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USL Birmingham Legion FC

Frustrating Ninety Minutes Ends in Loss Against Detroit

August 17, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


BIRMINGHAM, AL -- A tough night at Protective Stadium saw Legion FC lose its first game in almost a month 2-1 against Detroit City FC. Two second half goals for Detroit bookended a long-distance strike from Birmingham's Prosper Kasim and proved too much to overcome.

The first half of play was uneventful, with the Three Sparks unable to break down the compactness of Detroit's formation. Things were even on both sides - six shots for the home side and five for the visitors, without any dangerous chances for either.

Things opened up in the second half after Detroit took the lead on an athletic bicycle kick that got past Legion goalkeeper Matt VanOekel. In the 66th minute, Detroit's Antoine Hoppenot ran down the right side of the pitch and fed a ball to Connor Rutz who scored.

Just two minutes after Detroit's goal, in the 68th minute, Birmingham found the back of the net thanks to a wonderous, curling shot by forward Prosper Kasim that fit perfectly into the top left corner of Detroit's goal. Kasim led the night for Legion FC with five shots and four touches in the opposing box.

Late into the game, in the 82nd minute, City FC found their game winner from a corner. Matt Lewis got his head to the ball, again swung in by second half substitute Hoppenot, and found the back of the net.

For the second time this season against the USL Championship newcomers, stats like expected goals (1.10-0.59) and shots (18-9), ended in BHM's favor, but DET had the edge where it mattered and grabbed all three points. Head Coach Tommy Soehn was disappointed in his side's overall performance.

"It was uncharacteristic of us," said Soehn. "It felt like we came out really sloppy, and then we made some changes to keep legs fresh, but that's no excuse. They're all training regularly but we let down. Coming off of a really good performance against San Diego you wonder if we felt too good about ourselves because we tried not to. It's clearly not the same team we've been the last few weeks.

"Looking at the whole package today, it wasn't good enough. That's something we talked about at halftime and it's something we're gonna talk about for the next couple of days before we get to Memphis [on Saturday]. If we come out looking like that, we don't give ourselves a real shot."

The Black and Gold will look to rebound and keep pushing for a top four seed and thereby home playoff game, against arch-rivals Memphis 901 FC on Saturday, August 20th. Legion fans can watch the game on ESPN+ or My68 and are encouraged to follow @bhmlegion on Twitter for live match updates.

Midfielder Anderson Asiedu when asked about Saturday's showdown at Memphis 901 FC: "Yeah, we don't have anything to lose right now. We're going there for three points. Whatever the game gives us, we're gonna take it. Mentally, physically, we are ready for three points ... It's not gonna be an easy game to win over there because it has been difficult for us to win at their place all these years I've been here. So, this one's gonna take everybody's effort. Everybody needs to work hard to get the three points. It's everything we need."

Box Score:

1st Half 2nd Half BHM 0 1 DET 0 2

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

GOALS: DET - 66' - #11 Connor Rutz (assisted by #29 Antoine Hoppenot) BHM - 68' - #10 Prosper Kasim DET - 82' - #15 Matt Lewis (assisted by #29 Antoine Hoppenot)

BHM - 4-3-3 - #1 Matt VanOekel; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Phanuel Kavita ©, #13 Jake Rufe (46' - #5 Mikey Lopez); #6 Anderson Asiedu, #19 Enzo Martinez, #8 Bruno Lapa (61' - #20 Zach Herivaux); #10 Prosper Kasim (87' - #47 Mataeo Bunbury), #7 Ryan James (46' - #99 Juan Agudelo), #11 Marlon Santos (69' - #29 Sadik Balarabe)

DET - 3-4-3 - #1 Nate Steinwascher; #15 Matt Lewis, #5 Stephen Carroll ©, #12 Michael Bryant; #2 Rhys Williams, #6 Brad Dunwell, #21 Maxi Rodriguez, #20 Deklan Wynne; #11 Connor Rutz, #9 Francis Atuahene (58' - #29 Antoine Hoppenot), #27 Yazeed Matthews (59' - #19 Pato Batello Faz)

The Three Sparks return to Protective Stadium on Sunday, August 28, at 4:00PM to take on New York Red Bulls 2 and fans can grab tickets today!

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