It’s a busy week for the Boys in Rouge as Detroit City FC prepares for three important matches in five days, making its third consecutive appearance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament and kicking off its 2016 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) regular season.
DCFC has a short distance to travel for its U.S. Open Cup rematch against the Michigan Bucks. The match at Oakland University will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11. In last year’s tournament the Bucks defeated City, 3-0, at Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
This time around, head coach Ben Pirmann expects his team to be more energized for the challenge that awaits as DCFC searches for its first-ever Open Cup win.
“We weren’t prepared at the beginning of the season at all,” Pirmann said. “We weren’t ready to play against the Bucks, and that was on me and my staff, but also the players.
“I think our fitness is better off this year. We’ve got a lot of new guys, and they’re going to play. And we’re not waiting around for anybody to get into their groove. We’re going to play the best guys who are on the field ready to go.”
Two days after its Open Cup appearance, Le Rouge will head to Pontiac to open its fifth NPSL season against the Michigan Stars at 7 p.m. In 2015, City closed the regular season at the Stars’ home at Wisner Stadium, coming away with a 2-0 win. Earlier in the season, Le Rouge got the best of the Stars in a 3-1 win at Cass Tech Stadium on July 11, 2015.
On Sunday, May 15, City travels to Ohio to face the Dayton Dynamo at Welcome Stadium at 2 p.m.
“We’ve got three games in five days and we could have at least five, if not six, in our first 12 days,” Pirmann said. “We’re going to have to use 18 to 25 players, and we’re going to have to be really focused to improve every single day to make sure we’re ready to play.”
City welcomes a host of new players to its roster this season, including University of South Carolina midfielder and two-time All-American Danny Deakin. Goalkeeper Evan Louro, midfielder Brett Nason and defender Billy Stevens are new additions from the University of Michigan. Forward Ali Al-Gashamy (Gardner-Webb University), Spiro Pilakos (University of Detroit Mercy), Tyler Moorman (UDM) and Robbie Beckwell (UDM) are also new additions to City’s large corps of returners.
DCFC capped off its 2016 preseason with a dominant 5-1 victory over the Muskegon Risers on Saturday, May 7. Zach Schewee (Bowling Green), Cyrus Saydee (Michigan State), Tyler Moorman (University of Detroit Mercy), Alec Lasinski (Loyola University Chicago) and Javi Bautista (Ashford University) were the goalscorers for Le Rouge.
After the busy week, Le Rouge will play its first-ever match at Keyworth Stadium on Friday, May 20. Get your tickets for DCFC’s home opener here.
