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Posted on Mon, Jul 8, 2013 : 12:54 p.m.

Michigan soccer and former Ann Arbor area players leading undefeated Detroit semi-pro team

By Pete Cunningham

ugo-uche-detroit.jpg

Former Pioneer High School soccer player Ugo Uche, pictured above dribbling in a 2009 game, scored the game winning goal for Detroit City FC to give the team an undefeated regular season.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo

Soccer in the city of Detroit has taken off over the past two summers since the founding of Detroit City FC and the Ann Arbor area soccer scene has played a large part in that.

As reported by MLive Media Group, former Pioneer all-state player Ugo Uche scored the game-winning goal in the team's 2-1 victory on Sunday, which capped an undefeated regular season in its second season in the North American Professional Soccer League. Uche -- a senior-to-be at the University of New Hampshire who graduated from Pioneer in 2010 -- scored in the 80th minute to break a 1-1 tie.

Seven Le Rouge players are current or former University of Michigan players and another four hail from Ann Arbor with former Pioneer players Uche and Mike Wiest and former Huron players Tom Oatley and and Matt Ybarra playing for the team. City FC will host the playoffs this weekend at Detroit Cass Tech High School.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.