DETROIT – Detroit City FC comes from behind to defeat Indy Eleven on Sunday afternoon to claim the first-ever trophy on the women’s side, winning the 2024 USL W League Central Conference Final at Keyworth Stadium, 3-1, thanks to goals from Emily Pagett, Sophia Romine, and Kayla Addison.
Indy Eleven continued their habit of starting the match strong, pouncing on a weak pass from the DCFC backline in the 7th minute. After winning possession deep in DCFC’s territory, Indy found their striker Maisie Whitsett on the top of the 18-yard box, who tidily curled one in the bottom right corner.
Indy Eleven didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal. In the 13th minute, after another turnover high up the pitch, DCFC almost gave Indy their second of the game. A shot from 15 yards out forced a crucial fingertip intervention from Gabby Schriver.
DCFC quickly responded through Emily Pagett in the 18th minute, who, for the second time in as many games, rifled an effort from 20 yards out into the bottom left corner to bring the score level in the 20th minute.
Following the leveler, both sides started to even out, exchanging runs of possession but with no true end product to the spurts of possession.
In the 40th minute, a dangerous effort from Indy Eleven from 20 odd yards out just flashed wide of Schriver’s post.
The final action of the half saw a brilliant individual effort from Sophia Romine as she progressed DCFC up the field before slicing a beautiful ball out wide to Ella Offer, whose byline cross found a crashing Romine in the box as she only needed one touch to fire into the back of the net.
At the start of the second half, a reinvigorated Indy side established constant possession in the DCFC half as they searched for an equalizer.
The numbers pushed forward by Eleven put the DCFC 18-yard box under consistent fire, but the backline held strong and fended off multiple dangerous possessions.
However, the numbers pushed forward also left space for City to expose behind, as Jeakle found herself behind the backline multiple times, creating several dangerous half-chances for Le Rouge.
In the 62nd, DCFC looked to their bench, making four subs: Hannah Crum, Joyelle Washington, Kayla Addison, and Dani Stephan entered the match.
The introductions brought a crucial influx of experience and fresh legs, and DCFC began to establish more control of the match.
And it was those subs that made the difference. A combination of Stephan and a freshly introduced Allie Tefend saw the ball work out wide before a venomous cross flashed into the box. Amidst the chaos, it would be none other than Addison who pounced on the loose ball and fired it in the back of the net to make it 3-1 DCFC in the 75’.
With a two-goal deficit, Indy only became more desperate as they pushed players forward to get back on track. The effect saw Eleven look to fire balls into the DCFC box but find themselves struggling to best DCFC in the 50/50s as the Le Rouge backline, which has been remarkable all season, didn’t miss a beat.
Indy Eleven would search for a goal to get them closer to equalizing throughout the final 10 minutes. Still, no goal could be found, as after four minutes of stoppages the referee blew the full-time whistle and Detroit City claimed the USL W League Central Conference crown.
The victory secures Le Rouge’s first trophy in club history.
With the win, Detroit City advances to the USL W League National Semifinal, hosted at Keyworth Stadium next Saturday. Ticket news and more details will be released shortly.
DCFC Starting XI: Gabby Schriver (GK), Ella Offer, Acadia Murphy, Maia Soulis, Drew Martin, Kate Childers (62’), Lilley Bosley, Emily Pagett (62’), Sophia Romine, Lily Jeakle (62’), Aubree Ciampa (62’)
DCFC Used Subs: Kayla Addison (62’), Joyelle Washington (62’), Danie Stephans (62’), Hannah Crum (62’)
DCFC Goalscorers: Pagett 20’, Romine 45’, Addison 75’
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
##DCFC##
Please send all media inquiries to media@detcityfc.com.
