It was a game of firsts. With a game moved indoors to a new Open Cup venue due to inclement weather, the Michigan Rangers of the NPSL made their tournament debut, and multiple new players made their first Cup appearance for their club. In the end, the result was another first: a regulation win for Detroit City FC against an Open Division side as they defeated the Rangers 5-1 at Legacy Center in Brighton, Michigan.
The start of the match saw the debutants make an early statement. A foul by new DCFC defender Tommy Silva on Rangers attacker Matthew Whelan in the fifth minute led to a free kick from 35 yards out. Up stepped Giuseppe Barone, who blasted an absolute rocket into the near side of the net. A diving Carlos Saldaña was only able to get enough of a touch to deflect it slightly up, but not enough to stop it. With that blast, the Michigan Rangers took an unexpected early 1-0 lead over the professional side in the sixth minute.
That strike appeared to give Detroit City a reality check, as after that point they turned on the jets to push for an equalizer. They earned multiple chances in the next 10 minutes, with the biggest chance in that stretch coming in the 15th minute as a long cutting run down the right wing by Preston Tabort Etaka led to a cross to Abdoulaye Diop near the top of the box. Diop then one-timed a shot and forced Michigan goalkeeper Sebastian Doppelhofer to make a diving save to his left to keep the lead.
The lead held by the visitors vanished in the 22nd minute after a flurry of chances by Detroit City. A cross in from the left wing by Silva to Jeciel Cedeño led to a shot that was headed off the line. The rebound landed at the feet of Tabort Etaka, who after a couple of touches to control the ball was able to lay into the ball with his right foot. The save attempt was made by Doppelhofer with his right foot, but as with Saldaña’s effort at the other end, the touch wasn’t enough to keep the ball from going in the net.
Detroit had an opportunity to take the lead in the 30th minute as a free kick from Tabort Etaka found the head of Connor Rutz. That header hit the right post before a rebound was crossed back to him for a second failed attempt.
Detroit City manager Danny Dichio made three changes at halftime to help spark his side to take control of the match, including the return of Maxi Rodriguez after a year in Rhode Island. Those changes paid dividends on the scoresheet. The lead was grabbed by DCFC in the 56th minute as a team effort of passes led the ball from the right wing. It was touched by four players in quick succession before falling to Rodriguez near the top of the box. Rodriguez then took a step and placed the ball into the side netting, beating Doppelhofer to give DCFC the 2-1 lead. This put Rodriguez not only on the scoresheet for the night but for the third straight Open Cup and the fourth in five years.
Rodriguez then returned the favor to the player who earned the assist on his goal, Alex Dalou, in the 65th minute. Dalou created a give-and-go with Rodriguez to receive the ball along the left wing. He then streamed in toward the top of the box and hit a ball into the upper corner beyond Doppelhofer’s reach to increase Detroit City’s lead to 3-1. When asked about the apparent camaraderie between the new teammates leading to multiple goals, Dalou shared that he’s trained with Rodriguez in the offseason.
“It’s easy to play with Maxi, and if anyone knows he’s a great guy to play with, and unselfish,” he said.
Detroit tacked on a couple more goals later in the match. In the 81st minute, a blocked shot led to a counterattack by Rodriguez, who carried the ball past midfield then found a streaking Ates Diouf on the right side behind the defense. Diouf calmly placed the ball home to extend the lead to 4-1.
The scoring finished off the same way Detroit’s tally started, with Tabort Etaka. From the midfield, Diop sent in a through ball to Tabort Etaka, who made a run past the defense down the right side and received the ball in time to take a couple steps and put it home to earn a brace and cap the game at 5-1 for the “home” side.
With the win, Detroit City FC gets their first regulation victory over an Open Division side in their first meeting against an Open Division side since moving to the professional ranks in 2020.