Smoke, darkness, and smell was anticipated to be the theme of the evening at historic Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, Mich., but it took until the third minute of second half stoppage time for it to be fully unleashed. It came in the form of a goal from Maxi Rodriguez on a through ball from captain Stephen Carroll to give Detroit City FC (USL Championship) a 1-0 win over longtime foe Michigan Stars FC (NISA).
Both teams came out with high energy, knowing the stakes of not only a Cup match, but a derby match. Despite these teams currently playing in different leagues, these two teams have faced off in all but two years since 2013 (mostly in league play). Their last battle came in the 2022 Second Round as Le Rouge cruised to a 3-0 victory.
The Stars brought a lineup that included multiple MLS veterans in local standout Justin Meram as well as Harrison Afful. Meanwhile, Detroit City rotated their roster, giving a few players such as Daniel Espeleta and goalkeeper Carlos Saldaña their first starts of the year, while keeping standouts such as Carroll, Rodriguez, and former Stars defender Devon Amoo-Mensah in the lineup.
Both teams looked to pressure on the offensive end, but each team’s respective defense was able to neutralize opportunities early. The first threatening chance didn’t come until the 10th minute as Detroit’s Yazeed Matthews received a through ball on the right side of the 18 yard box from Rodriguez, only for his effort to hit the side netting.
They earned a second chance in the 23rd minute as Rodriguez set up another chance, this time for Espeleta, who cut past a defender only for Stars goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva to step in to knock the ball away.
Just before halftime is when things started to heat up to the expected temperature fans have come to expect from this matchup. In the 43rd minute, Rodriguez earned a yellow card for a challenge on Meram after he turned the ball over.
Less than a minute later, Stars midfielder Colin Stripling would run through Rodriguez, knocking him over and earning his own yellow card from referee Kevin Fikar. Detroit would get one last chance before half as a long ball found the feet of Matthews near the top of the box, where he shot while fighting off Afful. Mkuruva would come up with a big save to keep the scoreline 0-0 at the break.
The first big play of the second half came courtesy of a defensive effort from Detroit. Meram found himself at midfield with only one man to beat, but Carroll was up to the task, sliding in to clear the ball away and erasing a clear opportunity for the Stars.
Michigan would get their first chance at testing Saldaña in the 61st minute, as midfielder Hunter Olson would receive a long ball from midfield on the right side near the top of the box, then cut around Amoo-Mensah and sliced a shot toward the back post. Saldaña was able to make a diving grab to keep the clean sheet intact.
Things got heated in the 78th minute, as multiple cards of multiple colors were shown to the Michigan Stars. It started when Olson chased down DCFC midfielder Abdoulaye Diop and pulled him down. As Olson had already been on a yellow, this meant that he would be sent off. Perceived as a soft foul by the offending side, altercations led to a red card being issued to one of the Michigan coaches, as well as a yellow card to Meram.
Now with the man advantage, Detroit was hoping to capitalize on the numbers and get the goal they had been pushing for. It took until the 93rd minute for the goal to arrive.
It started as a similar play from before, with Carroll stealing the ball from Meram’s feet at midfield. Head up, he then sent a through ball to a streaking Rodriguez, who found the ball at the top of the box and one-timed a shot over a diving Mkuruva and in the net to give the home side the lead.
The goal was Rodriguez’s fifth career US Open Cup goal (four of them for Detroit City FC) and his first since he put away three goals in the 2022 tournament.
Said Carroll after the match: “Maxi was wide open in the middle of the goal and so I was like ‘I’ll do it’ …Maxi was in a great spot.”
A two-minute smoke delay followed (apropos considering the history of this matchup), and with the initial expectation of seven minutes of stoppage time, it was assured that the clock would run well past that. Two more cards would follow, first a second yellow and sending off for Detroit’s Brett Levis in the 97th, followed by a yellow on the Stars’ Sebastian Chalbaud for an arm to the face of Rodriguez. Physical as expected, the match finished ten on ten when the referee blew the whistle after 12 extra minutes.
With the victory, Detroit City FC moves on to the Round of 32, having won their first cup match in each of the last three seasons.
As they prepare for their next test, first year head coach Danny Dichio has no plans to take this US Open Cup lightly.
“The (Open) Cup is important, and I want (the players) to take it important, and to go as far as we can in this tournament.”