Detroit City FC defended home turf with a 3-0 victory over Napa Valley 1839 FC on Saturday night. 5,414 City supporters watched on from the terraces of Keyworth Stadium, taking in the first true, competitive fall match in DCFC history.
Le Rouge controlled the pace and trajectory of the match from the opening kick. Ryan Peterson got things going in the 13th minute. Cyrus Saydee played Peterson in behind the Napa defense, with a beauty of a ball down the right side. All alone with the keeper, Peterson coolly finished between his legs, tucking it inside the far post, 1-0.
From there, City continued to apply the pressure. Another breakthrough came in the 28th minute, via Yazeed Matthews. The powerful forward pounced on a misplayed back pass from the Napa defense and was taken down by a sliding keeper to earn a penalty shot. Matthews sent the keeper the wrong way and converted the chance from the spot, 2-0.
The third goal came in the 67th minute. Guess who? Shawn Lawson, of course. In his return to action, City’s goal-scoring machine got right back to his old ways, finishing off a cross from Danny Deakin to make it 3-0.
Defensively, the back four were their usual stingy selves. Goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher saw little action between the sticks, thanks in large part to the familiar center back pairing of Jalen Crisler and Stephen Carroll.
Man of the Match was Bakie Goodman, who was all over the place, providing an outlet for defenders and distributing to attackers. He’s always had top skill with the ball at his feet, but tonight Goodman showed great strength on the dribble as well. The classy midfielder is one of those players who gets better each time out.
The highlight of the night, however, might have been the special announcement at halftime. Detroit City FC CEO Sean Mann revealed that the club will be launching a women’s team in 2020 that will compete in United Women’s Soccer. Season tickets for the 2020 season will cover all men’s and women’s regular season matches and friendlies. Tickets will go on sale Monday, Sept. 30 at 10 AM at ticketsf.https://www.detcityfc.com.
It was Napa’s third match in a calendar week, which also included, of course, a flight across the country and three time zones. We’d like to thank our visitors making the long journey and giving us a chance to return the hospitality they showed us during our visit last month.
Saturday’s result allows DCFC to hold serve in the NPSL Members Cup standings. Both Chattanooga FC and New York Cosmos B have played more of their league games. Yet, City find themselves two points ahead of Chattanooga and only four behind New York at the top.
The Boys in Rouge go again next Saturday, October 5, down in Chattanooga. The first game was a 2-1 City win on August 17. That result and the fact that only two points separate the two friendly sides in the standings means this meeting is sure to have some bite to it. Please note the early start time of 6pm.
Le Rouge return to Keyworth Tuesday, October 8, to host Michigan Stars. Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm. Tickets for the penultimate home match are available online for only $12. Come and get yours now.
Detroit City FC Starting XI: #1 Nate Steinwascher, #2 Richard Bryan, #3 Ryan Peterson (#9 Shawn Lawson, 63’), #5 Stephen Carroll, #8 Bakie Goodman (#22 Diego Casielles, 71’), #10 Cyrus Saydee, #12 Tendai Jirira (#96 Marcello Borges, 63’), #15 Jalen Crisler, #17 James Vaughan (#99 George Chomakov, 46’), #20 Yazeed Matthews (#7 Roddy Green, 84’), #30 Danny Deakin (#25 Evans Frimpong, 84’)
Goals: #5 Peterson – 14’ (from Saydee); #20 Matthews – 28’ (penalty); #9 Lawson – 67’ (from Deakin)
Cards (all yellow): Napa #21 Carranza – 11′; Napa #14 Reyes – 34′; DCFC #17 Vaughan – 36’; Napa #9 Ivan Sakou – 72′; Napa #18 Velazquez – 82′
