As a whole, the Detroit City FC roster only plays together five months out of the year, yet cohesion is of little worry right now for coach Ben Pirmann.
The roster changes constantly, with new arrivals at practice and older veterans filling in, and despite the fact that Le Rouge is composed of players from schools all across the state, plenty from other parts of the country and a fair number of internationals, DCFC still finds a way to the top of the Midwest table.
The formula for success may lie in a quartet of colleges here in the Great Lakes State. A total of 41 players make up the official 2015 roster, and 26 of them arrive from just four different schools: the University of Michigan (8), Saginaw Valley State University (8), Oakland University (6) and Michigan State University (4).
Playing side-by-side during the summer, and even competing against each other during the school year, allows the high number of linked college players to bring a sense of unity to Le Rouge, something that would be difficult to obtain otherwise.
“There are so many subtle things, like you just know when a guy is going to make a run or what he likes to do in certain situations,” said City midfielder Latif Alashe, who graduated from Michigan in 2013. “That can be really beneficial for you on the field. You can see it. When we played against Lansing United (the first time), we threw together a team of a lot of guys that hadn’t played together, and you could see we were a little disjointed.”
Since that first game against Lansing, a 3-1 loss in the end of May, DCFC has gone undefeated in NPSL play. Alashe, a former captain for the Wolverines, believes that bringing together players from similar schools gives Le Rouge an advantage.
In Alashe’s earlier Michigan years, the Wolverines had some out of state student-athletes, but a lot of from Michigan. Now, some of the most influential studs hail from New York and England, coming in and putting their stamp on the program.
“The thing about those guys is they’re all extremely athletic,” Alashe said. “I think (Michigan coach Chaka Daley) is helping them harness their abilities into the system of Michigan soccer, and the system he sees them playing. They could come here to Detroit and play any style. They can play possession. They’re physical. They’re really beasts they are bringing in now.”
Considering the contributions of two of Michigan’s best, Will Mellors-Blair and James Murphy, a pair that leads the team in goals scored and assists, respectively, DCFC is blessed that Daley keeps sending his best talents to Cass Tech each year.
The script isn’t the same for one of Michigan’s rivals, however. Per NCAA rules, DCFC coach Ben Pirmann, an assistant at Michigan State, can’t coach current Spartans outside the college season, but a slew of alumni have joined his force. The trio of Josh Rogers, Spencer Thompson and Cyrus Saydee overlapped at Michigan State before joining DCFC. They’ve played together for years, and each have been regulars in the starting lineup for Detroit this summer.
For these older players, DCFC provides the opportunity to continue playing at a high level beyond college. But for the younger guys, playing for an NPSL team like DCFC, and playing alongside their school teammates, helps them succeed at both the club and college level.
“DCFC helps us (transition) a lot,” said City forward Tyler Channell (Saginaw Valley State). “We’re playing with the top talent in the Midwest, and it keeps us in shape so we don’t have to do as much on our own. We’ve got a lot of Division I guys on this team and a lot of ex-pros. It’s good for us in the summer, because we get to play with better talent all the time, so we’re in good condition when we get back to school.
Added Channell’s Saginaw Valley teammate and City defender, Alex Isaevski: “We get to keep connecting throughout the year. We don’t take time off. We work hard over the summer, so going into preseason we can be leaders, because we play at this high of a level.”
Channell and Isaevski have developed into young leaders not only for the Cardinals, but for Detroit as well. Isaevski, a solid right back, has started nine games, tallying more minutes than all but one on the DCFC roster. Two of the most dangerous players on the squad are also two of the youngest, but their knowledge of one another has helped them defy any lack of experience that comes with youth.
On their own, each DCFC player is top-notch, but when you put them together, a crew of unified and like-minded athletes, you get the results that Detroit City FC has had this year. So many of Le Rouge’s best tandems play together year round, a key component for a winning team.
And if nothing else, it’s always nice to see a familiar face.
“DCFC has given us a nice opportunity to play a high level in front of a lot of fans,” Alashe said. “It’s cool to get to share that with guys I played with at school. It brings back memories.”
– Ted Janes / DCFC Staff Writer
