Louisville, KY – Detroit City FC advanced to the USL Eastern Conference’s Semifinals on Saturday evening, stunning Louisville City FC with a 0-1 victory. Devon Amoo-Mensah scored the game-winning goal in the 34th minute.
Danny Dichio’s starting XI for the first match of the playoffs saw Carlos Saldaña in goal with Amoo-Mensah, Michael Bryant, and Shane Wiedt as the three defenders in front of him. Isaiah LeFlore, Jay Chapman, Ryan Williams, Haruki Yamazaki, and Jeciel Cedeño made up the midfield. Ates Diouf and Darren Smith began the match as the two attackers.
In the first half, Detroit City controlled much of the possession. A Ryan Williams corner kick was tipped by Jay Chapman to Devon Amoo-Mensah, who found the back of the net to give Detroit City the match-winning goal.
The second half saw Detroit City FC hold off a Louisville City FC attack. Alex Villanueva was the first substitution of the night, coming on for Ates Diouf in the 61st minute. Carlos Saldaña made a tremendous diving save in the 65th minute to keep the score 0-1.
Louisville City’s Brian Ownby was issued the first yellow card of the evening in the 71st minute, with Jeciel Cedeño picking up one of his own in the 73rd. Cedeño and Darren Smith would then come off, with Kobe Hernandez-Foster and Jordan Adebayo-Smith replacing them on the pitch. Isaiah LeFlore was shown a yellow card in the 79th minute. The final substitution of the night saw Steven Carroll enter the match for Haruki Yamazaki in the 80th minute.
Six minutes of stoppage time saw a heavy Louisville push, but Detroit City held off the attack to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the second time in the past three years. Le Rouge will now head to Pittsburgh to take on the Riverhounds in the Semifinals next Saturday, November 8th.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
Detroit City Starting XI – Carlos Saldaña, Devon Amoo-Mensah (34’), Michael Bryant, Shane Weidt, Isaiah LeFlore, Jay Chapman, Ryan Williams, Haruki Yamazaki, Jeciel Cedeño, Ates Diouf, Darren Smith
Detroit City Substitutes – Alex Villanueva, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Steven Carroll
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