What happened: Detroit City FC and Erie Commodores FC faced off in front of 3,793 supporters at Cass Tech on Friday evening in an important match with significant playoff intentions. After 90 minutes, Erie came out on top, defeating DCFC by a score of 3-2.
The Commodores struck first, in the 15th minute, when midfielder Jimmy Barrrios cut back and forth in the 18-yard box before shooting across goal. Barrios’ service deflected off City defender Josh Rogers (Michigan State) and landed in the bottom corner of the net for the opening goal.
But City responded valiantly, tallying two goals before the halftime break, both on combinations between Cyrus Sadee (Michigan State) and Will Mellors-Blair (Michigan), with the latter on the receiving end for the finish each time.
The first goal came in the 21st minute, when Sadee lobbed a through ball to Mellors-Blair, who outran his defender and sent the ball home to tie the game, 1-1. The pair was at it again in the 42nd minute, when Sadee served another from the left flank that found Mellors-Blair streaking forward. With a simple touch, Mellors-Blair notched the go-ahead goal, giving Le Rouge a 2-1 lead.
Soon after halftime, City midfielder Latif Alashe (Michigan) was brought down in the Erie 18-yard box, earning a penalty kick. Rogers, the captain, stepped up to the spot, but the goalkeeper made a sprawling save and cleaned up the rebound to hold DCFC’s lead to one.
Erie brought the pressure after the saved penalty, forcing City’s defensive unit and goalkeeper Alex Bouillennec to come up with multiple stops. Though, Le Rouge’s defense gave up a tying goal in the 68th minute, when Erie’s Eric Campbell launched a curler high over Bouillennec’s head into the goal.
The Commodores kept attacking, and in the 75th minute, a cross from Erie’s Austin Solomon deflected off Seb Harris’ head and bounced across the line, giving the Commodores a 3-2 lead.
City coach Ben Pirmann substituted a plethora of forwards into the match as clock winded down, but none were able to produce, even with a lengthy five minutes of stoppage time. The scorching hot night at Cass Tech ended 3-2.
Missed chances: Offensively, City couldn’t be stopped in the final 25 minutes of the first half, but from then on, Le Rouge struggled to capitalize on their opportunities. Along with the missed penalty, three breakaways from City forwards Mellors-Blair and Tyler Channell (Saginaw Valley State) found no results— falling wide and ringing off the post.
Playoff race: With the loss, City’s chances to host the Midwest NPSL playoffs become slim. The determining game will be played between the Madison 56ers and the Minnesota TwinStars on Saturday. If Madison wins, they’ll host the playoffs next weekend, but a loss or tie keeps DCFC in the running.
What’s next: Detroit City FC makes a quick turnaround to get back in action on Sunday. Le Rouge travel to Pontiac, Mich., for a meeting with the Michigan Stars for the regular season finale at Wisner Stadium, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.
