CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – Detroit City FC opened up the 2021 campaign on a balmy 80-degree evening at Finley Stadium.
The long off-season finally came to an end as the California United Strikers FC and Le Rouge shook off the rust and made the initial strides towards the NISA Legends Cup hardware. Le Rouge took the initiative early, a clear signal that despite having already clinched a trip to the Finals in July, the squad would not be making a holiday of their time in Tennessee.
Employing a familiar foundation of 3 center defensemen flanked by 2 attack-minded wings that clearly put United on their heels, DCFC struck first, with an opportunistic attack by midfielder #11 Connor Rutz nearly opened the scoring in the 2nd minute. A second near-miss from forward #6 Max Todd saw the pitch tilted ever further in favor of the Rouge and Gold.
Detroit City remained in control throughout the first half, with the Californians making waves on occasion, each time held off by eventual Google Fi Man of the Match goalkeeper #1 Nate Steinwascher, solid in the opening 45, and even better in the second half, including an acrobatic denial of a close-range effort that sealed the draw.
Coach James’ team grew nicely into the match and dictated the flow of the game for most of the second half. But despite the possession and multiple attacking chances, none of the efforts were able to fall in the net. Clearly tinkering with his lineup from kickoff to final whistle, James’ combinations came closest to striking gold after forward #20 Yazeed Matthews and midfielder #23 Pablo Cruz entered the match. Matthews relentless pursuit of an otherwise pedestrian pass shook enough rust from the Cal United goalkeeper to yield the ball, which, keeping with the theme of the night, spun precariously close to the goal line without ever crossing it. The match finished 0-0.
City’s next match will be Friday, April 16th at 12:00pm EST match against Stumptown Athletic.
Match: Detroit City FC vs. California Strikers United
Date: April 13, 2021
Competition: NISA Legends Cup
Venue: Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, Tn
Kickoff: 5:05 p.m. ET
Weather: 80 degrees, sunny
Lineup:
DCFC: 1-Nathan Steinwascher, 4-Anthony Manning, 5-Stephen Carroll (Capt.), 15-Matt Lewis, 3-Javan Torre, 22-Kevin Venegas, 21-Maxi Rodriguez, 11-Connor Rutz, 10-Cyrus Saydee, 14-Javi Steinwascher, 6 Max Todd
Check out the NISA’s Match Facts here: https://nisasoccer.com/match-center/153/dcfc-vs-calutd
