A momentous victory last weekend propels Detroit City FC into another two-match saga, which begins on Friday, June 26, when Le Rouge travel to Pittsburgh for a matchup with the Fort Pitt Regiment at Upper St. Clair High School, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. After that, City returns to Detroit for its first home National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) match in three weeks. Sunday, June 28, DCFC and Lansing United face-off at Cass Tech High School, and the two Michigan sides are set to kick-off at 5:30 p.m.
Friday’s match caps off a three-game NPSL away series, in which Le Rouge have gone unbeaten, with a tie in Minnesota and a win in Cincinnati. Fort Pitt have struggled to get results, with only one win all year. That win came against Erie Commodores FC, who DCFC has yet to play. City earned a 3-1 win over Fort Pitt at Cass Tech in the clubs’ first-ever meeting last season.
But the biggest match comes on Sunday, when Detroit meets United for the second time this season, looking to avenge a 3-1 loss when the teams battled in East Lansing on May 31. United is the only team that has handed City a loss so far in NPSL play, and in the Sunday rematch, DCFC are hoping to give Lansing its first loss. In May’s meeting, Lansing overpowered Detroit, scoring three goals despite Dave Edwardson’s (Heddon F.C., Eng.) firecracker shot from outside the box into the upper 90, one of the best goals for Le Rouge so far in 2015 and his first-ever goal in three seasons with City.
When Lansing and Detroit met for the first time at Cass Tech on May 23, 2014, City handed the in-state club a 1-0 loss, powered by a Josh Rogers (Michigan State) penalty kick in the early minutes of the match.
Currently, Lansing sits on top of the Midwest Region standings above second-ranked Le Rouge. Sunday’s game will have a big say in the final outcome of the table, and for DCFC, it’s a must-win in order to remain in the hunt for playoff contention for the first time since 2013.
Don’t miss your chance to see Le Rouge climb the NPSL ladder Sunday evening. Get your tickets for that match as well as the rest of the 2015 home schedule online here.
– Ted Janes / DCFC Staff Writer
