Pittsburgh, PA – Detroit City Football Club’s season comes to an end on Saturday evening with a 4-3 loss in a penalty shootout to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. A cagey 120 minutes saw goalscoring chances few and far between, and neither side could find the back of the net. Five rounds of penalties would ensue, and it would be Pittsburgh that came out on top and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Danny Dichio’s starting lineup for this Eastern Conference Semifinal would be the same as the one that secured victory last week at Louisville City. Carlos Saldaña got the start in goal with Isaiah LeFlore, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Shane Wiedt, and Michael Bryant as the four defenders in front of him. Ates Diouf, Ryan Williams, Jay Chapman, and Haruki Yamazaki made up the midfield, and it would be Jeciel Cedeño and Darren Smith as the two strikers for the evening.
It would be a quiet first half for both sides, as both Pittsburgh and Detroit would have had their own spells of attacking play, but neither side could find the back of the net.
Carlos Saldaña would be called in early in the match, as Pittsburgh’s Bradley Sample would fire a shot on target in the second minute, but it would be Saldaña making a crucial diving save. The shot would be the only shot on target for both sides in the first half.
Detroit came close to an opener in the 21st minute as Shane Wiedt would cross the ball into the box, attempting to find Darren Smith, who was camped out near the penalty spot, but the Pittsburgh keeper would punch the ball out of the box before it could reach Smith.
Coming out of the halftime break, Pittsburgh would be the ones on the front foot once again. Earning a free kick in the 52nd minute, it would take a Darren Smith header to divert the ball out of play to stop the Riverhounds chance.
The first change of the night for Detroit came in the 63rd minute, as Kobe Hernandez-Foster entered the match for Jeciel Cedeño.
Pittsburgh’s Augustine Williams would find the back of the net in the 71st minute, but the goal would be called back due to a foul on Shane Wiedt in the buildup.
A late tackle on Ates Diouf in the 77th minute would see Pittsburgh’s Perrin Barnes shown the first yellow card of the evening.
Two more changes came for Detroit in the 82nd minute as Stephen Carroll and Jordan Adebayo-Smith entered the match for Jay Chapman and Ates Diouf.
Augustine Williams would pick up the second yellow card of the night in the 86th minute for a reckless foul on Michael Bryant. Bryant would pick up the final yellow card of the night in the second minute of second-half stoppage time for a foul on Perrin Barnes.
Extra time would see Detroit City come close on its best opportunity of the night in the 96th minute, as Jordan Adebayo-Smith would go on the counterattack after getting a gap of free space, but the Pittsburgh keeper would come off his line to stop Adebayo-Smith’s chip shot chance at the top of the box.
Detroit would make another change at the beginning of the second half of extra time, as Alex Villanueva entered the match for Isaiah LeFlore. Detroit would make two more changes in the final 15 minutes, as Sebastian Guenzatti entered for Darren Smith in the 110th minute, and Matt Sheldon entered for Haruki Yamazaki in the 119th minute.
To start the penalty shootout, Sebastian Guenzatti would convert his penalty to start the shootout. Pittsburgh’s Bertin Jacquesson would level.
The second round saw Kobe Hernandez-Foster sneak his shot into the back of the net, and Carlos Saldaña would make a massive save on Robbie Mertz’s shot.
Devon Amoo-Mensah would step up to start round three and see his shot ring off the goalpost, allowing Augustine Williams to level the shootout going into the fourth round.
Ryan Williams would send his shot off the crossbar, and Pittsburgh’s Sean Suber would take advantage and give Riverhounds the lead going into the final round.
Michael Bryant would see his shot fly into the back of the net, meaning Carlos Saldaña would have to make a save to keep this match and season going. Beto Ydrach would find the back of the net and send Pittsburgh on to the Eastern Conference Final.
For the second season in a row, Detroit City’s season comes to an end in a penalty shootout. Detroit is still searching for its first-ever appearance in the USL Championship Eastern Conference Finals.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
Detroit City Starting XI – Carlos Saldaña, Isaiah LeFlore (106’), Devon Amoo-Mensah, Shane Wiedt, Michael Bryant, Ates Diouf (82’), Ryan Williams, Jay Chapman (82’), Haruki Yamazaki (119’), Jeciel Cedeño (63’), Darren Smith (110’)
Detroit City Substitutes – Alex Villanueva (106’), Stephen Carroll (82’), Matt Sheldon (119’), Tatenda Mkuruva, Kobe Hernandez-Foster (63’), Sebastian Guenzatti (110’), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (82’)
Penalty Shootout:
Round 1:
Detroit Sebastián Guenzatti converted
Pittsburgh Bertin Jacquesson converted
Round 2:
Detroit Kobe Hernandez-Foster converted
Pittsburgh Robbie Mertz shot saved
Round 3:
Detroit Devon Amoo-Mensah shot missed
Pittsburgh Augustine Williams converted
Round 4:
Detroit Ryan Williams shot missed
Pittsburgh Sean Suber converted
Round 5:
Detroit Michael Bryant converted
Pittsburgh Beto Ydrach converted
##DCFC##
