Detroit City FC takes on Kalamazoo FC this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in pursuit of their fifth straight National Premier Soccer League victory at Keyworth Stadium.
Friday’s match isn’t just another NPSL match for Le Rouge – it’s also the club’s annual charity match. This year, City named Alternatives For Girls as its 2017 charity partner.
AFG is a Detroit-based nonprofit organization that helps homeless and high-risk girls and young women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation.
Le Rouge will wear special charity kits for the match in support of AFG. Player-worn jerseys will be auctioned off at Keyworth Stadium, with all proceeds from the silent auction benefitting AFG.
The race to the playoffs got a bit more interesting in the Great Lakes Division after Saturday’s 2-0 away victory over Grand Rapids FC. The win improves Detroit’s record to 4-2-1 (W-T-L) and gives them 14 points in the standings – only four points away from second-place Lansing United.
Kalamazoo did Le Rouge a favor by handing Lansing their second only defeat of the year, a 3-0 loss, on Sunday. As a result, Kalamazoo sit in fourth in the division at 2-2-4 with eight points.
City head coach Ben Pirmann said he saw the best performance from City all year in the win over GRFC – especially in the first half.
“To be candid, we probably played our best half of soccer in the first half,” Pirmann said. “It was almost a catastrophe to go down one nothing. I thought we should have been up two, three, nothing, at halftime.”
The victory featured goals from Shawn Lawson (62’) and Bakie Goodman (74’), as well as an outstanding performance in goal by Nathan Steinwascher. The young goalie was critical in keeping the score level at halftime after stopping a penalty kick.
The difference for City, according to Pirmann, came from pressing harder in the second half. He also noted how Mondi and Lawson have been connecting well to set up goals.
“We had to press a little bit in this second half,” Pirmann said. “An unbelievable finish by Shawn. Tyrone and Shawn keep finding each other. That took a lot of the pressure off. They’re a good side, they’ve got good players, but I thought we handled the game for a full 90 minutes.”
Looking ahead to this Friday, Pirmann said the challenge is to replicate this last performance in yet another another critical league match.
“We gotta make sure we do it again Friday,” Pirmann said. “We got Kalamazoo at home and then four games in eight days. It’s tough. All we’re focused on right now is building up for Kalamazoo on Friday.”
Ahead of Friday’s match, supporters are encouraged to visit SiriusXM FC’s live broadcast at Axle Brewing Company’s newly opened Livernois Tap. The popular “United States of Soccer” show hosted by Jason Davis will be broadcasting live from 11 AM to 1 PM. The live show is open to the public.
After Friday’s match, party with DCFC at the official post-match party at McShane’s Pub in Corktown. An even better idea: Take the McShane’s shuttle to Keyworth and back!
Tickets are still on sale here for just $10.
