WASHINGTON, MI (WROC) — Flower City finished off their Cinderella playoff run after defeating the Michigan Stars FC 1-0 to win the National Independent Soccer Association championship.

Matthew Bolduc scored the lone goal of the contest which came in the 52nd minute. Flower City Union goalkeeper Michael Mejia posted his second clean sheet of the playoffs.

The championship capped off a complete 180 turnaround from Flower City Union’s inaugural season. The Rochester professional soccer team won just two games last year and had a -44 goal differential.

The start to the 2023 season didn’t fare much better as Flower City Union won just one of their first eight games. Despite finishing with a 8-13-3 record in the regular season, Flower City Union locked down the sixth and final spot in the NISA playoffs.

Flower City began the playoffs with a convincing 4-2 road win over Los Angeles Force. In the next round, the Rochester professional club knocked off the regular season champs, Chattanooga FC in penalty kicks. The historic playoff run wrapped up with a win over the defending champions on Saturday night.