Detroit City FC's surprise win over Houston Dynamo is a 'storybook ending'

Alex Wright had to go out of his way to watch the biggest victory in his club’s history with other Detroit City FC staff and fans.

Wright, one of the founding members of Detroit City FC when it was formed in 2012, watched the first 90 minutes of DCFC’s US Open Cup round of 16 match against defending champion Houston Dynamo, a team of the MLS, at home while he put his young children to bed.

But after Le Rouge, who play in the second division USL Championship, tied the game 3-3 to force overtime, Wright rushed to the team’s headquarters in Hamtramck after putting his children to bed to watch. with others, living and dying with every kick.

“As soon as we started the extras, I couldn’t…it wasn’t something I could experience on my own,” Wright told the Free Press. “Luckily my wife was kind enough for me to come to the clubhouse so I could share this experience with the fans.”

Detroit City FC found themselves engaged in a thrilling 3-3 battle with Dynamo to force overtime in the Open Cup, a tournament pitting teams from every division level of soccer across the country. The winner is awarded a place in the CONCACAF Champions League, to face the best teams in North America. An MLS team has won the Open Cup every year since 2000, although a USL Championship team, the Sacramento Republic, reached the final in 2022.

The Red recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to equalize in the final minutes.

“I think we were confident that we could score a goal and that it would lead to more,” said midfielder Maxi Rodriguez, who scored the equalizer in the 83rd minute. “It was a bit of a surreal moment to come back against an MLS team that was the previous champion of this tournament. It was great.”

DCFC and Houston battled for another 30 minutes in the heat and humidity of the Houston summer night, but no winner was determined after 120 minutes of play on the field, leading to shoot to the net. The teams were tied 9-9 through the first 10 rounds of penalty shootouts, leaving the goalkeepers for sudden death attempts. DCFC’s backup goalkeeper Carlos Saldaña was the hero, converting his spot kick after the Houston keeper failed, giving DCFC the historic 3-3 victory (10-9 on penalties).

LAST GAME RECAP:History for Detroit City FC with road stunner against MLS team in US Open Cup penalty shootout

The nervous energy and pace in the Detroit City clubhouse turned to jubilation as Detroit City FC advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in club history while moving to 2 -1 all-time against MLS teams. Wright, also the club’s creative director and co-founder, decided to film everyone else in the room celebrating as Saldaña’s kick made history.

“The pride of sharing this moment with all these people made it even more special,” Wright said.

After going down 2-0 in the 31st minute, DCFC’s epic comeback began with a rocket into the top right corner of the net from new signee Ryan Williams – an England native who joined the team six weeks ago – 25 meters at the 41st. minute, cutting the lead to 2-1, the halftime score.

“I knew I had a chance because you can just feel a connection when you hit that many balls,” Williams said.

Williams stuck his head in the corner to watch the ball stretch toward the net, signaling his first career DCFC goal in his first career start while giving the team a chance in the arm. Williams said the team didn’t stop fighting after the initial deficit, but said the goal changed the outlook of the game.

“If we had gone into halftime down 2-0, it probably would have been a different conversation,” Williams said. “Coming to 2-1, it helped change the nature of the game.”

DCFC came out of the second half with a “good period” of play, Williams said, but the team had to remain resilient to find the equalizer, which came in the form of a goal in the 75th minute of replacement Yazeed Williams.

But Houston forced another rally two minutes later with a goal in the 77th minute to go up 3-2. Rodriguez, who was the hero of DCFC’s first win against an MLS team with two goals against the Columbus Crew in 2022, scored the final equalizer with less than seven minutes left in regulation.

“It could have easily been three or four if we kept our heads down, but I think we just believed in ourselves and we’ve been in this position before,” Rodriguez said. “We always like the challenge, there’s a chip on our shoulder when we play against guys who are in a higher league.”

The two teams remained deadlocked through overtime, setting up the marathon shootout and Saldaña’s game-winner in his first season as DCFC’s reserve goalkeeper.

“Seeing him score the winning penalty is like the end of a storybook,” Rodriguez said.

DCFC will play the Round of 16 on May 22 on the road against Indy Eleven, another USL Championship team. Next up on the overall schedule, however, is a USL championship match Saturday at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck against Phoenix Rising FC, followed by an 18-day break before the Open Cup match.

Historic victory in changing Open Cup landscape

The idea of capturing the reaction of the club’s fervent supporters was Wright’s attempt to preserve the historic moment for the club in a match he also described as a “storybook resolution”.

“It’s a story we can all tell when we come together, just another brick in the wall of what has become a club, a culture and a group,” Williams said. “We can all say where we were when Ryan Williams hit that banger or when Carlos managed to win his own match.”

DCFC has risen through the ranks of American soccer leagues in the dozen years since its inception, reaching the USL Championship, just below MLS.

When DCFC started as a semi-professional team playing its matches at Detroit Cass Tech, the Open Cup was an opportunity to play against professional teams. Now that the club has grown and progressed, the Cup is an opportunity to prove the team’s abilities against MLS teams that employ some of the best players in North America.

DCFC has faced three MLS teams in Cup play since joining the USL in 2022, with a winning record of 2-1. The first win came at home against Columbus in 2022.

Winning against another MLS team, especially reigning Cup champions Houston, elevates DCFC’s brand nationally and solidifies Detroit’s reputation as being able to compete with top teams.

“It shows that this team wants to continue to grow and play against good teams and not only compete with them, but win,” Rodriguez said. “I think the vision of this club is great, I think they are trying to do the right things and move in the right direction. It’s nice to be part of it.

However, the future of this type of lighting could be threatened.

Only eight MLS clubs sent their top teams to the 2024 tournament, including Houston, while the rest either declined to participate or sent their MLS Next Pro team, with the second team focusing instead on development. The tournament format will be discussed further between now and 2025, determining whether MLS clubs will continue to play in the Open Cup.

“It’s a valuable tournament,” Wright said. “It’s important and it’s something everyone should embrace as one of the coolest traditions in American sports.” It’s a shame that MLS doesn’t see things that way.”

Wright said DCFC’s mission to grow the club and connect with the Detroit community won’t change regardless of the tournament’s future because it’s still up in the air, but wins like Tuesday’s help to share what DCFC is with more people.

“These games are really special times for our club, because those of us in the organization, who support the organization, understand how special what we have is,” Wright said. “But it’s only nights like this, games like this, where we have this opportunity to share this with a wider audience. And I can’t think of a better way to do that than to just show them the drama of that night and that match and let that do the work.

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