Match Recaps

Article and Photos by Robert Sherman

Stephen Carroll, Shawn Lawson, Rafa Mentzingen, Seb Harris, Trevor Amann (twice), Brogan Shrimpton and Dave Edwardson all scored Friday night at Keyworth Stadium as Detroit City picked up three points in an 8-0 rout of last place FC Indiana.

Five of the above contingent (Carroll, Lawson, Mentzingen, Amann, Shrimpton) also got on the scoresheet in the 11-0 dismantling of FC Indiana just five days earlier.

After taking the full six points from the season series, Le Rouge currently sits at the second spot in the table, 4 points behind undefeated AFC Ann Arbor, with one third of the season down.

“There’s not a lot of positives that come out of games like this,” head coach Ben Pirmann said, “The good thing is that all of our injured players get to rest. You still have to take these things seriously. They [FC Indiana] tied teams last year, you still have to go through and win.

“I think the bigger thing is, because it wasn’t a very good opponent in the last two games, the next weekend is huge. We have a tough road game Friday [against FC Columbus] and then we turn around with a huge game on Sunday at home [against AFC Ann Arbor].

“To me, with eight games left, those eight games have to be one game at a time. We can’t think about Ann Arbor or Grand Rapids or whatever. We have to think about beating Columbus on Friday night.”

If I went through every goal that was scored on Friday and told you about them, we would be here all night. So, instead let’s look at the highlights:

(1) Stephen Carroll is a rock in central defense, and this season he has combined well with both Seb Harris and Jimmy Fiscus to lead the back line, but recently he’s shown he can contribute on the offensive end, as well. His free kick goal in the fourth minute of the match showed how dangerous he can be on set pieces.

(2) Both times that they have visited Keyworth Stadium, FC Indiana has seen their starting goalkeeper sent off with a straight red card. Despite this, neither ejection has had much of an impact on the games, especially this one. They really stood no chance either way, and ended Friday on a -38 goal differential.

(3) Shawn Lawson continues to be the primary threat up top for the Boys In Rouge. He has nowhere near the same impact in the offensive third when he plays on the wing as he does in the number 9 position. I’ve also noticed how he looks much more comfortable and confident on the pitch so far this season, and I doubt that will change going forward.

(4) I can’t speak anymore positives about Mentzingen than I already have. He’s versatile, able to play in the number 9 position, on the wings, and as we saw for a little on Friday, in the roaming number 10 midfield role. Not to mention, his fitness is out of this world. Continuing to impress everyone, he struck a beautiful outside of the foot curler to give City a 3-0 lead right before halftime.

That finish from @rafaduizit. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/K6rRfeeTri

— Detroit City FC (@DetroitCityFC) June 2, 2018

Continue reading “Seven goal scorers lead Detroit City FC to victory against FC Indiana”

Article and Photos by Robert Sherman

Detroit City FC schelpped to Skyline High School in Ann Arbor on Sunday afternoon to open up the 2018 National Premier Soccer League season, but were defeated, 1-0, by current division leaders AFC Ann Arbor.

The lone goal on the day was scored in stoppage time by Ann Arbor’s Martieon Watson. Watson’s goal sunk City, who didn’t play well for a majority of the match despite a handful of scoring chances that didn’t quite fall correctly.

“This was a typical league game, we play against a team that is fired up to play against City, we have a thousand more fans than they do at their place,” head coach Ben Pirmann said. “In these league games we have to have better ball speed, and there’s no excuse for it, but we’ve put a lot of focus onto our defending, so we were not sharp on that.

“I don’t care who is on the field, or who is injured, we have to play a little harder with more desire to win. I thought we played like that in the second half. We should have scored three or four goals, but we didn’t and then we got burned on the end with a restart.

“You have to give Ann Arbor the credit for taking the three points, I feel we deserved better and that we were the better team on the field, but that stuff doesn’t matter in this league. We’re pretty much always the best team on the field in these league games.”

The first half of City’s league opener crawled by, highlighted mainly by the debut of former Colorado Rapids forward Josh Gatt for Le Rouge. Much else of what happened in the first half was played in the midfield and had little effect on the game.

The most action came in the 41st minute with a scare in the defensive third for City. AFCAA’s Michael Shaikly danced through the backline and passed the returning Fernando Pina, only to hit the outside of the post on his shot.

Continue reading “Detroit City FC drop league opener to AFC Ann Arbor, turn focus to FC Cincinnati”

Article and Photos by Robert Sherman

We all remember the day like it was yesterday. Two years ago in Rochester, the likes of Dave Edwardson, Evan Louro, Cyrus Saydee, and Jeff Adkins squeezed out a victory against the most successful amateur team in the state and etched their names into Detroit City FC folklore for all of time.

Fast forward two years and Nate Steinwascher, Shawn Lawson, Stephen Carroll, and Roddy Green stared into the eyes of the Bucks and created their own legacies in front of 3,416 fans.

This match was different. This time Detroit City FC was the dominant factor. Le Rouge made the Bucks look like fawns in headlights.

On Wednesday night, in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup, City outplayed, outclassed, and defeated the Bucks, 5-4 (1-1) in a penalty kick shootout, in a match that should have been finished in 90 minutes.

“At the end of the day, I think that the proper team advanced,” head coach Ben Pirmann said.

In years past we have been treated to a U.S. Open Cup match controlled almost exclusively by the Bucks, or Pirmann’s strategy of locking down the midfield and settling in for a defensive battle.

When the team sheet was released for Wednesday’s clash, we saw an attacking lineup from Caesar. Rafa Metzingen, Lawson, Danny Deakin, and Brad Centala highlighted the offensive front while Omar Sinclair, Carroll, Jimmy Fiscus and Elliot Bentley were in charge of shutting down the Bucks’ attack.

Unlike in recent years, City wingbacks, Sinclair and Bentley, were able to push forward and join in on the attack, a facet of the offense that the Bucks have never encountered from Pirmann’s squads in this tournament.

The first round meetings between these two teams are always nerve-wracking affairs, and Wednesday’s match was no exception. Midfield commander Saydee started on the bench, rain poured down half an hour before kick off, and a handful of injuries plagued the squad in the days leading up to kickoff.

“I shouldn’t have even played him [Saydee], he’s just too good not to play and even when we went up, there was 15 minutes where we bossed it,” Pirmann said. “It was through him and Danny [Deakin] getting the ball, and finding Rafa [Metzingen].

“Obviously when we went down he had to defend more. It was very tough in the sense that Danny was 80-percent, Cyrus was 70-percent and he’s hurt, but when we put all the best guys out there we ran the game for a good fifteen minutes.”

Everyone was on eggshells. That is, everyone but the coaching staff and players of Detroit City FC, who kept their cool through the full 120 minute match. A prime example, playing on a yellow card received in the second half, Sinclair made several key challenges, including two sliding tackles, to relieve pressure coming down the wings.

Lawson shocked the entire stadium in the second half by wrangling in a shot that rattled the crossbar and absolutely powering the ball past Bucks goalkeeper Jimmy Hague from inside the six-yard box.

Continue reading “New heroes emerge as Detroit City FC downs the Bucks for the second time in Open Cup”

Article and Photos by Robert Sherman

Detroit City FC had their work cut out for them on Saturday evening, having to claw their way back to earn a 1-1 draw against Harpos FC, with a crucial U.S. Open Cup challenge against Michigan Bucks waiting in the shadows.

The second consecutive draw for the Boys in Rouge brings an end to a difficult preseason campaign that saw the club earn a sole victory against Chattanooga FC, then finish with two unfulfilling draws. City’s current run of form not only has supporters stressed about Wednesday’s clash with the Bucks, but head coach Ben Pirmann has his reservations as well.

“I don’t think we’ve played great in our three preseason games, so obviously that is a concern,” the gaffer said. “But they’re just preseason games, if they meant something, they wouldn’t be preseason games.

“The biggest thing was the toll it took on our bodies. We’re going to be down three starters on Wednesday [against the Bucks], as if it wasn’t going to be tough as it was.”

Pirmann chose to not rotate his lineup much against Harpos FC, playing the likes of Cyrus Saydee, Roddy Green, Danny Deakin, Shawn Lawson, and other important players for a majority of the match. This decision proved costly.

Tyler Moorman went down with a lower back injury in the second half – an issue that he’s been fighting for a while now. Deakin was slashed down by a defender in the first half, forcing him out of the match with an ankle injury. Tariq Akeel was substituted early with an injury as well.

“Those three were the big injuries today,” Pirmann said. “They won’t be playing any time soon.”

Once again, Detroit City FC held a majority of the possession in the match, and spent a ton of time in the attacking third, putting pressure on the Harpos backline and goalkeepers. Unfortunately, the time spent on the offensive yielded minimal results.

As per usual, Saydee got his team moving forward after a nervy start to the match, brutally nutmegging a defender in the 10th minute, then later sliding a pass to Lawson, whose shot forced a save from the Harpos goalkeeper.

Lawson was a bright spot in the flailing attack for City, earning another chance on goal in the 26th minute after a slick cutback, but again the Harpos keeper came up with the save.

City hit the locker room for halftime in a scoreless affair.

Continue reading “Offensive struggles lead to draw with Harpos FC in final preseason test”

Article and Photos by Robert Sherman

Detroit City FC returned to Keyworth Stadium for the first time since August of last year on Saturday evening, eager to open its home schedule for the 2018 season. In the first of two friendlies to be held at home before beginning competitive play, Le Rouge drew fellow NPSL powerhouse Chattanooga FC, 1-1, leaving the latter winless in the home-and-home series.

Further into its preseason progression in part to the fair weather in Tennessee, Chattanooga FC should have held an advantage over City, who still have not received all of their players for the year. The lack of a complete roster and less than ideal weather in the Detroit area has partly stifled training for the club in the lead up to the friendlies.

“We’re narrowing down the group to more realistic options,” head coach Ben Pirmann said. “We want to see that front four be more dangerous, more lethal. I told them at halftime that they have to grind.

“Backline cohesion, we’ve got six guys to pick out of the four. We’ve got Stephen (Carroll), Sebby (Harris), and Jimmy (Fiscus), who will battle it out for the two center back spots.

“We have two good options at left back, but I want to see more out of them. T.J. (Stephens) has been solid at right back, but again we need more there.”

As was the case at Finley Stadium last week, the shortened roster was a non-factor for City’s success in the draw, giving head coach Ben Pirmann a foundation to work with as he eyes the beginning of his club’s competitive fixtures.

“We’ll have options,” he said. “Now it’s our job to figure out who plays where.”

Continue reading “Detroit City FC draw with Chattanooga FC in home-and-home series finale”