Detroit City FC (3-2-3) enters the most important weekend of its season with momentum on its side. After two consecutive victories at Keyworth – most recently, a 5-0 rout of Dayton Dynamo – City squares off with second-place Grand Rapids FC (4-1-3) and first-place AFC Ann Arbor (5-1-3) on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Two wins this weekend will have Le Rouge in prime position to leap on top of the Great Lakes West table.
In the first match of the weekend, DCFC hosts Grand Rapids under the lights at Keyworth Stadium. Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
GRFC won the clubs’ first meeting, 5-2, behind a pair of two goalscorers, Scott Doney and Joe Broekhuizen. City’s scorers were Jeff Adkins (Butler) and Dave Edwardson (Heddon FC).
Head coach Ben Pirmann attributed the disappointing result in Grand Rapids to sloppy defense.
“We harped on transition defending and we gave up four goals on stupid turnovers and not working hard defensively in recovery,” Pirmann said.
With Omar Sinclair (Saginaw Valley State) and Seb Harris (Oakland) now comfortably paired together as the primary center backs, and Cody Lang (Seattle Pacific) and Nate Steinwascher (Detroit Mercy) sharing the goalkeeping duties, things have been much tidier at the back for Le Rouge recently.
On offense, City has seen stand-out performances from its midfield and attacking core. Tommy Catalano (Oakland) scored in each of City’s last three home matches, notching two goals in the win over Dayton.
Then on Sunday, City heads to Ann Arbor for a 6 p.m. kickoff and rematch with AFC Ann Arbor, who DCFC faced in its home opener on May 20. That match ended in a 1-1 draw. Alec Lasinski (Loyola University Chicago) scored City’s lone goal, which also happened to be the first-ever goal at Keyworth Stadium. City were forced to play with 10 men for the majority of the match after a Brett Nason (Michigan) red card in the 47th minute.
Pirmann praised his team’s effort that night.
“There’s no credit taken away from (Ann Arbor) whatsoever, but, you know, we played 45 minutes down a man and absolutely took it to them,” he said. “We had chances, possession. I was surprised at how well we played there in the second half.”
As City heads into the final stretch of the season, every match is a must-win to keep playoff hopes alive.
Tickets for Friday’s match at Keyworth are available here.
