Do Haeng Michael Kitchen

October 19, 2019
NPSL Members Cup
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
Detroit City FC 0, Milwaukee Torrent 1
Attendance:  5,720 happy folks

Milwaukee Santiago D’Imperio 65′

FINAL RECORD 8-1-1 = 25 Points
First Place/Champions!

Goals For:  17
Yazeed Matthews 5,
Cyrus Saydee, Danny Deakin, Ryan Peterson 2,
Macrello Borges, Stephen Carroll, Jalen Crisler, Richard Bryan, Shawn Lawson 1
Own Goal by Milwaukee

Goals Against: 4
Clean Sheets: 6

We will sing for you City
Til we finish the fight
There’s going to be a party Detroit
No one’s sleeping tonight!

This day was just festive.  We were the NPSL Members Cup champions with the final match of the competition to play.  So we had to finish the fight, but the partying had begun long before the opening kick.

Matt was right.  The last time I experienced something like this was in 1997.  It has been a long 22 years.  Of course, the 2017 NPSL Midwest Regional Final was epic.  But being crowned the league champion holds significant weight, especially when one of the tournament’s participants was the legendary New York Cosmos brand.  To have this full day, with a match to play and a Clubhouse to take the party to following the on-field ceremonies, was well worth savoring.

Prior to the match, Detroit City FC legends Seb Harris and Dave Edwardson were honored.  Their dedication and contribution to the growth and development of this team and organization will never be forgotten.  It is appropriate that they share in this celebration, too.

 

Half time.  No goals, but plenty of pints consumed in the stands.

Milwaukee scored in the 65th minute.  With City not finding a goal, the Northern Guard had a lot of smoke to disperse, and, well, it went off near the end of the game, causing a significant delay.

The first order of business was presenting the Black Arrow Award.  The Black Arrow was the nickname of Gil Heron, a Jamaican footballer who lived in Detroit and became the first black player for Celtic F.C., and is awarded annually to Detroit City FC’s Most Valuable Player.  The previous winners were

2012: Keith Lough and Josh Rogers
2013: Zach Myers
2014: Cyrus Saydee
2015: David Edwardson
2016: Tommy Catalano
2017: Tyrone Mondi
2018: Stephen Carroll

After a season like this one, which was a strong team effort by every individual, there was one young man who scored the most goals this season and is the career leader in goals scored for Detroit City FC…

After all this, the party continued at the Detroit City Clubhouse and well into the night.  I left the camera in the car, for I had some partying to do with my friends.