Photo/Brian Quintos
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t was a well-serviced ball just inside the edge of the 18-yard box from T.J. Van Slooten, and what transpired from it seemed nothing less than a defining moment Friday night.
Shawn Lawson left defenders cemented with a shuffle left, right, and struck a shot past Fort Pitt goalkeeper John Lichina, the second of three unanswered goals in a 3-1 comeback win for Detroit City FC.
“Coach said we needed to get wide and get our strikers in the box, so we did that, and it worked out in the end,” Lawson said.
The situation for City looked far more dire in the early going, lobbing long balls from deep in its own midfield and having trouble bypassing the center and establishing possession in the upper-third of the pitch. Referees also missed several handball fouls committed by the visitors. Things officially turned worse when Sean Riley played a through ball and Lamine Baldechipped DCFC goalkeeper Bret Mollon to give the Regiment a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.
Fortunately for the record crowd in attendance at Cass Tech, things couldn’t have gone much better in the second half, arguably the best 45 minutes of the season for the hosts. Le Rouge began playing dangerous diagonal balls, increasingly tested Pitt’s line of defense, and connected far more efficiently. The breakthrough came in the 56th minute, when Latif Alashewas the benefactor of a ricocheting ball that he placed in the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.
DCFC continued to exert pressure in the second half of play until finding Lawson’s game-winner.
“He’s such a talented player that I thought he was going to score, but he’s had so many of those where he’s done everything right with just an unlucky bounce here and there, but he did a great job coming off the bench,” City coach Ben Pirmann said. “He’s our super-sub.”
Despite the lead, City continued to take its chances late in the game alongside Fort Pitt, and finally made the three points a guarantee in stoppage time. Van Slooten added to his assist by getting his head onto a ball around the edge of the box, catching Lichina in the middle and placing it toward the far post for DCFC’s third and final score of the match.
Attendance at Cass Tech was a record 3,398, a true sellout of the stadium. Several hundred fans appeared to be turned away at the entrance beginning just around halftime, with a small contingent watching from outside the gates.
DCFC travel to Lansing United on Sunday for a noon battle that will decide its NPSL Playoff fate. City has to grab a victory on the road in order to secure the only birth from the Great Lakes West Conference.
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