OCFC holds third annual Staff vs. Supporters game

CLAWSON — What started as a bridge between Oakland County FC and its fans has become a competitive match, when it comes to the annual  Staff vs. Supporters game, which recently held its third edition.

“It was just building that culture where our front office and our interns interact and mingle with our supporters,” Oakland County FC co-owner Nick Morana said.

The supporters captured a 4-3 win in the Tim Pontzer Memorial Cup Aug. 7 at Clawson City Park and now lead the series 2-1 after the victory. The supporters took an early 1-0 lead and remained on top for the remainder of the match.

The cup, along with the entirety of the match, had the memory of Pontzer attached to it. Pontzer passed away in a crash on Interstate 75 in late June of 2021.

Pontzer, a former sports writer for C & G Newspapers and a producer at 97.1 the Ticket, was a share owner of OCFC and attended games with his brother, Noah. Tim Pontzer participated in the first Staff vs. Supporters game.

Noah Pontzer said the renaming of the trophy was a nice gesture toward his brother.

“I didn’t expect them to do that, but Tim made a big enough impact with the people that they felt they should put his name back on it,” Pontzer said.

Both teams gathered after the match to hoist the “TP7” banner in honor of Pontzer, and participants came off the field saying “for Tim” as they walked off with the trophy.

In its three years of tradition, Morana, Andreas Gikas, Luke Zagorski, Peter Trout, Robert Kerr, Mitch Gatzke, Scott Balogh and Dan Roland have participated in each match.

Noah Pontzer competed for his second year and said he takes a lot of pride in one of his statistics.

“Unlike Tim, I actually have one goal on the board,” Pontzer said. “From what I’ve heard from a lot of people, Tim had 20-plus scoring opportunities.”

The supporters will look to extend their lead in the series next year.

Regardless, the match will continue to serve as a day of competition, community and remembrance for the OCFC family.

“It makes the interns have that feeling of seeing how happy and committed the supporters are; it makes them feel more important about what they’re doing,” Morana said. “It makes them feel more part of a family rather than being an intern.”