All the good feelings surrounding Detroit City’s excellent regular season dissipated in the red mist of Kobe Hernandez-Foster’s 19th minute red card two weeks ago against Hartford Athletic. Before throwing out the baby with the bathwater, it’s important to look at the positives on which the club can build next season.
Carlos Herrera emerged as a top goalkeeper. He won the Golden Glove by leading the USL Championship with 14 shutouts. He was the anchor of the best defense in the league. As a team, DCFC only conceded 21 goals in 30 regular season games. That was 5 better than the next best team. Herrera’s 55 saves were a big part of that.
In front of Herrera, the defense had consistency in shape and personnel. Coach Danny Dichio rarely shifted out of a back four. Captain Devon Amoo-Mensah and newly acquired Callum Montgomery had the right balance of physicality and skill to ensure that opponents kept their distance from the DCFC goal and to supply the platform to launch the club forward. The fullbacks on either side maintained defensive discipline while offering different options going forward. Aedan Stanley, another new signing, proved to be a superb crosser of the ball and Haruki Yamazaki won a multitude free kicks due to his excellent close control and dribbling ability. Michael Bryant rejoined the defense during the later stages of the season and Tommy Silva deputized for Stanley.
“Defense wins championships” is an old saying. DCFC has a championship worthy defense if the club can keep them together and they all stay fit.
At the other end of the field, Darrin Smith finished with 14 goals in the league. That was good for a sixth place tie, three behind the league leaders. That was a respectable total and meant that DCFC had a dangerous player at the center forward position. However, five of those goals came during an incredible game at Jacksonville when DCFC ran up a 6-1 score. That left 9 goals in 29 games, which isn’t terribly potent for a starting center forward.
After Smith, nobody else on the team had more than 3 goals. That means DCFC lacked a second threat. Ates Diouf, for all his speed and dribbling ability, managed only 2 goals and 2 assists. Maxi Rodriguez returned from a lost season in Rhode Island and only had 3 goals. Kobe Hernandez-Foster had 3 goals and 5 assists, making him the most productive player after Smith.
One of DCFC’s goals for the offseason has to be to find some more dangerous attackers who are not afraid to work on the defensive side of the ball. From the current roster, the club is going to have to make some hard decisions when it comes to who they want to keep. Speedy winger Rhys Williams suffered an injury early in the season and only appeared in four games all year. After suffering his third ACL injury, Ben Morris looked nowhere near the player he was when he score 10 goals two years ago. He only made 16 appearances, but none after September 1. Forwards Cheikhou Niang, who had the miss of the year in the playoff defeat against Hartford, and Kian Williams saw their loans end and will return to their parent clubs.
A few others also had reduced roles. Jeciel Cedeno, Rafael Mentzingen, Preston Tabor Etaka, and Chisom Egbuchulum made little impression this year. Some of that was due to injuries, but even when fit they never made much impact. Connor Rutz missed most of the season due to injury and has been working in the youth soccer programs, so his return to playing isn’t guaranteed.
Detroit City will play one more season at Keyworth Stadium before moving to AlumniFi Field in Southwest Detroit for the 2028 season. For all the nostalgia and atmosphere Keyworth has generated since the team moved there from Cass Tech, if the club wants to take the next step it is time for a modern stadium. The team on the field is a reflection of the club off the field: a solid foundation but room to grow and improve.
USA Stars Return for Nationals League
The November international break is upon us and eight CONCACAF countries will be playing their home and away Nations League quarterfinal ties during this window. The USA will be playing against Haiti. Due to security concerns, Haiti hasn’t played a home game in many years. Their home match on Saturday against the United States will take place at Nu Stadium in Miami, Florida. The match was originally scheduled to be in Jamaica, but with Jamaica hosting Mexico the same day, CONCACAF had to move the game.
US manager Mauricio Pochettino has recalled several World Cup veterans who missed the four wins during the extended window last month. Christian Pulisic has hit a hot streak for AC Milan, scoring 3 goals in the last four games as the club has surged to fourth in Serie A. Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie also returns for the first competitive games of the new cycle. Monaco striker Folarin Balogun comes back into the team after missing the last window due to injury.
There are always injuries though, and this window is no exception. Midfielder Gio Reyna had been off to a strong start with Strasbourg in France but injured a thigh muscle shortly after scoring last Friday. Red hot Jack McGlynn of Stoke City takes his place. The former Houston Dynamo player has 5 goals and 2 assists in his last nine games as Stoke’s rise up to third in the English Championship table has coincided with the manager inserting him into the starting lineup. Toulouse defender Mark McKenzie replaced West Brom’s George Campbell due to injury, as well.
Pochettino has kept faith with several of the young players who impressed during the last window. Seventeen year old Cavan Sullivan stays with the senior team, along with fellow teenagers Justin Ellis and Julian Hall. All three scored their first national team goals last time out, with Hall scoring three times during the four match window. Given the injury induced absences of Ricardo Pepi, Patrick Agyemang, and Haji Wright, the youngsters have a great chance to earn more time when the games become even more competitive.
Tyler Adams returns to captain the team. He and his club Bournemouth are on fire with eight straight wins during which they have beaten the likes of AC Milan and Manchester United by multiple goals. Sebastian Berhalter’s form at Middlesbrough earned a recall and there is a first ever call for midfielder Santiago Castaneda of Paderborn in the German Bundesliga. A child of Colombian immigrants, Castaneda has been instrumental in Paderborn’s promotion to the German top flight.
There are two other surprise callups for this camp: Nashville SC defender Reed Baker-Whiting and Stade Rennais defender Bryan Reynolds. Baker-Whiting is cover for Antonee Robinson at left back, a position Baker-Whiting has owned for the best team in MLS. Reynolds has moved up from the Belgian top flight and earned the starting spot for Rennes, who is competing in the Europa Conference League.
Goalkeeper Diego Kochen, who is on loan from Barcelona to Lyngby of Denmark’s top division, has kept his spot with the senior team after shutting out Mexico. The 20 year old seems destined to compete in the 2028 Olympics for the USA but has another chance to play at the top level. Nashville’s Brian Schwake also earned a recall as the top goalkeeper in MLS. This will be an interesting position battle to watch as Pochettino has shown that he will give everyone a chance.
While the senior national team plays against Haiti, the age based national teams also have camps. The U17 team will be preparing for their World Cup. The U20 team has a four team tournament at the national training center near Atlanta. The U23 team will meet Scotland and Ukraine in Spain. It’s a full schedule that gives over 60 young players a chance to represent the USA internationally in a variety of locations. It’s going to be a busy ten days for the red, white, and blue.
