Grand Rapids FC Soccer Vs. Aquinas College 6

Former East Kentwood and Michigan State forward Domenic Barone is back playing soccer, leading Grand Rapids FC with five goals in five games.

(MLive file photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Domenic Barone knows all about those linear notes from his college soccer career at Michigan State:

• 2012: Played in just 16 games due to injury ...

• 2011: Missed the entire season after suffering an injury in pre-season camp ...

• 2009: Played in 10 games during the season starting nine...Missed remainder of the season after suffering injury ...

Those "what ifs" were mentally painful as well.

"It's hard," Barone said. "I've kind of settled into it now. But that senior year and for about a year afterward when I was back home, it was a little bit depressing."

Not so much anymore. Now 25, the former East Kentwood High School standout has rekindled a healthy love affair with soccer as a member of Grand Rapids FC, the city's fourth division amateur team. A few of the aches are still there, but fortunately for the team, so is Barone's skill. The forward is FC's leading scorer with five goals in five games.

The team plays at Ann Arbor FC on Friday and is home at Houseman Field at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Lansing United.

"He has goal-scoring abilities that not many have," Grand Rapids FC coach George Moni said. "When you have his special qualities, you rely a lot on what he can do."

It's not the MLS, but Grand Rapids FC provides Barone with one more chance to play with his twin brother, Mark, a midfielder, and experience the game from a different perspective.

Grand Rapids' Mark Barone, left, and his brother Domenic during a stoppage against Bloomfield Force in a game from June 12.

"I just missed it," he said. "When you play college, it can kind of feel like a job sometimes. But you miss that competitive level. So it had been a little less than three years (since he last played) but it's something I wanted to do, and the chance to play with my brother again."

This has been a long-time coming. Barone had 77 goals and 47 assists over four years at East Kentwood, including 21 goals his senior season as the Falcons went 25-1-1 and won a state title.

He started well at Michigan State, appearing in all 20 games as a top reserve in 2008 and picking up his first goal.

But then the injuries began. In 2009 he dislocated his hip and in 2011 he tore his left ACL before the season began and received a medical redshirt. He came back, minus his brother who finished in 2011, and had three goals and two assists in an injury-abbreviated senior season. After he was done at MSU, he joined the Chicago Fire's under-23 team but rolled his ankle in an indoor game and missed three months.

He can take solace in his 2010 season. Healthy most of the way, Barone led the Spartans with 10 goals and 23 points, including a pair of goals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He was second team All-Big Ten Conference.

Now, he manages his "old man" legs with Grand Rapids FC, careful not to go too far to re-aggravate an on-going groin injury and spoil the experience.

He has a lot on his plate. Grand Rapids FC strategically tries to pull defenders up to give Barone space in the box to make plays. It has worked so far.

"If you look at the best forwards, they have that play-making ability and individual ability in the box," Moni said. "He has those characteristics, so we have to be careful in his training that we don't lose him."

Barone, who spent a couple months running with some lifting to prepare for the four-month season, monitors himself.

"I know my body pretty well now because I've had so many injuries, but it was pretty easy once we started playing," he said. "Nothing emulates the game - the cutting, the jumping the sprinting - it's so hard on your body. But after a couple weeks, we figured out how much to do.

"I'm having a blast because you just want to have that passion, that fun back again," Barone added. "To be around all these guys who have played ... to be around your friends in your home city in front of the kind of crowds we've had, you just kind of get that joy again."

Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at pwallner@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.