DETROIT — Detroit City Football Club advances to the Round of 32 in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 3-1 victory over USL League One side Westchester SC. A quiet first half led to a four-goal second half that saw Morey Doner, Jeciel Cedeño, and Darren Smith all find the back of the net, leading to victory for Le Rouge.
Head Coach Danny Dichio debuted an almost completely different starting XI from the one that won 3-2 in Phoenix on Saturday night. Carlos Saldaña returned to his starting position in net. Matt Sheldon, Shane Wiedt, Michael Bryant, and Morey Doner made up the back line. Marcello Polisi, Dominic Gasso, and Haruki Yamazaki filled out the midfield positions. The three attackers chosen for this match were Ben Morris, Ates Diouf, and Sebastián Guenzatti.
For Michael Bryant, it was the first time he wore the captain’s armband for Detroit City.
Even though Detroit City was the stronger team on paper, Westchester came out fighting in this match. Although Detroit dominated possession, they struggled to get anything going in the attacking third. Detroit would get on the attack for the first twenty minutes but get stuck by the Westchester defense outside the box.
The story of this match would be the yellow cards. Both teams collected plenty on the night, but the first one was handed out to Westchester defender Kurowsky Pierre in the 13th minute.
Haruki Yamazaki would have DCFC’s first opportunity of the night in the 26th minute. Off a throw-in, Yamazaki danced past three defenders, took a shot from a tight angle, and hit the near post.
Marcello Polisi would pick up Detroit’s first yellow card in the 39th minute, but that would close out the action in an otherwise quiet first half for both sides.
One halftime change for DCFC saw Devon Amoo-Mensah enter the match for Michael Bryant.
In the 54th minute, Sebastián Guenzatti attempted a bicycle kick, but the shot went just wide off the post. It was the best chance DCFC had so far in the match. Mere moments later, Dominic Gasso picked up a yellow card.
Detroit City elected for a triple change in the 67th minute, as Jay Chapman, Darren Smith, and Jeciel Cedeño entered the match for Marcello Polisi, Ben Morris, and Sebastián Guenzatti.
After those changes, Detroit City increased the tempo, and the match swung almost immediately. Only four minutes after coming on, a Jay Chapman cross into the box found Morey Doner at the far post, and he put it past the keeper to give DCFC a 1-0 lead.
Westchester SC was not going down without a fight. In the 76th minute, Juan Obregon blasted a rocket of a shot from outside the box into the far top corner of the net to level the match at 1-1.
A foul on Ates Diouf in the box would lead to a Detroit City penalty chance in the 85th minute, and Cedeño would be the one to step up and take it. Cedeño put the ball in the top left corner, past the diving keeper, and Detroit regained its lead with just five minutes left in regular time.
Just before stoppage time, Detroit made their final change, bringing on Jordan Adebayo-Smith for Ates Diouf.
A blunder on the Westchester back line in the fourth minute of stoppage time saw the keeper outside the box trying to play the ball, but Jordan Adebayo-Smith and Darren Smith were closing in on him, forcing the turnover and giving Smith the opportunity to shoot at an open net, which he converted, giving DCFC a 3-1 advantage.
Detroit City moves on to the Round of 32 for the third time in club history, with all three appearances coming within the past four seasons.
Le Rouge returns to league play at Keyworth Stadium this Saturday for an Eastern Conference battle with Rhode Island FC. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Tickets for all Detroit City matches are available at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
Detroit City Starting XI – Carlos Saldaña, Matt Sheldon, Shane Wiedt, Michael Bryant (46’), Morey Doner, Marcello Polisi (67’), Dominic Gasso, Haruki Yamazaki, Ben Morris (67’), Ates Diouf (90’), Sebastián Guenzatti (67’)
Detroit City Substitutes – Alex Villanueva, Jay Chapman (67’), Darren Smith (67’), Jeciel Cedeño (67’), Carlos Herrera, Devon Amoo-Mensah (46’), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (90’)
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)
