Republic FC welcomes Detroit City FC this week, as the Motor City club makes its first ever visit to Sacramento. The 2022 expansion side is the third Eastern Conference foe to Heart Health Park this season, and will be playing their third straight away contest.
Week 6 Rewind
Detroit took a valuable point on the road at Miami FC in Week 6. The club did well on the defensive end, keeping their South Florida foes to just a single shot on target. In the end, neither side was able to seize their opportunities with a 0-0 draw the result.
Detroit City This Season
Le Rouge began the season with a loss to San Diego and a 3-1 victory against El Paso Locomotive. In four matches since, the club has yet to score. Three straight 1-0 defeats followed by last week’s draw has made for a 462-minute run without a goal that dates all the way back to the 78th minute in Week 2 against El Paso Locomotive FC. However, during that span, their backline has been excellent. Le Rouge has conceded only 5 goals, good for fifth in the league, and goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher enters Week 7 tied for the league lead in saves.
Players to Watch
As mentioned, goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher has been stellar this season in helping his club keep opponents out of the net. His 21 saves are tied with only Oakland Roots’ Paul Blanchette at the top of the league-wide leaderboard. He’ll be tested this week with Sacramento coming off a four-score effort and tied for the most shots put on target this season.
On the attack, Maxi Rodriguez remains as the club’s primary weapon, tied for the club lead in chances created with 7 and with one score this season. Joining him up top are Skage Lehland, who signed on from Loudoun United in the offseason, and fellow returnee Yazeed Matthews – owner of the only other goal scored by a Detroit player this season.
Head to Head
Republic FC took a 2-0 victory in the only all-time fixture between the two clubs. Last June, Sacramento visited Keyworth Stadium and became the first club to best Detroit City at home in over a year. Dami Viader netted the winner in the first half after a rocket from distance snuck inside the right post, and Keko added another score in the second half.
