Detroit City FC drew its regular season home opener, 3-3, against Milwaukee Torrent in an exciting, physical and chippy match Friday night at Keyworth Stadium.
5,041 City supporters flooded the stands to watch the hard-fought draw, which saw City newcomer Max Todd (UIC) equalize in the 96th minute of play to earn a point for Le Rouge.
The match started with both teams on the offensive, but City retained most of the possession through the first 20 minutes. In the 23rd minute, a yellow card was issued to Milwaukee’s Stuart Grable for a shove on Roddy Green after the play had been whistled dead.
Bakie Goodman controlled the midfield, winning several fifty-fifty balls. DCFC’s backline also held their position firmly, clearing all danger from the box.
In the 33rd minute, Green barely missed a header over the crossbar. Shortly after the physical play escalated, with another yellow card issued to Saye Suah for a dangerous play on Goodman.
Cyrus Saydee opened the scoring in the 40th minute with a soft finish past Milwaukee goalkeeper Josh Rohde, giving Le Rouge a 1-0 lead. Green assisted on the goal.
The Torrent countered with pressure of their own, but the score remained 1-0 at halftime.
The tone shifted in the second half, with Milwaukee generating plenty of offensive pressure. This led to a goal from Declan Rodriguez in the 49th minute off an assist from Stuart Grable to tie the game, 1-1.
After settling play down, Detroit went up 2-1 in the 58th minute off a brilliant piece of skill by Jeff Adkins directly off a corner.
The lead was short-lived as Milwaukee’s Mark Hutchinson had the answer to tie the game, 2-2, in the 60th minute. Momentum quickly favored the Torrent thereafter, resulting in another goal in the 68th minute. This time, Nemanja Medic ripped the ball from far out to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead.
In the 72nd minute, Spencer Glass subbed in for Troy Watson at defense. Four minutes later, Derrick Otim replaced Goodman.
In the waning minutes of the match, the Boys in Rouge weren’t giving up. Cyrus Saydee was all alone in the Torrent box in the 77th minute, but was unable to successfully chip Rohde.
Owain Hoskins made his City, replacing Zach Bock, in the 81st minute.
In the 82nd minute, the contentious play made its way to the sidelines as officials ejected City Assistant Coach Bret Mollon for dissent.
The match ended with Milwaukee controlling most of the possession. It wasn’t until added time when Detroit was able to tie the match, 3-3. After six minutes of added time, City’s Todd was able to buried the equalizer.
The Man of the Match was Todd for his last second heroics to salvage a point for Le Rouge.
DCFC moves to 0-0-1 (W-L-T) on the young National Premier Soccer League season, while the Torrent move to 0-1-1 in their inaugural season.
The Boys in Rouge will have just one recovery day before traveling to Berkley, Mich., for a date with Michigan Stars FC Sunday at 4 p.m.
City Starting XI: 1 Steinwascher, 5 Carroll, 8 Adkins, 10 Saydee, 11 Watson, 13 Goodman, 14 Bock, 18 Edwardson, 19 Green, 20 Todd, 23 Schewee
Torrent Starting XI: 0 Cisneros, 1 Rohde, 4 Ruggles, 6 Pereyra, 8 Patterson, 9 Grable, 10 Rodriguez, 11 Baeza, 14 Medic, 22 Wiedabach, 77 Suah
