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Malvin Gblah battles for control of the ball against a Kalamazoo FC player last July. Gblah is returning to Oakland County FC this season.
File photo by Patricia O’Blenes
ROYAL OAK — Just a few weeks away from Oakland County Football Club’s opener against Midwest United on May 13, the club has made multiple roster moves as OCFC fans continue to anticipate whether or not certain fan favorites will be back for the 2023 season.
There’s unfinished business after last season, and nobody has more to prove than forward Mike Melaragni, who was sidelined in 2022 due to a hamstring injury.
Now healthy and ready to take the field, the veteran will enter his fifth year with OCFC as one of the staples of the club.
“It’s really exciting to get some of these guys back,” OCFC general manager Vinnie Vasilevski said. “I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to get these guys back for one more season. You know Mike, him and I were talking on the phone the other day, and he said, ‘I owe you this season.’ It’s awesome, man. Really, it just comes down to the culture. Just a really great group of guys last year, and they’re all friends, they all get along, and you get one of them or two of them to start saying they’re going to play, and it’s just a domino effect.”
Alongside Melaragni, midfielder Kevin Buca, a University of Michigan soccer player, will return for his fifth season after tallying five goals for the club in 2022.
The longest tenured players with the club, alongside midfielder Demetri Pliakos, Buca and Melaragni, a Western Michigan soccer player, will lead a strong veteran group for OCFC this season.
“It’s pivotal because you need to have the experience, but also the leadership as well,” Vasilevski said. “You know, Mike (Melaragni) and Kevin (Buca) have been great leaders, and I think that’s something that can get overlooked, especially in a summer league.”
Other key returners include goalkeeper Caleb Norris, who plays collegiately at Butler University, and Tiffin University star midfielder Malvin Gblah, who scored five goals for OCFC in 2022.
With 15 returning players from the 2022 squad, OCFC will have a strong start to the offseason before the team takes the field.
Other returners include (with university listed):
Gabe Baylon (Oakland), Alek Markovski (Western Michigan commit), Cullen MacNeil (Harvard), Demetri Pliakos (Detroit Mercy), Bobby Harris (Wisconsin), Rocco Galati (Detroit Mercy), Ben Rosenblatt (Elon), Jack Streberger (Butler), Chase Inscho (Michigan State), Zack Babiak (Michigan State) and Daniel Iyok (Detroit Mercy).
