Detroit City FC defeated the Michigan Bucks 4-3 on penalty kicks on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The win was the club’s first in three tournament appearances.
Brett Nason scored the winner in the sixth round of the penalty shootout that capped off the classic match.
Seb Harris, Jeff Adkins and Tyler Moorman scored in City’s first three penalty kicks. Evan Louro made two saves in the shootout; his 13 total saves earned him M1 Imaging Man of the Match.
The long-awaited rematch between the two clubs lived up to the hype, with ninety minutes of play leaving the game tied at 0-0. Thirty additional minutes weren’t enough, either, as City and Bucks traded chances throughout extra time. Ultimately, it took an extra round in a penalty shootout to separate the two sides.
In the fourth minute, Louro got a fingertip to a dangerous free kick from just outside the box. The crucial stop gave City some time to settle in, and by halftime it was clear the game could’ve gone either way.
“I thought after the first 5-10 minutes, settled down and thwarted their attack,” head coach Ben Pirmann said. “They didn’t get into much rhythm in the midfield and in the final third. And then I thought we countered really well. I thought Danny (Deakin) and Jeff (Adkins) when he came on, Tommy (Catalano) and Spiro (Pliakos) were awesome. I thought had two or three chances to really take it in regulation, but I thought we were deserved winners in the shootout.”
Coach Pirmann’s gameplan was expertly implemented. With City playing stand-up defense against the Bucks’ potent attack, outstanding performances from Louro, Harris, Troy Watson and Zach Schewee held the PDL side scoreless.
The win over the Bucks is Detroit City FC’s first-ever in the U.S. Open Cup. Le Rouge advances to the second round, where the club will face Louisville City FC next Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in Louisville.
