One last weekend for the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Midwest Region’s regular season left just a handful of clubs in contention for the top spot in the table, a position that earns one team the right to host the regional tournament as the No. 1 seed.
With a pair of matches left, Detroit City FC lagged two points behind the Madison 56ers, the team leading the conference. Madison had only one match left, and Le Rouge could leapfrog the 56ers on the table with a pair of wins.
However, sweeping the weekend was a difficult task.
DCFC’s first opponent, Erie Commodores FC, ventured to Cass Tech on Friday looking to spoil the party. Another massive crowd of 3,793 supporters showed up, and despite a 3-2 loss for Le Rouge, the match was nothing short of thrilling.
The final match for DCFC’s players from the University of Michigan meant the final appearance for Will Mellors-Blair (Michigan), the team’s leading scorer. Mellors-Blair entered the match with eight goals, and he finished the night with 10. His stunning pair earned him the M1 Imaging Center Man of the Match award, a fitting conclusion to his record season.
Nonetheless, Le Rouge fell short, and the Commodores fought back from a 2-1 deficit to win the game, leaving the fate of the playoffs in Madison’s hands.
“We’ll hope that the Minnesota TwinStars can nip a point in Madison,” said head coach Ben Pirmann, discussing the playoff standings after the loss on Friday. “We can’t control that but we’ve got to move forward on Sunday. We’re going for the win and we’ll try and get as high in the standings as we can. We’re looking for success, and we’ll go from there.”
Madison went on to defeat the TwinStars, meaning the tournament would be set in Wisconsin, but that didn’t stop Le Rouge from bringing out their best for the second match of the weekend.
Sunday, a scoreless opening half against Michigan Stars FC was quickly turned around when DCFC returned to the pitch after the break. Behind two goals in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half from Javier Bautista (Ashford) and Seb Harris (Oakland), Le Rouge hung on for the win.
While Mellors-Blair’s and the rest of the Wolverines’ contributions were missed, Pirmann was rightly confident in the team’s ability to fill any gaps.
“We’ve got a deep team, especially with guys like Javier (Bautista) coming back,” Pirmann said ahead of Sunday’s game. “Fatigue will play an issue going forward. It’s hot, and we’re tired. We might have to rotate some guys, and we’ve been killed with injuries.”
Bautista made an appearance in Friday’s game after sustaining an injury that kept him out of most of the season. Against the Stars, the decision to start Bautista paid off. He threatened goal all day, tallying four shots, one of which was an incredible bicycle kick attempt.
The 2-0 win on Sunday did not necessarily impact the standings, but the team heads into the most crucial part of the season behind a victory, and momentum can be vital at this point of the year.
DCFC finished the regular season 8-2-2 and will travel to Madison this coming Thursday. Before the trip, Le Rouge host a friendly against the Windsor Stars on Wednesday, July 22. The matchup will likely be the last at Cass Tech in 2015, so make sure to get your tickets online at https://www.detcityfc.com/tickets. Supporters are encouraged to bring their gently used soccer gear to make a donation through the U.S. Soccer Foundation Passback Program. All gear will go to local youth.
