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MIAMI, Fla. — Detroit City Football Club opened up the 2025 season by reaching the win column.
DCFC walked away with a 2-0 road victory over Miami FC on Saturday evening in the season opener for both teams.
A goal in the 32nd minute from Michael Bryant opened the scoring for Le Rouge, and an insurance goal from Connor Rutz in the 87th ensured Detroit claimed three points for the first time in 2025.
Danny Dichio’s first Starting XI of the season saw four players make their Detroit City debut: Jay Chapman, Marcello Polisi, Darren Smith, and Shane Wiedt. In addition to those four players, Carlos Saldaña, Alex Villanueva, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant, Jeciel Cedeño, Rhys Williams and Ben Morris rounded out the starting lineup that took the field at Pitbull Stadium.
It was a slow start for Le Rouge, as Miami started quickly on the attack, getting a shot off in the first minute. Within the first 10 minutes, Miami capitalized on multiple Detroit turnovers in the midfield.
Detroit’s first opportunity of the night came in the 14th minute. After a great set of passes in the attacking third, Jay Chapman fired a shot on target from the top of the box, forcing the Miami keeper into a diving save.
The game would be a chippy affair throughout, as yellow cards would become a constant of the evening. The first came in the 17th minute, as Miami’s Sebastian Blanco was shown the first yellow card of the evening. Marcello Polisi would be shown the first Detroit City yellow card of the season seven minutes later.
Le Rouge would once again come close to an opener in the 29th minute as Darren Smith slipped past several Miami defenders and attempted to find Williams at the back post, but the ball was deflected out of play.
After forcing a corner in the 32nd minute, Detroit City had their first set-piece opportunity of the season. Jeciel Cedeño sent the corner kick into the box, and Michael Bryant flew through multiple Miami defenders and headed the ball into the back of the net to give Le Rouge the lead. For Bryant, it was his first goal since the last time Le Rouge was in Miami, a 4-0 victory for Detroit in June 2024.
On a late tackle in the 43rd minute, Miami’s Francisco Bonfiglio is shown a straight red. Just before the half, Detroit would be given a man advantage for the second half of the game.
Coming out of the halftime break, Detroit City controlled possession as expected, with Miami sitting back and defending down a man. To try and change the dynamics of the match, Detroit City FC (1-0-0) made its first changes of the evening in the 64th minute. Alex Villanueva and Jeciel Cedeño were subbed off, and Morey Doner and Sebastian Guenzatti were subbed on to make their Le Rouge debuts.
Another late tackle in the 69th minute saw Miami’s Gerald Diaz shown a yellow card.
Detroit would make another double change in the 76th minute as Connor Rutz and Alassane Diouf came on for Darren Smith and Ben Morris. Diouf would be the seventh player to make their Le Rouge debut on the evening.
In the 77th minute, Jonathan Ricketts is shown a yellow card, Miami’s fifth and final of the night.
Diouf and Guenzatti came close to opening their DCFC accounts in the 84th minute, but a Miami defender slid in to stop the pass between the two.
Detroit City finally got their insurance goal in the 87th minute as Connor Rutz found the back of the net after a shot from Williams was blocked by the keeper and fell to Rutz, who had an open goal and scored to double Detroit’s lead.
Detroit made one more change after the goal, which saw Matt Sheldon brought on for Shane Wiedt.
Detroit would lock down for the five minutes of stoppage time and wrap up their first three points on the season. For goalkeeper Carlos Saldaña, it would be his first on the season and his sixth overall for Le Rouge.
Detroit City continues on the road next week, traveling to face the 2024 USL Championship winners, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Le Rouge kicks off the home slate of the 2025 season on March 22, hosting Birmingham Legion FC. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
Detroit Starting XI: Carlos Saldaña, Alex Villanueva (64’), Shane Wiedt (87’), Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant, Marcello Polisi, Jay Chapman, Ben Morris (76’), Jeciel Cedeño (64’), Rhys Williams, Darren Smith (76’)
Detroit City Substitutes: Abdoulaye Diop, Connor Rutz (76’), Matt Sheldon (87’), Carlos Herrera, Sebastián Guenzatti (64’), Ates Diouf (76’), Morey Doner (64’)
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(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the National Soccer Network regarding club/youth soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with ties to a particular state or states, contact Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and news@nationalsoccernetwork.com, or call 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 32-year veteran of the Michigan and national media circles and recently joined the staff full time at PMG in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/NSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
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