September 21, 2020: Detroit City FC vs Michigan Stars

Detroit City FC traveled to New York and played to a scoreless draw against the Cosmos on September 9th, to close out the shortened Fall Season in preparation for 2020 NISA Fall Tournament. The remaining fixtures of the abbreviated season looked like this:

September 6, 2020: LA Force 0, Oakland Roots 2
September 12, 2020: New Amsterdam FC 0, Michigan Stars 3
September 12, 2020: Chattanooga FC 2, New York Cosmos 1
September 13, 2020: Cal United Strikers FC 1, Oakland Roots 1
September 16, 2020: Chattanooga FC 3, New Amsterdam FC 0
September 16, 2020: LA Force 0, Cal United Strikers FC 0

The final standings:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chattanooga FC 3-0-1 = 9 points
Michigan Stars FC 2-2-0 = 8 points
NY Cosmos 1-2-1 = 5 points
Detroit City FC 1-2-1 = 5 points
New Amsterdam FC 0-0-4 = 0 points

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Oakland Roots 1-1-0 = 4 points
Cal United Strikers FC 0-2-0 = 2 points
LA Force 0-1-1 = 1 point

For the NISA Fall Tournament, the teams were placed into two groups based on the results above, with each team within each group to play each other once.

GROUP A
Oakland Roots
Michigan Stars
Detroit City FC
New Amsterdam FC

GROUP B
Chattanooga FC
Cal United Strikers FC
New York Cosmos
Los Angeles Force

The tournament was set up in a bubble environment, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the teams staying at a hotel, with one floor for each team.

September 21, 2020
2020 NISA Fall Tournament Group Stage, Match One
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Detroit City FC 0, Michigan Stars 2
Stars Gonnie Ben-Tal (Steven Juncaj) 52′
Stars Tomas Bernedo (Kyle Nuel) 58′

Yellow Cards:
Brandon Clegg (DCFC) 44′
Brian Yang (MICH) 82′

The Tournament began with the Group A matches, leading off with Detroit City FC vs Michigan Stars. It was a beautiful, sunny September evening in the upper 70’s. City added Brandon Clegg to the roster, and Max Todd, Cyrus Saydee, and Bakie Goodman returned to the team.

To keep the bubble environment neutral, the Northern Guard Supporters’ banners and Smokey the Bot were not permitted.

Starting XI

Detroit City FC
Parker Siegfried – Keeper
Stephen Carroll – Defender
Brandon Clegg – Defender
Tendai Jirira – Defender
Kevin Venegas – Defender
George Chomakov – Midfielder
Bakie Goodman – Midfielder
Cyrus Saydee – Midfielder
Connor Rutz – Midfielder
Yazeed Matthews – Forward
Max Todd – Forward

STARTING XI

Michigan Stars
Tatenda Mkuruva – Keeper
Joseph Aidoo – Defender
Andres Chalbaud – Defender
Zachary Reynolds – Defender
James Abraham – Defender
Devon Amoo-Mensah – Defender
Steven Juncaj – Midfielder
Kyle Nuel – Midfielder
Alexander Satrustegui – Midfielder
Gonnie Ben-Tal – Forward
Tomas Bernedo – Forward

It was a tense affair, with City trying to control possession and the Stars trying to prevent it with their pressing. Here, early on, the Stars come close, but George Chomakov clears the line.

Scoreless at the half, the team huddled at the center circle to discuss 2nd half strategy.

The Stars scored on two set pieces, just six minutes apart. City had a little more than thirty minutes to make it up. After subbing Michael Kafari for Cyrus Saydee (60th minute) and Shawn Claud-Lawson for Max Todd (65th minute), City generated some chances, but the ball couldn’t find its way into the back of the net. Ryan Peterson came in for Yazeed Matthews in the 85th minute.

The Stars made four subs during the match: Tekodah Lobsiger for Steven Juncaj (60′), Remy Tazifor and Brian Vang for Tomas Bernedo and Zachary Reynolds (77′), and Cameron Schneider for Kyle Nuel (81′).