After pulling off the biggest playoff upset in the USL Championship’s short history, Detroit City’s luck ran out in Pittsburgh last Saturday. The two rivals played out a tense goalless draw and had to be separated by penalty kicks. Detroit City hit the woodwork twice in the shootout, but goalkeeper Carlos Saldana could only save one of the Riverhounds’ shots. That ended a short, but unlikely playoff run that had started with a shocking 1-0 win in Louisville the week before.
Going into Highmark Stadium didn’t strike fear into either the players or the dozens of supporters who make the five hour drive to the Steel City. Having won a playoff game there two years ago, spirits were high among those who made the trip. Highmark has been crammed into a small piece of land on the shores of the Monangahela River. There is only a rail line between the stadium and the river. From the main stand, fans can see the Pittsburgh skyline and the much larger stadiums belonging to the NFL Steelers and Major League Baseball Pirates.
The Riverhounds came into this game looking to avenge their shocking playoff loss to DCFC two years ago. A late Dominic Gasso goal gave Le Rouge an upset win of only slightly less cataclysmic proportions to the one they scored over Louisville this year. With both teams equally determined, it meant a lot of physical play and a lot of fouls for referee Natalie Simon. Perhaps the league wanted a more experienced referee to handle two teams with some history. Simon, a FIFA ranked official, had to whistle 34 total fouls over the 120 minutes and probably let a few go so that the game could have some rhythm.
While the game flowed, chances to score didn’t. Neither team created many opportunities. Pittsburgh managed to get 3 of their 18 shots on target, while DCFC could only muster 2 shots on goal out of 5 attempts. That’s not to say the goalkeepers didn’t have to save their teams in crucial moments.
Carlos Saldana stepped into the starting role when Carlos Herrera suffered a hamstring injury at the end of the regular season. He made the save of the season against Louisville, robbing Brian Ownby with a spectacular dive. He came up big again in Pittsburgh, making his first save diving to his right to stop a low shot from Bradley Sample in just the second minute. He was called upon later to stop Beto Ydrach at full stretch ten minutes from time.
DCFC offered little in attack. They conceded the bulk of possession to the hosts and simply looked for set pieces. They rarely bothered to push forward. As result, Riverhounds goalkeeper Eric Dick had a quiet first 90 minutes. Only well into extra time did Le Rouge force him into action. DCFC clearly looked like they were happy to go to penalty kicks. However, six minutes into extra time came their one chance to win the game. Stephen Carroll, restricted to the role of a substitute since returning from a knee injury, played the type of killer through ball that the team has missed since the early weeks of the season. Jordan Adebayo-Smith, the on loan forward from Minnesota United, sliced through the Pittsburgh backline, beat the goalkeeper to the ball and tried to loft it over him. Unfortunately, Eric Dick is 6’5″ and the ball hit him in the face as his spread himself across the top of the penalty area. That was it. That was DCFC’s only serious attempt on goal.
They held on grimly until the shootout. After Saldana had saved Pittsburgh’s second kick, DCFC had a chance to take a commanding lead, but Devon Amoo-Mensah fired his shot off the goal post. When DCFC needed a conversion to level the score in the next round, Ryan Williams struck the crossbar. Saldana couldn’t save any more and DCFC’s season finished as much of had gone since the beginning of May, without a goal.
Detroit City will now have some major decisions to make. First, having parted ways with Sporting Director Trevor James under mysterious circumstances, they will have to make a new hire for a most important position. Then, whoever that person is will be the main decider over the future of head coach Danny Dichio. His contract is coming to an end. Given the team regressed from the third spot in the Eastern Conference to the eighth place, the club will have to look at what caused the drop off. The team started out winning five of seven games but then went into the tank winning only four of the last twenty-three. There was also an embarrassing loss to League One Portland Hearts of Pine in the Jagermeister League Cup.
Injuries certainly played a major role in DCFC’s season. Ben Morris, Abdoulaye Diop, Rhys Williams, Connor Rutz, Marcello Polisi, Dominic Gasso, and Stephen Carroll missed huge chunks of the season. Their absences forced the club to find players like Isaiah LeFlore on loan to fill out the roster. Missing as many as four starters at any one time would handicap even the best teams. The injuries also brought attention to a lack of depth. The remaining fit players just couldn’t find a way to win many games. They finished with 10 draws, among the most in the league. Those dropped points cost them in the table, meaning they had to rely on Indy XI to lose their final game just to slip into the playoffs.
Upper management has also been heavily involved in moving the new stadium forward. AlumniFi Field is supposed to open in 2027, but the club has yet to begin demolishing the old hospital that sits on the land in Southwest Detroit where the club will make its permanent home. They are still awaiting the final approvals from the Detroit City Council. This means at least one more season at Keyworth. For now, the team and its supporters can reflect on an underwhelming, injury-filled regular season followed by a shocking playoff upset and a disappointing finish.
