2018 Summary
2018. The summer of the World Cup, where thirty-one nations traveled to Russia to compete in the biggest international sporting event in the world.
But not the United States.
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In Detroit, we didn’t let the U.S. National team’s failure prevent us in participating with the international community. Instead, we hosted teams from four nations (Germany, Mexico, Canada, and Italy).
FC St. Pauli – the legendary 2 Bundesliga team from Hamburg, Germany, known not only for its football but also its political stances in aiding refugees and against racism and homophobia.
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Club Necaxa – the Liga MX team from Aguascalientes, Mexico, about a 2,100 mile drive from Keyworth Stadium (or just over 300 miles northwest of Mexico City), and winner of the 2018 Copa MX.
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Windsor TFC – our annual friendly against the League1 Ontario (3rd Division) Canadian team from across the Detroit River.
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Frosinone Calcio – the newly-promoted Serie A team from Frosinone, Italy, about 50 miles southeast of Rome. This match broke the Detroit City FC attendance record as 7,887 Detroit and Frosinone fans from Windsor filled Keyworth on a damp Tuesday evening.
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Furthermore, we introduced ourselves to two teams beyond the Michigan and NPSL Great Lakes Region borders.
Chattanooga FC – a pre-season, home-and-home series was arranged between the NPSL’s best teams and supporters groups (Northern Guard Supporters and the Chattahooligans).
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Harpo’s FC – the Boulder, Colorado team from the amateur United States Specialty Sports Association.
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Being crowned the NPSL Midwest Region Champions last season placed us in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup again, with a first-round match-up against a team we love to hate – the Michigan Bucks. With a 1-1 record against the Bucks in Open Cup matches, this would the first at Keyworth Stadium, where once again, City played even with the Bucks through 120-minutes, and beating them in penalty kicks.
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Our reward was to that town in Ohio’s sphincter – Cincinnati – to visit FC Cincinnati. The USL team was making a bid to become an MLS team, but could only reserve the Rouge Rovers enough tickets for an FC Indiana crowd. City held the USL team at bay for 90-minutes, but the legs gave out in the thirty-minutes of extra time. Still, the 4th-tier team played hard against the 2nd-tier pros, as has been the case every time City enters the competition.
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The season of friendlies, unfortunately, included being a wee-bit too friendly in the NPSL regular season, allowing two other teams to advance into the playoffs. Still, in seven seasons, none of them have been unsuccessful.
Enjoy the game-by-game pages of the 2018 season through the lens of my camera once more.
April 21, 2018: at Chattanooga FC (Friendly)
April 28, 2018: Chattanooga FC (Friendly)
May 5, 2018: Harpo’s FC (Friendly)
May 9, 2018: Michigan Bucks (PDL) (Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup)
May 13, 2018: at AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL Regular Season)
May 16, 2018: at FC Cincinnati (USL) (Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup)
May 19, 2018: FC St. Pauli (International Friendly)
May 25, 2018: FC Columbus (NPSL Regular Season)
May 27, 2018: at FC Indiana (NPSL Regular Season)
June 1, 2018: FC Indiana (NPSL Regular Season)
June 8, 2018: at FC Columbus (NPSL Regular Season)
June 10, 2018: AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL Regular Season)
June 15, 2018: at Milwaukee Torrent (NPSL Regular Season)
June 17, 2018: Grand Rapids FC (NPSL Regular Season)
June 23, 2018: Kalamazoo FC (NPSL Regular Season)
June 29, 2018: at Grand Rapids FC (NPSL Regular Season)
July 1, 2018: Milwaukee Torrent (NPSL Regular Season)
July 10, 2018: Club Necaxa (International Friendly)
July 24, 2018: Windsor TFC (Friendly)
July 31, 2018: Frosinone Calcio (International Friendly)
