCFC goal scored in the 2025 season that has helped already get eyes on the team heading into next year.
One of the other focal points of the club under new ownership is to be more active in the community. There’s a talented soccer club right in the residents of Oakland County’s back yard, and the team wants to be connected with the fans.
“We’ll be adding as many community touchpoints as possible,” Kerr said, “to bring the awareness to a higher level, bring the community participation to a higher level.”
OCFC is another example of soccer continuing to grow not only nationally, but also locally.
“We have our sights set to try and create that fever of attention here locally in Oakland County,” Kerr said. “It just feels like a steppingstone towards a bigger and brighter era for those in purple.”
For more info on OCFC and the club’s offseason events, visit oaklandcountyfc.com.