Irvine, California — Detroit City FC suffers a late 3-2 defeat to Orange County FC on the road after conceding a goal in the 78th minute. After going up 1-0 early on, Detroit fell into a 2-1 deficit before finding an equalizer in the 67th minute, only to concede the winner for Orange County in the 78th minute.
Head Coach Danny Dichio made five changes to his starting XI from Detroit’s 5-1 loss in Louisville on Wednesday. Alex Villanueva, Michael Bryant, Maxi Rodriguez, Rhys Williams, and Victor Bezerra all saw their returns to the starting lineup after a short week.
Detroit City began the game as it had most of its games this season with tempo control, but Orange County’s aggressive play caused Detroit to have early issues. An Orange County attack in the 7th minute forced goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher into an early save.
Off a free kick from James Murphy in the 19th minute, the cross into the box saw the ball land perfectly for Stephen Carroll to head into the back of the net, giving Detroit a 1-0 lead. The goal would be Carroll’s first of the season.
After the goal, Le Rouge lost some tempo to their game, and Orange County took advantage of the opportunity. Orange County became the ones on the front foot and controlling the pace of play.
Detroit faced a tough test in the 29th minute when Andrew Fox took a shot from 35 yards out. Steinwascher was called into action and leaped to push the ball over the crossbar, narrowly avoiding a goal.
Orange County would find their equalizer in the 40th minute. A long cross into the box reached Thomas Amang, whose shot took a deflection and found its way into the back of the net to tie this match up right before the half.
Although Detroit had been on the attack throughout the start of the second half, Orange County went on the attack in the 57th minute. Kyle Scott received a cross from the far side of the box and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner, giving Orange County a 2-1 lead.
Like on Wednesday, Detroit would have to find a way not to fade away in this game after going 2-1 down. Detroit went back on its attack to find an equalizer.
Detroit City brought on Yazeed Matthews and Ali Coote for Victor Bezerra and Maxi Rodriguez in the 61st minute to aid in their search for an equalizer.
Rhys Williams was brought down in the box in the 65th minute, winning a penalty for Le Rouge and a chance to level. Coolly and calmly, Abdoulaye Diop put the ball into the back of the net to bring this game level again at 2-2.
Off the restart, Detroit City forced a turnover from Orange County, leading to an attack down the field. Alex Villanueva unleashed a rocket shot from just outside the box that narrowly missed the post.
Now searching for a potential winning goal, Detroit called on Matt Sheldon to enter the match for Alex Villanueva in the 74th minute.
Just minutes after coming on, in the 78th minute, Bryce Jamison breaks through the Le Rouge backline and shoots into the near corner, finding the back of the net and giving Orange County a 3-2 lead.
Dichio made his fourth change of the night in the 86th minute, bringing on Connor Rutz for James Murphy.
Off a free kick in the 89th minute, Ali Coote crossed the ball perfectly into the box, but Matt Sheldon couldn’t get the ball to go down, heading it just over the post.
Yazeed Matthews’ free kick in the 7th minute of extra time curved just a bit too much and went just wide of the post. That would be Detroit’s last chance at an equalizer as the referee blew the full-time whistle right at the 9th minute of stoppage time.
A tough result for Le Rouge sees them fall to 5-3-2 and extend their losing streak in all competitions to three games. With earlier results in the day, Detroit now sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Next Saturday, Detroit City will face off against USL Championship newcomer Rhode Island FC in their final match of a four-game road trip. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM EDT. Detroit City returns to Keyworth next Saturday for an Eastern Conference battle against Charleston Battery. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
DCFC Starting XI: Nate Steinwascher, Alex Villanueva (74’), Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant, James Murphy (86’), Abdoulaye Diop, Maxi Rodriguez (61’), Ben Morris, Victor Bezerra (61’), Rhys Williams
DCFC Substitutes: Ryan Williams, Ali Coote (61’), Connor Rutz (86’), Matt Sheldon (74’), Dominic Gasso, Yazeed Matthews (61’), Carlos Saldaña
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
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Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
