Get to know the Cap City Athletic women's soccer team, which plays its inaugural match Sunday
It's a bit of a truncated schedule for one of the Lansing area newcomers to semi-professional soccer, Cap City Athletic 1847.
The club will play in United Women's Soccer, filling the void left by Lansing United, which folded following the conclusion of the 2021 campaign after four seasons. And it'll only play eight matches this season as part of the Great Lakes Division, playing home-and-homes with the other four teams in the league.
The team is coached by former Michigan State midfielder Erin Mandras, who played for the Spartans from 2002-05 and has the second-most career assists in program history with 23.
She'll have plenty to work with, as there are 32 players on the Cap City roster as of Thursday afternoon. Of those players, at least 11 of them played for Cap City in their youth academy.
The team also has seven current or former MSU players: defender Mia Hansen, midfielders Zivana Labovic and Dani Stephan, and forwards Camryn Evans, Sydney Kloosterman, Alex Thomas and Jordyn Wickes.
Five players are currently still in high school and won't join the team until their prep campaigns are complete: Williamston's Kaley Douglass, Ellie Maxson and Liz Bellinger, Haslett's Kaema Amachree and Holt's Grace Sampson.
"I'm just really excited to work with that caliber of player to help improve their game and influence them in some way even beyond the game," Mandras said.
Here's a look at five players to keep your eye on this season.
Camryn Evans
Evans was Lansing United's leading scorer last season, tallying five goals for the Hoops.
Evans has also been an integral player for Michigan State for the past four seasons. She started 17 games as a freshman, all 19 games in 2019, all 12 games in 2020-21 and 13 of 18 matches this past fall. The forward scored three goals this past season for the Spartans, two of which were match winners.
Evans has scored 13 goals in four seasons, including a team-high seven as a freshman in 2018. She's got seven career assists, six coming in her sophomore campaign in 2019.
Campbell George
George just finished her sophomore season at Xavier. The 5-foot-7 defender has yet to play for the Musketeers during that time, but has an impressive youth pedigree from playing 12 seasons at Midwest United.
The Grand Rapids native is a six-time invitee to the U.S. Soccer Development Training Academy and was a three-time captain for squads that won the National League Regional Championship and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Conference Championship.
Zivana Labovic
The Michigan State midfielder has started all 30 for the Spartans the past two seasons. Last fall, she was second on the team in goals scored with four and added two assists. As a freshman in the 2020-21 campaign, she led the Spartans with three goals.
"I watched her play when I went to see a State game, and I was so excited when she committed to play for Cap City," Mandras said. "These are players that get something different out of every coach, mentor and voice, and just to be able to leave that impression on these players, who are probably fully developed soccer-wise, is exciting."
The 5-foot-6 Indiana native comes from a family full of athletes. Labovic's dad played soccer and her mom played softball at DePaul. Her brother plays soccer for DePaul and her sister plays for Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Maddie O'Farrell
The Lansing Catholic graduate made an immediate impact as a freshman at Eastern Michigan, playing in all 18 matches and starting nine of those. O'Farrell finished with a goal and an assist, one of three Eagles to notch at least one of each on the season.
At Lansing Catholic, O'Farrell was a second-team all-state pick in 2019 and Dream Team all-state pick in 2021. She also came up in the Cap City youth academy.
Dani Stephan
The 2017 Michigan Miss Soccer winner finished her Michigan State career in the fall, playing in all 18 games and making 11 starts.
Stephan had one goal and one assist, finishing her Spartan career with three goals and 15 assists. Stephan played in 81 career matches for MSU, second-most in program history, starting 65 of those.
Cap City Athletic 2022 roster
(Announced roster as of Thursday afternoon. Subject to change)
Goalkeepers
Name College Hometown
Myia Danek Oakland Laingsburg, MI (Laingsburg)
Katie Goss Western Michigan Mason, MI (Mason)
Defenders
Kaley Douglass Saginaw Valley State Williamston, MI (Williamston)
Campbell George Xavier Grand Rapids, MI
Abigail Gilmore Ferris State (graduated) Lansing, MI (Lansing Catholic)
Mia Hansen Michigan State Brighton, MI
Rachel Logue Central Michigan Oak Hills, CA
Ellie Maxson Indianapolis Williamston, MI (Williamston)
Paige Myers Detroit Mercy Grand Rapids, MI
Tess Williams Eastern Michigan Okemos, MI (Okemos)
Midfielders
Liz Bellinger Hope Williamston, MI (Williamston)
Addie Brown Central Michigan Grand Rapids, MI
Aleyna Gross Fairleigh Dickinson Haslett, MI
Morgan Kloosterman Butler Northville, MI
Zivana Labovic Michigan State Schererville, IN
Maddie O'Farrell Eastern Michigan Lansing, MI (Lansing Catholic)
Camille Schafer Purdue Northwest St. Johns, MI (St. Johns)
Megan Scholten Central Michigan Charlevoix, MI
Dani Stephan Michigan State (graduated) DeWitt, MI (DeWitt)
Rachel Sweigard Columbus State South Lyon, MI
Bria Telemaque Indiana East Lansing, MI (Okemos)
Forwards
Teresa Ashbrook Trine DeWitt, MI (DeWitt)
Kaema Amachree Toledo Haslett, MI (Haslett)
Kendra Brown Ferris State DeWitt, MI (DeWitt)
Camryn Evans Michigan State Fenton, MI
Sydney Kloosterman Michigan State Northville, MI
Jackie Reilly Middle Tennessee State Okemos, MI (Okemos)
Grace Sampson Oakland Holt, MI (Holt)
Madison Sims Olivet Lansing, MI (Waverly)
Lily Stephan Alma DeWitt, MI (DeWitt)
Alex Thomas Michigan State (graduated) Dryden, MI
Jordyn Wickes Michigan State Brunswick, OH
Cap City Athletic 2022 schedule
*home game at East Lansing Soccer Complex
Date Opponent Time
May 15 Nationals 7:30 p.m.
May 22 *Muskegon Risers 7 p.m.
May 27 Michigan Jaguars 7 p.m.
June 3 *Corktown AFC 7 p.m.
June 5 *Michigan Jaguars 1 p.m.
June 17 Muskegon Risers 7 p.m.
June 26 Corktown AFC 7 p.m.
June 29 *Nationals 7 p.m.
Contact digital sports reporter Phil Friend at 517-377-1220 or pfriend@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Phil_Friend.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Cap City Athletic 1847: United Women's Soccer schedule, roster for 2022
