Michael Kitchen's Blog, page 11
April 6, 2018
July 29, 2017: vs AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL Midwest Regional Playoff Final)
July 29, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Midwest Regional Playoff Final
Detroit City FC 3, AFC Ann Arbor 2
Attendance: 6,409
DCFC Jordan Tyler (Zach Bock) 35′
DCFC Omar Sinclair 45′
AFCAA Tendai Jirira 75′
AFCAA Alec Lasinski 81′
DCFC Tyrone Mondi (Bakie Goodman) 90+
Twenty-one matches:
Three pre-season friendlies.
Two international friendlies.
Fourteen NPSL regular season matches.
Two playoff matches.
And in all those matches, Detroit City FC lost only two – both to AFC Ann Arbor.
The general feeling, from Fowling Warehouse to Keyworth Stadium, was not, ‘oh shit,’ but ‘hell ya!’ Supporters and the team were ready for them on July 7th, but the soccer gods rained down on Detroit, cooling the momentum so not to overheat the engine.
Tonight, we were coming in numbers.
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The first half began with each team getting their chances while wrestling for control of the match. In the first quarter hour, Zach Bock had a chance off a corner kick. Later, Fernando Pina made a point-blank save, then another on the rebound. By the half hour mark, the play became chippy, AFC Ann Arbor applying its physical game.
Tyrone Mondi fouled just outside the box set up an opportunity for Omar Sinclair to work his magic from a free kick. However his attempt curled just off to the left of the goal.
In the 35th minute, Jordon Tyler made a run toward the goal, his shot forcing a corner kick. This set up City’s opening strike. Mondi crossed it to the far side, where Zach Bock sent it toward goal for Tyler to smack it past Ann Arbor’s keeper, T.J. Tomasso.
A handball by an Ann Arbor defender just outside their goal created another chance for a free kick in the final minute of the half. Up stepped Sinclair again, this time curling it to the right, leaving T.J. Tomasso’s feet planted to the ground, and providing City with a 2-0 lead.
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The soccer gods orchestrated a mythic conclusion to the match. We felt good with the 2-0 lead. Then Ann Arbor made some changes at the 54th minute, which included bringing Alec Lasinski and Kwessi Allen onto the pitch. Lasinski played for City last season, scored City’s first goal at Keyworth, and the game-winner for Ann Arbor in the suspended match at Keyworth. Kwessi Allen was the player who ran into me in that suspended match, causing me to hit the pitch and break my wrist.
Allen didn’t last long. In the 66th minute, Allen went in with a malicious tackle on Bakie Goodman, earning him a straight red card. This seemed to cause City to take the foot off the gas pedal, and infuse Ann Arbor with energy, turning our 10>11 mantra against us. In the 75th minute, Tendai Jirira stripped a City defender and cut in from an angle to dirty the sheet. Then, six minutes later, Alec Lasinski was on the receiving end of a long ball from midfield, sending it past Pina to level the match with nine minutes plus stoppage time.
The final nine minutes and stoppage time would determine whether the game would extend by thirty minutes. The clock hit 90, the fourth official showed six minutes of added time, and about three minutes into it, Pina rolled the ball out to the left side to Steve Carroll. Carroll moved it ahead to Shawn Lawson on the other side of the midfield stripe. Lawson passed it ahead and cross field to Tyler Moorman. Moorman sent the ball into the box, toward the left post, where an Ann Arbor defender headed it out, but onto the head of Bakie Goodman who directed it to the right where Tyler Mondi sent it into the back of the net with his right foot, for the goal that will live forever in Detroit City FC lore. The kind of goal where you will always remember where you were when it was scored.
There was still time on the clock, and AFC Ann Arbor pressed, even after going down to nine men when Jake Rufe went in hard on Zach Schewee, earning a red card. The final whistle blew, and the celebration began.
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I certainly don’t consider myself a soccer scholar. But I cannot think of any match in the State of Michigan that can compare to this one. It had everything you could want. A championship match, between two teams who dislike each other, with the home team going into the locker room with a two goal lead, then the visitor goes down a man due to a red card only to come back and level the match with two goals, and the home team winning in extra time on a beautiful team goal that began with the keeper, before 6,400 fans. Has there been anything like this, ever, in Michigan soccer? I highly doubt it.
Detroit City FC are the 2017 NPSL Midwest Region Champions.
From here, the team qualified for the NPSL Semi-Finals, with Midland-Odessa FC from Texas to visit Keyworth in a week’s time.
April 4, 2018
July 28, 2017: vs Duluth FC (NPSL Midwest Regional Playoff Semi-Final)
July 28, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Midwest Region Semi-Final
Detroit City FC 5, Duluth FC 2
Attendance: 6,989
Detroit Tyrone Mondi (Shawn Lawson) 18′
Duluth Kyle Farrar 25′
Duluth Ben Phillips 27′
Detroit Tyrone Mondi 32′
Detroit Dave Edwardson (Tyrone Mondi) 35′
Detroit Tyrone Mondi 45′
Detroit Omar Sinclair 69′
After City’s victory over Dakota Fusion FC, and Dayton’s victory of Erie, the semi-finals were paired based on these seedings:
1. AFC Ann Arbor
2. Duluth FC
4. Detroit City FC
6. Dayton Dynamo.
The four teams put in bids to host the Friday semi-finals and Saturday final. I had heard that at the end of the bidding process, Detroit and Ann Arbor were tied in votes (with Detroit and Dayton selecting Detroit; Duluth & Ann Arbor selecting Ann Arbor). I have no idea how the final decision was made, but we won the opportunity to host this playoff showcase.
Three days before the match, our community was shook by the near-fatal accident of one of our own. Amanda , a capo, was struck by a truck as she was riding her bike to work. She underwent several hours of surgeries, as we were collectively holding our breath and sending prayers and positive thoughts her way.
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Who is Duluth FC?
2017 was the team’s first season in the NPSL, playing previously in the Duluth Amateur Soccer League (2015) and American Premier League (2016). Owned by an Orthodox Christian priest, foul language is discouraged at their matches. Good gracious, were they in for a cultural clash.
Duluth FC finished at the top of the Northern Division of the Midwest Region with eight wins, a couple losses, and four draws. They scored 42 goals while conceding only 18. Kyle Farrar was fourth in the NPSL in scoring, with 13 goals in 12 matches.
The first match was AFC Ann Arbor vs Dayton Dynamo.
I found a camera shop in Ann Arbor that sold and developed 35mm film. I decided to see if the old Nikon N70 was worth bringing out of retirement by shooting a roll here.
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The last two photos were from the Sony digital. After I ran out of film, this took place and had to shoot it. The Dayton player said some unkind things to the ref about a non-call. If Duluth FC scouts were in the stands, this player was probably eliminated as a prospect from their no-foul-language team.
In the second minute of stoppage time, with the scoreless match looking like overtime, Ann Arbor’s James Vaughan converted a free kick from just outside the box, to place AFC Ann Arbor in the Midwest Region finals.
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In the 18th minute, Shawn Lawson from midfield sent a ball out to the left wing. Tyrone Mondi out-hustled two Duluth defenders , and put City in the lead.
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Duluth was not here by chance. In the 25th minute, Kyle Farrar, the fourth leading scorer in the NPSL, leveled the match. With the let down, Duluth came down the pitch two minutes later, and Ben Phillips popped one behind Pina, to shift the lead.
Not about to roll over, City kept on working. In the 32nd minute, Troy Watson received the ball on the right wing, and crossed it into the box. Cyrus Saydee took a point blank shot at Duluth keeper Tom Greensall, who made the save, but the ball rebounded to Tyrone Mondi who poked it into the back of the net.
Two-Two.
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Three minutes later, Tyrone Mondi from the corner…
Three-Two
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As the half neared its conclusion, City kept on the pressure. Two Duluth defenders had a miscommunication, resulting in the ball bouncing past them and onto the foot of Tyrone Mondi to complete the first-half hat trick.
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In the 49th minute, Tyrone Mondi was hauled down in the box by Duluth’s Gonnie Ben-Tal, causing the ref to point to the spot for a penalty kick. Ben-Tal took exception, claiming Mondi went down early, which caused a heated discussion among the players on the pitch. Shawn Lawson stepped up to the penalty spot, but his shot just missed the lower corner of the net.
Duluth wasn’t about to go away, and kept up the pressure, which afforded counter-attacking for City. It was Tyrone Mondi once more, taken down just outside the box in the 69’th minute, which lead to this Omar Sinclair free kick…
Five-Two.
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On to the Midwest Region Finals!
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Another outstanding performance by the team.
April 2, 2018
July 22, 2017: vs Dakota Fusion FC (NPSL Midwest Regional Playoff)
July 22, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Midwest Region Playoffs
Detroit City FC 5, Dakota Fusion FC 1
Attendance: 6,672
Dakota Zuheer Al Abase 19′
Detroit Shawn Lawson (Cyrus Saydee) 25′
Detroit Seb Harris (PK) 35′
Detroit Roddy Green (Bakie Goodman, Shawn Lawson) 47′
Detroit Shawn Lawson (PK saved, put in the rebound) 76′
Detroit Seb Harris (Tyrone Mondi) 81′
The playoffs. Yeah baby!
Here’s how it worked. There are four regions in the NPSL: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. Detroit City FC was in the Great Lakes Conference, one of three conferences within the Midwest Region. Only the top two teams from each conference – East, Great Lakes, and North – qualified for the playoffs. They were:
-North Conference: Erie Commodores FC & Dayton Dynamo.
-Midwest Conference: AFC Ann Arbor & Detroit City FC
-West Conference: Duluth FC & Dakota Fusion FC
The three first place teams were seeded 1-3 based on points per game. The second place teams were seeded 4-6 based on points per game.
1. AFC Ann Arbor
2. Duluth FC
3. Erie Commodores FC
4. Detroit City FC
5. Dakota Fusion FC
6. Dayton Dynamo.
The #1 and #2 seeds received a bye into the semi-finals, and quarter-finals matches pit #3 v #6 and #4 v #5. And that’s how we got here, in Keyworth, to host Dakota Fusion FC.
Dakota Fusion FC, from Fargo, North Dakota, was established in 2016, and finished the 2017 season in second place of the West Conference of the Midwest Region, with 9 wins and 5 losses. In 14 games, they scored 37 goals and conceded 27 goals for a clip of 2.64 goals per game and 1.93 goals against. In other words, they score a lot, and give up a lot. Forward Jade Johnson was third in the league in goals scored, having tallied 17 goals in 13 games.
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Our guests scored in the 19th minute, as Zuheer Al Abase received a throw-in, brought the ball to the box, and fired a shot past Fernando Pina. Their lead lasted all of six minutes when Cyrus Saydee, driving up the middle of the pitch, thread a pass through to Shawn Lawson who went in all alone and scored.
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In the 35th minute, it was Cyrus Saydee slipping through three Fusion defenders into the box where Sunaj Beljulji had no option other than to take him down, providing City with a penalty kick. Up to the spot stepped Seb Harris.
Taking a 2-1 lead into the locker room at half time was a good feeling, especially after dominating the play. It got better shortly after the second half began.
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Two minutes in, Bakie Goodman connected a pass to Shawn Lawson, who fed Roddy Green, who fired the ball into the back of the net.
3-1.
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In the 76th minute, Shawn Lawson was taken down in the box, setting up another penalty kick opportunity. This time, Lawson steps up to the spot.
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4-1
Five minutes later, a corner kick, and a goal.
And that makes five.
This team and these supporters have hungered for this. Tonight, Dakota Fusion FC provided us with a feast.
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The word out of Erie, Pennsylvania was that the Dayton Dynamo defeated Erie Commodores FC by a score of 1-0. This meant the Midwest Region Semi-Final match ups were AFC Ann Arbor vs Dayton Dynamo, and Detroit City FC vs Duluth FC. Location yet to be determined, as each of the four teams would bid on the opportunity to host the Semi-Finals and Final match.
March 29, 2018
July 18, 2017: vs Venezia FC (International Friendly).
July 17, 2017
Amnesia, Motor City Casino, Detroit, MI
International Meet & Greet
An International Friendly! Who doesn’t like that?
But this one, when it was announced on May 16th, raised eyebrows and concerns.
Venezia FC is a Serie B Italian football club, owned by Joe Tacopina and other American investors. They purchased the Venice-based team when they were in Serie D – the fourth tier of Italian football – in October, 2015. When the 2015-16 season was over, the team was promoted to the third tier – Lega Pro. During the summer of 2016, Italian scoring legend Filippo Inzaghi was named Venezia FC’s manager. The new foundation of winning continued, advancing the club into the second tier – Serie B. This would be one of Detroit City FC’s most challenging opponents.
A meet-and-greet was held at Amnesia in the Motor City Casino the evening before the match.
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So why were eyebrows and concerns raised? This match was sponsored by Quicken Loans and the Detroit Pistons. Also known as Dan Gilbert & Tom Gores – the billionaires that want to bring Major League Soccer to Detroit.
Furthermore, the match fell on a week night, at the conclusion of the regular season with the playoffs beginning four days later. Meeting a team of this caliber just before the intensity of the playoffs could have had a negative impact on the team’s confidence. There was even chatter among the supporters about not showing up to the match due to the Gilbert-Gores sponsorship.
After the meet-and-greet, this felt so much different than our previous international friendlies with FC United of Manchester and Glentoran FC. The week-night match did not provide a good opportunity for supporters of Venezia FC to come over and mingle with us. The bravado of Joe Tacopina also felt a bit ‘unfriendly’ in that a couple of times during his talk at Amnesia he emphasized that his team was going to ‘kick our ass.’ It was apparently likely that a Serie B professional Italian club, coached by the country’s legend, would have an easy time against a fourth-tier American soccer team of unpaid players. Was such arrogance necessary at a meet-and-greet for a friendly?
Twenty-four hours later, the match took place.
July 18, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
International Friendly
Detroit City FC 2, Venezia FC 0
Attendance: 5,418
DCFC Roddy Green (Elijah Rice) 28′
DCFC Elijah Rice (Cyrus Saydee) 32′
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In the very early stage of their season, Venezia FC were getting their legs while adjusting to their teammates and the Keyworth pitch. City, at the height of its season, provided a worthy opponent. The breakthrough came in the 28th minute when Elijah Rice received a pass on the wing from Bakie Goodman, dipsy-dooed around the Venezia defender, and fired a shot at goal. Keeper Emil Audero made a diving palm save, but Roddy Green was right there to pop the ball into the back of the net, giving City the lead.
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Four minutes later, Cyrus Saydee, City’s magical midfielder, undressed a Venezia defender, then saved the ball from crossing the end line, feeding it to the front of the goal where Elijah Rice lift his foot and guided it into the back of the net.
In the 32nd minute, it was 2-0. City?
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With the playoffs approaching, it was full-scale changes for the second half. And the players who had seen little or no NPSL action this season found minutes on the pitch against the team of professionals.
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In the 70th minute, things became a little unfriendly as Jordan Tyler was stepped on in the box. When he took offense to it, the ref ,who didn’t see the Italian stomp, witnessed the retaliation and gave Tyler a straight red card.
Guess what. 10 > 11.
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This was truly an amazing feat. It was a bit disappointing, though, that the Venezia FC team did not take the time to acknowledge the Northern Guard Supporters, like our previous visitors from Europe. Instead, at the match’s conclusion, after brief handshakes with City players, they took to the locker room.
Was it because we kicked their ass?
March 25, 2018
March 25, 2018: Typing Assignment #15.
Yes. Life got in the way, preventing me from participating in Joe Van Cleave’s Typing Assignments #12, 13, and 14. Finding myself with some time this Sunday afternoon, I planted my butt in the chair, before my 1926 Royal 10 typewriter, and wrote this in response to Typing Assignment #15: Ten Years Later.
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Previous Typing Assignments can be found HERE.
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March 21, 2018
July 14, 2017: vs Lansing United (NPSL Regular Season)
July 14, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Detroit City FC 3, Lansing United 3
Attendance: 6,310
LANU Morris Kamara (Farai Mutatu) 39′
LANU James DeCasemo 65′
LANU Tumi Moshobane 68′
DCFC Shawn Lawson 71′
DCFC Seb Harris 79′
DCFC Owain Hoskins 86′
It was a soiree, this evening, as the classy Northern Guard Supporters took to the streets to march, and to the stands to sing for the final regular season home match. What triggered such an elegant display this evening? The handful of fans of Lansing made statements on Twitter about how we weren’t classy in the way we charged the field to congratulate our team after kicking their butts and securing a playoff spot.
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Secure with a playoff spot and the division title unlikely (they would need a win here and AFC Ann Arbor to lose their last two matches), this was an opportunity to repair the broken winning streak, and carry a positive into the playoffs. And who better than Lansing United to be on the receiving end?
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In the 39th minute, Morris Kamara scored the only goal of the half, giving Lansing United the lead going into the locker room. City had created a number of chances, but could not break the plane of the goal.
Michigan Special Olympics took to the pitch during halftime for an exciting performance for both fans and players.
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In the second half, shortly after the hour mark, Tyrone Mondi was sent in from a feathery pass from Jeff Adkins, but sent the ball wide, as City put on the pressure to tie the match. The play went back downfield, and James DeCosemo cut through the City defense and fired a shot into the corner, doubling Lansing’s lead in the 65th minute. Three minutes later, Tumi Moshobane outwitted the City defense, and fired a shot like DeCosemo’s, into the corner, giving Lansing a 3-0 lead. But did spirits wane? Nope. Because…
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…three minutes after Lansing took the seemingly insurmountable lead, this happened.
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Four minutes later, Omar Sinclair drew his second yellow card, taking Detroit down a man for the final 15 minutes of the match.
Four minutes later, this happened.
Thus, the nickname, “The Windmill” is attached to Seb Harris’ name.
Detroit kept pressing. And the Supporters kept supporting.
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In the 86th minute, Lansing United blew a three-goal lead.
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In the 90th minute, Fernando Pina made a brilliant save to keep things level, and when the final whistle blew, there was much rejoicing.
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The season concluded with City in 2nd place with a record of 9 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses. Before going into the playoffs, an international friendly loomed.
March 20, 2018
July 11, 2017: vs AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL Regular Season – Part Two)
July 11, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Detroit City FC 1, AFC Ann Arbor 3
Attendance: 6,972
DCFC Elijah Rice (Kervin Kenton) 44′
AFCAA James Vaughan 57′
AFCAA Alec Lasinski 64′
AFCAA James Vaughan (PK) 90+
This was the continuation of the much-hyped, much-anticipated AFC Ann Arbor match which was rained-out four days ago. On this Tuesday evening, there was some concern whether this match would go, due to an afternoon downpour which once again flooded Keyworth. Hours before the match time, the team and supporters helped clear the water from the pitch.
Having secured a playoff spot two days ago and the match rescheduled for this week night, the pre-game enthusiasm seemed dampened. In addition, Craine’s Detroit Business reported that Palace Sports & Entertainment had sent an application to the Federal government to register a “Detroit City Soccer Club” trademark. The timing of this announcement was unusual, being one week prior to the surprise international friendly against the Italian team, Venezia FC; a match sponsored by Quicken Loans and the Detroit Pistons (Dan Gilbert and Tom Gores – the parties interested in acquiring a Major League Soccer franchise in Detroit). This distraction fueled more passion against the Gilbert-and-Gores bid, and had supporters debating the attendance of the friendly they sponsored.
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I took my usual position, in the end where City attacked, but the photo opportunities were limited. Ann Arbor took control of the play.
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As the half neared its end, Kervin Kenton found Elijah Rice with a pass, and Rice buried it past Ann Arbor’s keeper, TJ Tomasso.
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In the second half, the winning streak was broken, among other things.
A free kick taken from outside the box by James Vaughan beat Fernando Pina in the 57th minute to level the match. In the 64th minute, Alec Lasinski, controlled the ball after it pinballed among City and Ann Arbor players, and shot it past Pina to give AFC Ann Arbor a 2-1 lead.
In the 70th minute, Kervin Kenton and Ann Arbor’s Kwessi Allen chased an over-hit pass down the line. I was standing behind the end line, taking a quick glance toward the net to prepare for Kenton to catch up to it and cross it. But it traveled too fast and he and Allen were trying to slow down as they approached the end line. Kenton went to ground, sliding to my left. A security person was behind me. I decided to remain stationary, to allow Allen to go to my right, but instead he made contact with me, sending me to the pitch. I picked myself up, thinking my pride was the only thing injured. As the match went on, my left wrist began to throb. It swelled overnight, and after a visit to Urgent Care the next day, an x-ray showed an acute fracture.
A foul in the penalty area in stoppage time allowed James Vaughan to score his second, Ann Arbor’s third goal on the night.
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The nine-game winning streak, broken.
My wrist, broken.
This match was broken when the football gods flooded our pitch just four days ago, when we had the momentum and the hunger.
For the first time in a month-and-a-half, we, as a team and supporters, had to regroup.
March 18, 2018
July 9, 2017: at Lansing United (NPSL Regular Season)
July 9, 2017
East Lansing Soccer Complex, East Lansing, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Lansing United 1, Detroit City FC 2
LU James DeCosemo (Tumi Moshobane) 43′
DCFC Shawn Lawson (Bakie Goodman) 45′
DCFC Cyrus Saydee (Tyrone Mondi) 57′
A Sunday afternoon journey to East Lansing for the season’s final road match. Yeah. Here. Lansing United. Where we have played three times previously and only managed to take a single point. A win or a draw would clinch a playoff spot for us and eliminate Lansing United from playoff contention.
Wait a second. With a single point, we’d clinch a playoff spot. Something some thought impossible after the first three matches way back in May.
In the past, this match would be held at the DeMartin Stadium, home to Michigan State University’s soccer team. But today, the smaller confines of the East Lansing Soccer Complex would be our host. Perhaps the change in venue would shrug off the lack of success we’ve had in this town.
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First blood was drawn by the home team in the waning moments of the first half. Tumi Moshobane floated a pass into the box to an open James DeCosemo in the 43rd minute.
Two minutes later the bandage was applied when Tyrone Mondi floated a ball into the box. Bakie Goodman, with back to the goal, received the ball, his first touch causing it to bounced high. Goodman turned and volleyed it across the face of the goal. Lansing keeper Jimmy Hague dove for it, but City’s Shawn Lawson slid in and tapped it in.
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The half ended with the sides even.
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It would have been easy for City to sit back and ride out the draw. But Cyrus Saydee was uncanny this afternoon, outmaneuvering most every opponent who challenged him.
In the 57th minute, Tyrone Mondi fed a ball through the Lansing defense. Jimmy Hague and Saydee ran toward it. Saydee touched it past the Lansing keeper, then deposited it into the open net.
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Nine straight wins.
The season’s road record: 5-1-1, outscoring our hosts 12-7.
And we are in the playoffs!
March 15, 2018
July 7, 2017: vs AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL Regular Season – Part One)
July 7, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Match suspended at the 4:51 mark
On May 21st, City went into Ann Arbor after the first two matches of the season, where leads were blown and points lost due to draws to the Milwaukee Torrent and Michigan Stars. The cloudy afternoon brought not only rain down upon Hollway Field during halftime, but on the outlook of the team’s season. AFC Ann Arbor’s Dario Suarez fired two goals against Le Rouge, and no one answered back.
The following weekend was an early break in the season for Le Rouge for the much-anticipated international friendly with Glentoran FC. It was the 50th anniversary of the Glentoran team that crossed the Atlantic from Belfast to play as the Detroit Cougars. Spirits were lifted in acknowledging Detroit’s soccer past and in entertaining our Irish guests. The clouds of gloom dissipated.
One month and eight NPSL matches later, Detroit City FC sat two points behind first place AFC Ann Arbor. City had not suffered a loss in the entire month of June, including the traditional friendly against the Columbus Crew SC College Program (which has traditionally been a game lost by Le Rouge). Supporters and teammates were glistening like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
For one week, the momentum of the past month leading to this night, magnified. The anticipation of this huge match against a hated opponent was tangible.
AFC Ann Arbor – 9 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, 1st place.
Detroit City FC – 8 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss, 2nd place.
And let’s be clear about that team in Ann Arbor…
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Dark clouds came rolling in from the east, forming and following the Northern Guard Supporters as they marched from the Fowling Warehouse.
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It was there. The emotional electricity of revenge. Like a heavy-weight fighter knowing one more punch would put down his opponent, we felt ourselves in that drawn back fist, ready to deliver the final blow.
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After the water balloons were tossed, and the smoke filled the air, the match began.
It ended four-minutes-fifty-one seconds later.
The heavens opened. It was as if the fist we were ready to apply to our opponent had manifested in the sky above, with rain pelting the pitch with ferocity. With the match put on hold, we refused to release this moment. Smoke tried to blanket the field, but still, the rain fell.
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The teams left the field, and many left the stands in search of shelter. But not us. We’ve been building and waiting for this moment. And we stayed. And sang.
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When the chants and songs would not relent, the clouds gave way, reducing the rain’s intensity to a light mist in comparison.
But the pitch couldn’t take it. Saturated by the soccer gods, the field could not absorb the onslaught, and the steady drizzle that followed made draining an impossibility.
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It was about an hour after the match had been paused that the officials abandoned game on account of player safety. Tuesday, July 11th was announced as the rescheduled date.
Co-owner Alex Wright, on the eve of his wedding, took his bride-to-be out to the middle of the pitch, in a demonstration that it was safe to dance.
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Rescheduled to a Tuesday night was a frustrating conclusion to the evening. Why did the soccer gods attempt to drown our momentum and postpone our clash against AFC Ann Arbor?
March 8, 2018
June 30, 2017: vs Michigan Stars (NPSL Regular Season).
June 30, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Detroit City FC 3, Michigan Stars 1
Attendance: 4,391
DCFC Tyrone Mondi (Luke Hauswirth) 7′
DCFC Roddy Green (Cyrus Saydee) 27′
DCFC Cyrus Saydee (Bakie Goodman) 57′
Stars Alex Ofiemu 90+
This is the fourth match in a week for the team and supporters. And though the rain kept the attendance numbers down, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm. A win tonight would put City on top of the division, with three matches remaining – home against AFC Ann Arbor and a home-and-home weekend against Lansing.
The Michigan Stars were the only team to have walked out of Keyworth Stadium with three points.
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Tyrone Mondi started us off with a goal in the 7th minute. A long ball lofted from our defensive end by Luke Hauswirth ended up hitting the ground ahead of Mondi and Stars defender, Michael Wetunga. Wetunga slipped on the wet turf, leaving Mondi alone on goal, looping it over the oncoming keeper, Anthony Mwembia.
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In the 27th minute, City doubled their lead when Cyrus Saydee passed the ball toward the goal. Tyrone Mondi ran toward it with Stars defender Nyal Higgins, but dummied it through to Roddy Green who placed it past the goalkeeper.
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The first half ended with City up, 2-Nil.
It was Polish-American Heritage Night, and halftime featured traditional P0lish dancing and wardrobe.
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Cyrus Saydee seemed to have the field to himself in the 57th minute as he entered the Stars’ end, made it almost to the top of the box, then drilled a shot in the lower corner, beyond the reach of the keeper.
Fernando Pina was on his way to his second straight clean sheet, but in added time, the Stars’ Alex Ofiemu scored from a long throw-in and some pinballing of the ball off legs in the box.
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Eight straight victories, and top of the table.
City is finally making Keyworth a tough place to play. Last year, they recorded 2 wins, 3 draws and a loss, outscoring opponents 10-5. So far this season, 4 wins and a draw, outscoring opponents 13-6.
In seven days, AFC Ann Arbor would come to our house. And we wanted them.
