Hamtramck, MI (September 25, 2021) – LA Force arrived at Keyworth Stadium on Saturday for a rematch of the NISA League Final when Le Rouge came away with a 1-0 victory and lifted the NISA 2021 Championship Cup. Coming into tonight’s match, LA Force sat in second place just three points behind Detroit City FC in the NISA table.
Detroit was effective from the start offensively. With the bulk of possession, their first chance came when #2 Jimmy Filerman sent in a cross and striker #14 Javi Steinwascher sent in a headed effort just wide of the goal.
Steinwascher would be highly active leading the line in the first half, especially close to LA’s goal. He was the first to a loose ball in their end of the pitch and forced a corner kick. A short time later, he dribbled through multiple defenders in the LA box, although the move didn’t end up in a goal.
Eventually, City’s offensive pressure would create a goal just before the ref blew his whistle to end the first half. A ball in LA’s box was punched to the side by LA’s keeper, but #22 Kevin Venegas was right there and deftly sent the ball into the vacated net to put Le Rouge up by one.
The second half started with more offensive chances for City, and although the attacking moves were well-worked, none of the chances converted. Eventually, this led to LA Force pushing numbers higher and forcing City to defend more as the minutes ticked on.
Late in the match, #1 Nate Steinwascher kept City ahead with an important save in a crowded box. And despite being pinned back, Le Rouge was occasionally able to spring forward on the counter, clear the ball away, and keep enough possession to reach the final whistle still up 1-0.
Detroit City FC, now 7-1-1 and six points ahead in the NISA table will head to New York to face New Amsterdam FC midweek on Wednesday, September 29 with kickoff at 8 pm ET.
Click HERE for NISA Fall 2021 Season standings.
Click HERE for NISA Fall 2021 Season player stats.
Match: Detroit City FC vs. LA Force
Date: September 25, 2021
Competition: NISA
Venue: Keyworth Stadium – Hamtramck, MI
Attendance: 3,689
Kickoff: 7:35 pm ET
Weather: 63 degrees, clear
Lineup: 1-Nate Steinwascher, 2-Jimmy Filerman (Jirira, 67’), 3-Javan Torre, 5-Stephen Carroll (Capt.), 17-James Vaughan, 21-Maxi Rodriguez, 10-Cyrus Saydee, 14-Javi Steinwascher (Botello-Faz, 67’), 22-Kevin Venegas, 99-George Chomakov (Espinal, 82’), 25-Rich Bryan
Subs: 13-Armando Quezada, 7-Roddy Green, 12-Tendai Jirara, 19-Pato Botello-Faz, 20-Yazeed Matthews, 23-Darwin Espinal