It was a productive weekend away from home for the still-unbeaten Detroit City FC, who secured four points in its first two away games of the season, recording a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Saints on Friday, May 30, and a 2-2 draw against the Indiana Fire on Sunday, June 1.
Le Rouge began the weekend in exciting fashion in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Michael Lamb (Saginaw Valley St.) scored the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of stoppage time to ensure the victory.
After managing to score two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game, with William Mellors-Blair (Michigan) and Zach Myers (Saginaw Valley St.) netting goals in the 2nd and 12th minute, respectively, the Saints came roaring back in the second half. Whereas City dominated the field in the first half, Cincinnati took control in the second, scoring two goals in the 51st and 73rd minute to equalize. The game looked to be all but over until Lamb finished off of a perfectly placed corner kick from Wade Allan (Oakland), putting the ball out of Cincinnati goalkeeper Jamie Starr’s reach. Le Rouge moves to 2-0-0 against the Saints this season, after beating them 1-0 in City’s home opener on May 10.
Detroit City FC capped off the weekend under the hot sun in Westfield, Ind., looking to move atop the NPSL Great Lakes West Conference with a win against the first-place Fire. In what was the teams’ first-ever meeting, the two looked to be evenly matched throughout the entire game, with all four goals coming in the first half.
Cyrus Saydee (Michigan St.) opened up the scoring for Le Rouge in the 30th minute, and Wade Allan got his second assist on the weekend after he laid the ball off for Saydee, who hit a one-time shot from outside of the Fire’s six-yard box. The Fire responded with two quick goals in the 34th and 37th minute to go ahead, 2-1, but William Mellors-Blair gave City its equalizer in the 45th minute after he connected on a pass from Saydee and hit a rocket strike that Fire goalkeeper Eric Dick couldn’t stop. Even though City outshot Indiana 17 to 7 and had the upper hand in the second half, both teams stayed deadlocked at the final whistle.
With this weekend’s results, City remains undefeated at 5-0-1 and in second place in the NPSL Great Lakes West Conference, tied with Lansing United with 13 points. The Fire sits alone in first place with 14 points.
City’s next home game is Friday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Cass Technical High School, where Le Rouge will face the Erie Admirals in a special game promoting the national “You Can Play” project. City will take to the pitch in special jerseys, raising funds for the Ruth Ellis Center for at-riskLGBT youth. After the match, each participating player’s jersey will be auctioned off to the highest bidder in a silent auction held at the stadium. Additionally, a limited number of jerseys will be sold online at https://www.detcityfc.com.
In addition, tickets for the game are still on sale at https://www.detcityfc.com and at the front gate at Cass Tech High School before kickoff.
5/30/14 DCFC LINEUP: Mollon, Rogers, Lamb, Savage (Vasold 71’), Schewee, Van Slooten (Lipari 61’), Saydee, Edwardson (Tinnion 45’), McAtee (Harris 75’), Mellors-Blair, (Chomakov 90’), Myers (Allan 58’)
STATS:
Goals: Detroit City FC – William Mellors-Blair 2’, Zach Myers 12’, Michael Lamb 90’
Cincinnati Saints – Marc Hansson 51’, Josh Henderson 73’
Disciplinary: Detroit City FC – Rogers Yellow 67’
Cincinnati Saints – Gary Henderson Yellow 5’, James Thomas Yellow 23’
Saves: Mollon, 1.
6/1/14 DCFC LINEUP: Tarney, Rogers, Lamb, Lewin, Savage (Reynolds 70’), Schewee (Harris 76’), Adkins, Saydee, Edwardson (Vasold 86’), Allan (Lawson 61’), Myers (Mellors-Blair 23’, Van Slooten 84’)
STATS:
Goals: Detroit City FC – Cyrus Saydee 30’, Mellors-Blair 45’
Indiana Fire – Vincent Mitchell 34’, Thomas Sanner 37’
Disciplinary: Detroit City FC – Lamb Yellow 90’
Indiana Fire – Lance Davis 32’
Saves: Tarney, 4.
