By Harold C. Ford

The Flint City Bucks begin their 2026 season with a non-league contest at 6:30 p.m. today at Don Batchelor Stadium in Grand Blanc. The Bucks will host Forward Madison FC, a Wisconsin-based member of United States League One (USL1).

The Flint-Madison contest is one of the opening matches in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a knockout competition in men’s soccer in the United States that was first held during the 1913-1914 season. The single-elimination tournament was named in honor of Hunt, a former executive of the North American Soccer League and Major League Soccer. The 2026 starting field of 80 professional and preprofessional clubs are competing for a $1 million overall purse. 

Forward Madison may offer the Bucks a stiff early-season test as the visiting club is ranked fifth in the USL1’s Week 2 Power Rankings after defeating One Knoxville SC in the season opener – ending Knoxville’s 21-game home regular season undefeated streak. 

But don’t sleep on Flint just yet. The Bucks are among the most accomplished semi-professional teams in Open Cup history with 10 wins over professional opponents. That includes upsets over Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution in 2000 and Chicago Fire in 2012.

Building a roster

Player-by-player the Bucks have been building a roster during the winter months in preparation for the 2026 season. 

Flint will begin play on March 19 with an 18-man roster that includes players hailing from four continents (Europe, Africa, and both Americas), six countries in addition to the U.S. (Denmark, Ireland, Liberia, Ghana, Columbia, and Canada), and three states other than Michigan (Ohio, Kentucky, and Texas). 

Recruits have honed their skills at 14 institutions of higher learning including eight in Michigan (Davenport, Detroit Mercy, Madonna, Oakland, Western Michigan, Michigan State, and Michigan) and six in other states (Akron, Bowling Green, Cornell, Fairfield, Northern Illinois, and Oral Roberts).  

Here’s the 2026 Bucks’ roster for the Cup game today:

  • Tweneboa Kodua, a midfielder who starred at Oral Roberts University and native of Accra, Ghana;
  • Wes Carnevale, a midfielder who started all 20 matches last season as a senior at Cornell University;
  • Jack Roman, a midfielder from the University of Akron who appeared in 13 matches for the Bucks last summer;
  • Isiah Goldson, a native of Oakville, Ontario who started in goal all 20 matches last season at the University of Michigan and helped lead the Wolverines to a 12-4-4 record and an NCAA tournament appearance; 
  • Sean Albritton, forward and Fairfield University freshman from Pflugerville, Texas who was an active member of Costa Rica’s U-20 national team;
  • Luke Spadafora, a native of Northville, Michigan and MSU freshman who was named to the Big Ten all-freshman team;
  • Ryko Bodurov, a midfielder at Bowling Green State University who was named to the Missouri Valley Conference scholar-athlete team;
  • Matt Dreas, a returning midfielder from Covington, Kentucky who starred at the University of Akron; 
  • Daire O’Riordan, a native of Cork, Ireland who played for five seasons with Davenport University; 
  • Drew Pierson, who captained Detroit Mercy for the past two seasons at right back; 
  • Ezra Horlings, a goalie who starred at East Lansing and Detroit Catholic Central;
  • Amara Kamara, twice named defensive Player of the Year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.  
  • Jordy Lopez, who led Madonna University with 22 goals and three assists in the fall of 2025; 
  • Ollie Moller-Jensen, a native of Denmark who played 22 matches with BK Frem in his native country; 
  • Zach Townsend, who was named to the Horizon League first team and all-academic team in 2024;
  • Marco Mazzei a midfielder who played four years for Oakland University; 
  • Braxton Arpachinda, who started 21 games for Western Michigan and was named to the Missouri Valley Conference second and scholar-athlete teams at left back; and
  • Matthew Paiva, center back, a native of Canada, who started 16 matches at the University of Akron in the fall. 

Secret sauce: the people

In a sit-down interview with East Village Magazine, Costa Papista, Flint City Bucks President, was asked about the team’s ongoing success in recruiting top-notch players year after year. 

“The secret sauce is the people,” Papista replied. “We’ve got great soccer people.” 

Specifically, Papista credited Gary Parsons, Bucks Director of Coaching and Player Personnel. 

“He has amazing relationships across the country with the top Division 1 coaches,” Papista said. “They trust us to send their best because they know we’re going to develop them the right way.” 

Papista also credited plentiful others for the club’s recruiting success, including Paul Doroh, head coach; Dan Duggan, CEO and chairman; Nick Deren, assistant coach; and Mali Walton, assistant coach and Flint native who played for the Bucks.

Tickets for tonight’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match between the Bucks and Forward Madison FC are available both online and at the Don Batchelor Field gates. And, as the Bucks’ noted in a press release this morning, the “weather looks GREAT (for Michigan in March)”.