DETROIT, MI – Detroit City Football Club has begun welcoming its 2022 signees ahead of Club’s debut campaign in the USL Championship.
Stephen Carroll headlines the initial group of signees. The Cork, Ireland, native has been with the Club since 2017 and captain since 2019. Carroll is a NISA Golden Ball award winner and 2018 Black Arrow recipient. While in NISA, Carroll anchored a backline that boasted a +42 goal differential throughout Le Rouge’s tenure in U.S. Soccer’s third-division – surrendering just 20 goals in 36 matches. Carroll led all defenders in NISA last season with four goals on his way to first-team league honors.
Connor Rutz – Detroit City’s reigning Black Arrow Award winner – returns for his third year with Le Rouge. Rutz was named to NISA’s first team after notching five goals and two assists this past fall. Prior to joining the Club ahead of the 2020 season, the Saginaw Valley State product played for the Cincinnati Dutch Lions in 2018 before rounding out his collegiate career as the 2019 GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Abdoulaye Diop is set to don the Rouge and Gold for the first time since 2019 – when he made 14 appearances with a goal in the NPSL. The midfielder from Dakar, Senegal, comes back to Detroit after signing with Atlanta United 2 in 2020.
Pato Botello-Faz will once again be a part of Le Rouge’s offensive attack. Botello-Faz was the 2021 NISA Spring Golden Ball winner. He scored nine goals throughout the 2021 calendar year with five assists. Prior to his time with Detroit City, Botello-Faz appeared for Tormenta FC and Lansing Ignite.
Maxi Rodriguez comes back to the City midfield for his second season in Le Rouge. Rodriguez finished fourth in the 2021 NISA Fall Golden Boot race with seven goals, earning first-team league plaudits. The San Antonio native is an alumnus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte and came to Detroit from the Richmond Kickers and San Antonio FC.
Rhys Williams comes to Detroit after spending 2021 with Stumptown AC. Williams started in 28 matches for the NISA side last year, including all 18 during the fall campaign. The defender had three goals throughout the 2021 calendar year to go with three assists. Williams played collegiately at Columbia, while also making appearances for the New York Red Bulls U-23 side in the NPSL and PDL. He signed with the New York Cosmos B out of college before spending time with the Real Monarchs, Lansing Ignite and South Georgia Tormenta. The Weston, Florida, native played his youth career with Cypress Bay and Weston FC – capturing the 2012 ESPN National Championship.
Devon Amoo-Mensah joins Le Rouge from the Michigan Stars. The Naperville, Illinois, native spent the 2020-21 seasons with the Stars in NISA, making 35 appearances – all starts. He notched two goals from his defender position this past fall, earning first-team all-league honors. Amoo-Mensah played his youth career in the Chicago Fire system, as well as Sockers FC. He was a two-time All-GLVC selection at Lewis University before spending 2019 with Swedish division 2 club Älmeboda/Linneryd via Chicago-based Bridges FC and Sockers FC.
Nate Steinwascher returns for his seventh year in frame for Le Rouge. Steinwascher is coming off back-to-back Golden Glove awards, posting 19 shutouts and a record of 23-5-1 throughout the 2021 calendar year in NISA. He allowed just 14 goals throughout his career in the third division, posting a goal against average of 0.45 in league matches since 2020. In between time with DCFC, Steinwascher spent part of 2018 with Swedish outfit Grythyttans IF, helping the club earn promotion. Steinwascher played collegiately at the University of Detroit Mercy, going down as one of the all-time Titan greats – finishing his career top three in several categories including shutouts (t-1st, 19) and goals against average (2nd, 1.23) and earning Horizon League Goalkeeper and Defensive Player of the Year plaudits.
Midfielder Brad Dunwell brings two years of experience in the USL Championship, having played with Rio Grande Valley FC and the Oklahoma City Energy. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native was drafted 56th overall in the 2019 MLS Draft by the Houston Dynamo after spending four seasons at Wake Forest. While a Demon Deacon, Dunwell started all 91 games in his four years, amassing a nation’s best record of 73-11-7. He spent his summers home from Wake Forest with the Michigan Bucks, making 37 appearances and helping the Bucks secure three conference titles and a PDL championship.
Matt Lewis returns to City’s backline after earning all-league plaudits and being awarded the NISA Legends Cup Golden Ball in 2021. Lewis first came to Detroit prior to the 2020 season on loan from the New York Cosmos – notching Le Rouge’s first-ever goal as a professional side. While with Detroit City in 2021, Lewis signed a short-term loan with the El Paso Locomotive between DCFC’s spring and fall title runs. The Kansas City, Missouri, native signed a homegrown contract with MLS’ Sporting Kansas City in 2018 before moving onto the club’s USL affiliate, Swope Park Rangers. Lewis has spent three seasons playing in the Major Arena Soccer League with the Kansas City Comets. He played collegiately at Fordham where is was a three-time all-conference selection and was named the Atlantic-10 defensive player of the year.
Detroit City FC welcomes left back Deklan Wynne. Wynne was signed by Phoenix Rising at the start of the 2021 season but was loaned out to OKC Energy where he made 14 appearances with four assists. The Johnnesburg, South Africa, native grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, making 15 appearances with New Zealand’s national team. He made two appearances in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia and went the full 90 minutes in both legs of New Zealand’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Peru in November 2017. Wynne has also represented New Zealand at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. He signed with the Hamilton Wanderers in New Zealand’s first division as an 18-year-old before joining the Vancouver Whitecaps II in the USL Championship in 2015. In 2017, he was traded to the Colorado Rapids – making 36 appearances for the MLS side over three seasons.
Forward Antoine Hoppenot comes to Detroit after spending the past three seasons with Louisville City. Hoppenot was sent to Louisville in 2019 as part of a trade with the Rowdies – making nine appearances for Tampa Bay in 2019 prior to the move. The Philadelphia Union selected Hoppenot No. 51 overall in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft after he earned Ivy League Player of the Year plaudits and was named a Hermann Award semifinalist at Princeton. After spending a few seasons between the Union and on loan with the Harrisburg City Islanders, Hoppenot signed with FC Cincinnati in 2016 before moving on to Reno 1868 in 2017 – where he scored 12 goals in his first season with the club. Hoppenot came to the U.S. from Paris, France, and played his high school career in Princeton, N.J.
Michael Bryant makes the jump to the USL Championship from NISA with Le Rouge, coming to Detroit City after spending the past three years with the Cal United Strikers – starting 36 of the 39 matches he appeared in. Bryant captained the NPSL’s Orange County FC from 2017-19 – making a historic run through the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, knocking off the USL Championship’s Orange County SC in penalties and Las Vegas Lights FC before falling in the fourth round to the LA Galaxy. The midfielder from Portola Hills, California, played collegiately at Elmira, scoring 31 goals in 49 appearances, before transferring to Northwest Nazarene in Idaho where he earned All-Conference honors.
Barnabas “Bosh” Tanyi returns to Detroit City FC after spending most of the 2021 campaign as a regular fixture for City’s U23 squad that clinched the Midwest Premier League east title. Bosh made several appearances with the first-team throughout the season, most notably in the 2021 NISA Legends Cup. Tanyi, a native of Debrecen, Hungary, played his high school soccer under the guidance of former DCFC midfielder Jon Evans at Grosse Ile. The Red Devils won two state titles with Tanyi on the pitch and were finalists in 2018. Bosh earned Mr. Soccer accolades for his efforts. Bosh will be eligible to compete for the Club’s USL Academy Cup team as well as with the first team.
All signings are pending league and federation approval.
Detroit City FC opens its debut season in the USL Championship on Saturday, March 12, at San Antonio FC. The home opener for Le Rouge is on March 19 at Keyworth Stadium against the Charleston Battery. For ticket information, visit tickets.detcityfc.com.
For more information about the USL Championship, visit uslchampionship.com and follow @USLChampionship on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on Twitter and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
