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USL Detroit City FC

Detroit City FC Travels to Take on Birmingham Legion FC

August 16, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Detroit City FC News Release


Detroit City FC huddle
Detroit City FC huddle
(Detroit City FC)

DETROIT, Michigan - Detroit City FC hits the road for a midweek matchup against a team who are currently flying high inside of the top-four of the Eastern Conference. They will be facing Birmingham Legion FC for the second time this season at Protective Stadium at 8:00pm on Wednesday August 17th. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.

This past Saturday, City played at home at Keyworth Stadium against Oakland Roots SC with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. The Oakland Roots scored the first goal in the 50th minute when midfielder Charlie Dennis capitalized on a misdirected clearance from goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher. In the final phase of the game, the 87th minute, Detroit City FC would find their equalizer through #9 Francis Atuahene who had just entered the match off of the bench a few minutes prior.

Le Rouge now has a 9-9-5 record, which has them currently sitting in seventh place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference, just 16 points off 1st place Louisville City. They are only one point behind The Miami FC who currently sit in sixth place, with two games in hand.

Forward Francis Atuahene earned a key goal in the last game against the Oakland Roots to secure a draw for City. This was his second goal of the season, with his first goal coming on April 30th against the New York Red Bulls II. Atuahene has had nine shots on target all season, with a shooting accuracy of 37.5%. He has also appeared in 22 matches, starting three of them.

For the first time since May 21st, forward Antoine Hoppenot is back to doing his thing, picking up assists. On Atuahene's goal versus Oakland, Hoppenot recorded his first assist since May 21st, when he recorded both a goal and an assist against Atlanta United FC 2. He has gone nine games without scoring a goal or registering an assist. On the season, he has five goals and five assists. He sits in 2nd place for goals, and he is tied for 2nd for assists on the team. With Hoppenot's 48 chances created this season, he sits alone in 5th place overall in the league.

Birmingham Legion FC currently sit in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with 44 points and have a record of 13-5-6. The Legion are on a four-match winning streak coming into Wednesday's game. Their record over their last five games is 4-0-1. Their only loss in their past five games came against FC Tulsa on July 23rd, losing 2-0. They logged wins over Loudoun United (6-1), Hartford Athletic (1-0), Atlanta United 2 (6-0), and San Diego Loyal SC (1-0). Over those four games, as a team they had 14 goals for and only one goal against. The last time Detroit and Birmingham played this season was on April 15th at Keyworth Stadium, where City came out with a 1-0 win.

This 1-0 win came courtesy of an Antoine Hoppenot goal that was scored in the 63rd minute of the match thanks to a beautiful bit of build-up play that involved Pato Botello Faz coming deep to win a header in the midfield which got the play rolling. This match was broadcast live on ESPN Deportes.

Midfielder Enzo Martinez has played and started in all 24 of Birmingham's games this season. Martinez's nine goals this season places him on the league leaderboard, tied for 15th place. His five assists have him tied for 16th place. Martinez has been named to the Team of the Week multiple times this season including Weeks 7, 12, 18 and 22. During Week 7, he also was named Player of the Week.

Forward Prosper Kasim is tied for 10th with 43 chances created in the league. He is second on the team with 33 shots and 6 goals. For Week 8, he was named both Player of the Week, as well as named to the Team of the Week. Week 13 he was also a part of Team of the Week.

This coming Saturday, City plays home against the USL Championship League's Eastern Conference leaders, Louisville City FC. The game will be at Keyworth Stadium on Saturday August 20th, with kickoff at 7:30pm.

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Detroit City FC huddle
Detroit City FC huddle
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 16, 2022


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