The long road trip to start the season continues as RIFC travel to Detroit to take on Detroit City FC on Saturday at 4pm. RIFC are coming off of their first ever US Open Cup win, a 2-1 victory over Portland Hearts of Pine on Tuesday. Detroit City are coming off of an Open Cup victory of their own, defeating Westchester SC 3-1 on Wednesday night. Heading into this one, here’s what to look out for from both teams:

After a match that I would say was a little too close for comfort, RIFC come into this one in a bit of a strange place. They’ve now won their last 2 matches, including a 3-0 at Oakland Roots in their last league match. But looking at both that game and the midweek game up in Lewiston, I have to say that neither performance was all that convincing. This leaves me with some questions about what kind of performance we can expect and who will be out there on the field to start. I’m thinking the lineup should be something like this:

• GK:
  • Koke Vegas gets the start here as we return to league play. Jackson Lee was fantastic in the Open Cup game, but I can’t see Khano sending Koke to the bench…..yet
• Defense:
  • This is the same back 3 as the Portland Match because I don’t think there are any other viable options. You could make the case for Rio Hope-Gund to start, but I think he’ll still get minutes off the bench in this one
• Midfield:
  • Mark Ybarra was listed on the injury report and was in a boot watching the game from the stands in Lewiston on Tuesday. With him likely unavailable, I think we get a midfield pair of Herivaux and Rodriguez, with there being some extra juice for the latter playing against his former team. Holstad has filled in well on the right and with a certain player moving to the front 3 in this lineup, Aldair Sanchez makes the most sense on the left
• Forwards:
  • Jojea Kwizera comes into the attack here alongside usual starters Noah Fuson and JJ Williams. With Albert Dikwa also being on the injury list, I think it makes the most sense to push Kwizera further forward. The other options in that area would be Joe Brito or Amos Shapiro-Thompson, but both put in shifts last time out, especially Amos

I think this lineup is as close to the strongest 11 that we can have at the moment. And I think RIFC needs to be strong against a tough Detroit City FC team, especially away from home. I think it’s about time we see this team put forth a complete performance. The losses at Charleston and Loudoun were poor, especially at Loudoun. The draw in Phoenix saw a good first half but a bad 2nd half that cost the team 2 points. They looked good in moments against Oakland, particularly late in the first half when all 3 goals came. But overall it wasn’t convincing. And similar to that game, RIFC had a good stretch late in the first half against Portland, but it could easily have ended 2-2 with the way things were going in the 2nd half.

The key here for RIFC, as I probably say in every blog, is to get some more control in midfield. I think Herivuax and Rodriguez should help, along with Clay Holstad tucking inside when necessary. If they can create some quick transition moments, they have a front 3 that can take advantage. And when RIFC has the ball and is building out from the back, if they aren’t able to control possession through the midfield, JJ Williams always offers the outlet to bypass the midfield with long balls up top. There’s plenty of talent to play off of JJ and cause issues for Detroit City. It’s clear that this team has the talent on paper to be one of the better teams in the league. I’m hoping we start to see it here before the home opener in a couple weeks.

Detroit City FC enter this game 3rd in the Eastern Conference with 11 points from 6 games. They won their first two games of the season at Miami FC and Colorado Springs. They followed that up with a draw at home against Birmingham Legion, a loss at Louisville City and another home draw against Monterey Bay. In their most recent league match, Detroit City produced a remarkable comeback in Phoenix (or benefitted from a spectacular collapse, depending how you want to look at it). Down 2-0, Detroit scored goals in minutes 87, 89 and 90 to come away with a 3-2 victory.

Overall, I think it’s been a good start to the season for Detroit. We all know winning at Louisville is nearly impossible (unless you’re RIFC). And their two draws came against the top team in the West right now in Monterey Bay and a very talented Birmingham team. Detroit are a tough team to play against, as we saw last season when we lost 2-0 at home and drew 1-1 at their place. So I think this will be a battle. Here is who to look out for on that battlefield for Detroit City:

• Carlos Saldaña (GK)
  • Saldaña started the first 3 league games but missed the next two and was on the bench against Phoenix. He did start against Westchester in the Open Cup, so there’s a decent chance he starts here
• Stephen Carroll (CB)
  • Captain and defensive leader. Club legend who started with the team in 2017 before re-signing in 2022 ahead of their first USL Championship seaon
• Jay Chapman (MF)
  • Veteran central midfielder who played for Hartford and Charleston last season. Runs the midfield for his team
• Jeciel Cedeno (MF/FW)
  • Most creative attacking player for Detroit. 1 goal and 1 assist in the league so far this season
• Darren Smith (FW)
  • South African forward who leads team in goals with 4. Most recently played for Inter Turko of the Veikkausliiga (Finnish 1st division)

I think this is going to be a battle out there in Detroit. Both teams should have a lot of motivation coming into this one. And it’s about time I talk more about the obvious storyline here: Maxi Rodriguez returning to play his former club. Maxi spent the last 3 seasons in Detroit and earned an All-League selection last year. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets when he steps out onto the field. Speaking of that field, Maxi said in a recent interview that it can be tough to play on. This furthers my case that this should be a physical battle. Because of that, I’m predicting a 1-1 draw. That was the result last time these two teams met in Detroit and I can see it happening again. At the end of the day, I just want a good, complete performance from the team and I’ll be happy.

The Defiance 1636 watch parties are continuing at the Guild, so if you want to go out and be amongst fellow supporters, that is the place to be. As for me, I’m always last minute on if I will attend or watch the game from home. No matter what though, it’s always amazing watching this team and living and dying with every kick of the ball. As always, UP THE TIDE!