LOUISVILLE, KY – Detroit City FC went on the road Sunday for their second match in four days against a very strong Racing Louisville FC side. It was a hot one on the turf at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center and that heat would definitely play a factor as the match went on.
Between the sticks for Le Rouge was debutant Bethany Kopel. Kopel was announced as a member of the Detroit City FC UWS roster last season but never made an appearance for Le Rouge due to an injury picked up just before the season. The Detroit City FC backline would rely on Kopel coming up big early in this match with her making three incredible saves while the score was level at 0-0.
The match was pretty even and both sides had good attacking opportunities throughout the first half, looking for a goal to break the deadlock. Both sides would continue searching until the 39th minute when 2021 Black Arrow MVP winner Madison Duncan received the ball on the edge of the area following a corner kick and picked out the top corner with a powerful strike to give her side the lead.
Detroit City FC would carry this lead into the half when both sides returned to the locker room for a much needed break inside of the air conditioned facilities in Louisville, Kentucky. Due to the heat, the referees agreed that each half would have a hydration break to keep everyone going strong.
A substitution at the half by Detroit City FC head coach Sam Piraine saw #32 Ellie Pool enter the match for #55 Brooke Sleeva as Le Rouge tried to add to their one goal advantage. Ellie Pool scored the only Detroit City FC goal against Kalamazoo FC in the season opener which ended 1-1.
This would be the only substitution until the 61st minute when three players for Le Rouge came off of the bench, #12 Rylee Clark came on to replace #17 Megan Miles, #23 Isabella Sabo came on to replace #9 Brynn Gardner and #26 came on to replace #24 Kenna White. All of these subs were like for like.
These substitutions were also needed as the heat began to play a factor in this one. The fresh legs made a difference for both sides as the match began to wind down.
The Detroit City FC backline of Elisa Baeron, Gabby Tremonti and Emile Gardner held strong throughout the course of the match, preventing any Racing Louisville attack that would come their way. This held true until the 82nd minute when Racing Louisville FC found the equalizer through a clever passage of play inside of the area and #22 Emily Madril tucked home to level the match at 1-1.
This scoreline would not hold for long as again, #22 Emily Madril, found the back of the net just four minutes later to go ahead by a score of 2-1, claiming all three points at the death as the match would end with that scoreline.
The Woman of the Match was #14 Madison Duncan who scored the only goal for Detroit City FC, along with her goal she did a great job at winning back possession in the midfield often and being involved in a lot of the fluid attacking movement we saw throughout the first half.
Detroit City FC are still looking for their first win in the USL W League, their next match is on May 26 when they go on the road to face Midwest United FC. You can next catch the Detroit City FC Women’s Team at Keyworth Stadium on June 5 when Kings Hammer FC comes into town to face Le Rouge.
Detroit City Women Fall 2-1 To Racing Louisville On The Road
