Season Previews

PART I: Rebel Scum   PART II: Forwards   PART III: Attacking Mids & Wingers   PART IV: Center Midfielders   PART V: Fullbacks   PART VI: Centerbacks   PART VII: Goalkeepers

Roster

During his tenure as Detroit City’s head coach, Ben Pirmann has tweaked and evolved his roster-building strategy from year to year. The most noticeable evidence of this came last season, when, for the first time, City didn’t carry any players from The University of Michigan. The decision to instead fill the roster with more players who were able to stay with the team for the full summer paid off handsomely in the form of a Midwest Regional Title.

The philosophy for 2018 looks the same – as of now, the roster is split right down the middle between current and post-college players.

In College (17): Amann, Amigo, Bartel, Bentley, Brazil, Busaidy, Carroll, Garcia, Green, Mentzingen, Pina, Rudel, Shrimpton, Sinclair, Skinner, Svehlik, Tomasino

Post-College (17): Adkins, Centala, Chomakov, Dargent, Deakin, Edwardson, Fiscus, Janicki, Lawson, Miller, Moorman, O. Harris, S. Harris, Saydee, Steinwascher, Stephens, Williams

Further bolstering City’s cause, a good chunk of those college players go to small schools, which are generally more lenient when it comes to allowing their players to remain in Detroit for the duration of the season. Not only is this arguably City’s deepest and most talented roster ever, it’s also the one that’s most geared toward continuity and post-season preparedness.

At the back, there are two proven keepers and a good mix of veterans and college players vying for the four starting spots in defense. Most notable are two newcomers who are talented enough to be on MLS rosters right now: Wilfred Williams and Jimmy Fiscus.

Center midfield is a bit in flux at the moment, and a holding mid needs to emerge to partner with Louis Dargent (or at least provide solid play until Dave Edwardson is healthy).

Up top, Pirmann has options galore, but his biggest test will be to figure out which combination of Lawson/Mentzingen/Moorman/Adkins/Deakin/Green/Saydee works the best. That’s not even mentioning intriguing new players such as Jake Rudel, Adan Garcia, and Mystery International Forward.

Continue reading “Season Preview 2018: Team Overview”

PART I: Rebel Scum   PART II: Forwards   PART III: Attacking Mids & Wingers   PART IV: Center Midfielders   PART V: Fullbacks   PART VI: Centerbacks

GOALKEEPER

First, a confession: I had to go and look up the name of last year’s starting keeper – the one before Fernando Pina. His name is Colin Miller, and the reason I had a hard time remembering him isn’t because of his play, which was actually quite good, but because Pina burned himself into my memory in his very first appearance.

He saved that penalty, made several other excellent saves, and earned a clean sheet the day he took over for Miller. Any worries about goalkeeping for the end of the season were erased, and Pina turned out to be one of the main reasons City made it all the way to the NPSL Semi-final.

He’s 6’1”, but with his athleticism plays like he’s 6’3”, and exhibits strong vocal and physical command of his area. Now 24, his college career has been a long and winding one: he began at Akron in 2012, transferred to Coastal Carolina in 2015, and is now at Fort Hays State, where somehow he’s still only a redshirt junior.

Because of Pina’s performance at the end of last season, I had him pegged as the definite number one keeper heading into 2018. After seeing the play of Nate Steinwascher this preseason, however, I think we have more of a 1A/1B situation on our hands.

In hindsight, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Steinwascher has showed his quality time and again for City, beginning with his epic performance against Louisville City in 2016.

Continuing in 2017:

And now this spring:

This double save from @nstein_15… 😳https://t.co/Au9SwS9udM

— DCFCFC – The Podcast (@DCFCFC) April 22, 2018

Pina has a slight height and athletic advantage, so I give him the smallest of edges, but I expect to see the number of starts split fairly evenly between the two. No matter which of them happens to be in net on any given day, both should fill City supporters with confidence.

And, as if two quality options weren’t enough, there may even be a third. Pearce Skinner started 11 matches as a redshirt freshman for Cincinnati in 2017, recording two clean sheets and winning a conference player of the week award.

At 6’2”, he’ll be the tallest keeper on the roster, and he doesn’t appear to be lacking in reflexes or ability:

Pina and Steinwascher are both much more experienced, but I could see Skinner earning some time of his own. The mid and late-season friendlies will be great opportunities for him to showcase his talents.

One Reason to Be Excited 🙂

City has two starting-caliber keepers, plus a number three who’s a starter at the D-1 level. I’m hard-pressed to remember when, or if, the team has ever gone into a season with a stronger group from top to bottom.

One Reason To Worry 🙁

As with forward, I’m having trouble coming up with any serious concerns. Barring an injury or departure, we should be able to make it through the season without any keeper anxiety.

Player to Watch 😎

For the first time ever, I’m going to pick two: Pina and Steinwascher. While we know what both are capable of, I’m interested to see if one or the other will raise their game enough to grab the number one job all for themselves. If that happens, City’s goalkeeping may reach new heights.

Header Photos: Detroit City FC/Univ. of Cincinnati/DCFC

PART I: Rebel Scum   PART II: Forwards   PART III: Attacking Mids & Wingers   PART IV: Center Midfielders   PART V: Fullbacks

CENTERBACK

Without question, the unsung hero of City’s 2017 season was Stephen Carroll. He started 14 of his 15 appearances, and was one of the keys to City’s massive defensive improvement over a sub-par 2016. Although Tyrone Mondi took home the Black Arrow Award, some supporters were adamant that Carroll was even more integral to the team’s success.

While not a towering physical presence, he’s very strong and wins his share of headers. He also possesses good positional awareness, but his greatest strengths may be his calmness with the ball at his feet and his distribution from the back. He was a close second on the team last year in total minutes played, and I expect him to be at or near the top again this season.

While Rafa Mentzingen should bring flair and excitement to the attack, the best newcomer on the team could very well be Jimmy Fiscus. Fiscus just wrapped up a stellar career at Michigan State in which he made 73 career starts and was named a team captain in both his junior and senior seasons. In 2017, he was named First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-America.

What makes his addition particularly sweet, aside from his undoubtable talent, is that he spent last summer with AFC Ann Arbor. Capturing his services while simultaneously depriving your primary competition for the division of their best defender is an absolute coup. A 6’2” aerial specialist, he and Carroll should form the best centerback pairing in the NPSL Midwest.

Continue reading “Season Preview 2018: Centerbacks”

PART I: Rebel Scum   PART II: Forwards   PART III: Attacking Mids & Wingers   PART IV: Center Midfielders

FULLBACK

If there’s one position on the team where numbers should be no issue, it’s fullback. There are currently seven players listed here, and competition for the two starting spots should be intense.

I’ll begin with the lone returner from last year’s team, and my pick to start on the right side, Omar Sinclair. After spending 2016 at centerback and generally playing well, he slid outside and played on both the left and right in 2017. His hardnosed, take-no-prisoners defending style, combined with his ball skills and raw speed, made him a perfect fit at fullback, and he was one of the major factors in City’s 9-match league winning streak. On top of all that, he also showed that he’s a genius dead-ball specialist.

I have no idea why he didn’t take a free-kick all season until the playoffs, but I’m willing to bet he’ll get a few more opportunities this year.

Challenging Omar’s incumbency will be Tyler Stephens, who returns to City after a year of playing professionally in New Zealand.

Stephens played for Detroit in 2015 and 2016, lining up mostly as a right back or right midfielder. In addition to his experience, his versatility – he can also play centerback and holding midfielder – will be an asset to the team. Whether or not he beats out Sinclair, he should see plenty of time thanks to his positional flexibility.

One other player who seems to slot in at right back is Mattias Tomasino. I say, “seems,” because it’s not quite clear where he fits in. He played on the right side of a three-man backline for Northwestern this past fall, his size (5’10”, 165) suggests he’s more fullback than centerback, but he also played some center midfield, too. Similar to Stephens, I expect Ben Pirmann to play Tomasino in a variety of positions to see where he likes him best.

Continue reading “Season Preview 2018: Fullbacks”

PART I: Rebel Scum   PART II: Forwards   PART III: Attacking Mids & Wingers

CENTER MIDFIELD

Perhaps no player on City’s roster had as much of an up-and-down season in 2017 as Dave Edwardson. He began in his customary starting spot, but was pushed to the bench after the team’s slow start and the emergence of a couple new players. To his credit, he embraced his new, “super-sub,” role, providing loads of energy and enthusiasm whenever he was inserted into a match. As the season wore on, and injuries and departures took their toll on the team’s depth, Edwardson regained a place in the Starting XI, helping lead City to its first Midwest Regional Title and an appearance in the NPSL Semi-Final.

In terms of playing style style, he’s a high-motor, hard-tackling defensive midfielder, capable pushing forward for the occasional goal.

Yes I’ve used this video before and I will continue to use it no I’m not sorry at all.

Now entering his third season as team captain, he’ll miss some early matches as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.

One of the men responsible for knocking Edwardson out of the starting lineup last year was Louis Dargent. When he was first announced as a roster addition for 2017, I assumed he would be a typical defensive midfielder due simply to his sheer size (6’4”). While he did prove to be a strong presence in the middle of the field – it was comical to see much shorter players challenge him for headers and always come up empty – he also displayed a very good level of technical ability, particularly dribbling and passing. And, rather than sitting back in front of the defensive line, he got forward regularly, often with good results:

He had to leave the team early to head back to school, so we only got a taste of his talents. Now, as a recent graduate, he’ll be available for the full season. Because of this, he’s the returning player I’m most intrigued to see.

Continue reading “Season Preview 2018: Center Midfielders”