How Detroit City FC achieved 'storybook ending' in historic win over MLS' Houston Dynamo

Alex Wright had to hustle to witness the biggest win in his club’s history with other Detroit City FC staff and supporters.

Wright, one of the original founding members of Detroit City FC when it was established in 2012, watched the first 90 minutes of DCFC’s U.S. Open Cup match in the Round of 32 against reigning champions Houston Dynamo, an MLS team, at home while he put his young kids to bed. 

But after Le Rouge, which plays in the second-division USL Championship, tied the game, 3-3, to force extra time, Wright hustled to the team’s headquarters in Hamtramck after putting his kids to bed to watch with the others, living and dying with every kick.

“As soon as we went into extras I couldn’t … it wasn’t something I could experience by myself,” Wright told the Free Press. “So luckily, my wife was nice enough to be okay with me heading up to the clubhouse so I could share that experience with the supporters.”

Detroit City FC was locked in a thrilling 3-3 battle against the Dynamo to force extra time in the Open Cup, a tournament pitting teams from every soccer division level in the country. The winner is awarded a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League, to face the top teams in North America. An MLS team has won the Open Cup every year since 2000, though a USL Championship squad, the Sacramento Republic, reached the final in 2022.

Le Rouge rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the final minutes.

“I think we were confident that we could get one goal and it leads to more,” said midfielder Maxi Rodriguez, who scored the equalizing goal in the 83rd minute. “It was kind of a surreal moment to come back against an MLS side who were the former champions of that tournament. It was a lot of fun.”

DCFC and Houston battled through the heat and humidity of the Houston summer night for another 30 minutes, but a winner wasn’t determined through 120 minutes of play on the field, leading to penalty kicks. The teams were tied 9-9 through the first 10 rounds of penalty kicks, leaving the goalkeepers for sudden-death attempts. DCFC’s backup goalie, Carlos Saldaña, was the hero, converting his kick after Houston’s keeper missed, giving DCFC the historic 3-3 (10-9 on penalties) win.

RECAP OF LAST GAME:History for Detroit City FC with road stunner vs. MLS team in US Open Cup penalties

The nervous energy and pacing in the Detroit City clubhouse turned into jubilation as Detroit City FC advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time in club history while moving to 2-1 all-time against MLS squads. Wright, also the club’s Chief Creative Officer as well as a co-founder, decided to film everyone else in the room breaking into celebration as Saldaña’s kick made history.

“The pride of sharing that moment with all those people made it that much more special,” Wright said.

After falling down 2-0 in the 31st minute, DCFC's epic comeback started with a rocket into the top right corner of the net from new signee Ryan Williams — an England native who joined the squad six weeks ago — from 25 yards out in the 41st minute, cutting the lead to 2-1, which was the score at half.

“I knew it had a chance because you can just feel a connection when you’ve hit so many balls,” Williams said. 

Williams snuck his head around the corner to watch as the ball stretched the net, signaling his first career DCFC goal in his first career start while also giving the team a shot in the arm. Williams said the team didn’t stop fighting after the early deficit, but said the goal changed the game’s outlook.

“Had we gone into halftime at 2-0, it’s probably a different conversation,” Williams said. “To go in at 2-1, it helped change the nature of the game.”

DCFC came out of the second half with a “good spell” of play, Williams said, but the team had to remain resilient to find the equalizer, which came in the form of a 75th-minute goal from substitute Yazeed Williams.

But Houston forced another rally two minutes later with a goal in the 77th minute to go up, 3-2. Rodriguez, who was the hero of DCFC’s first win over an MLS squad with two goals against the Columbus Crew in 2022, netted the final equalizer with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.

“It could’ve easily been three or four if we kept our head down, but I think we just believed in ourselves and we’ve been in that position before,” Rodriguez said. “We always love the challenge, there’s a chip on our shoulder when we play against guys who are in a higher league.”

The two teams remained deadlocked through extra time, setting up the marathon shootout and Saldaña's winner in his first season as the reserve keeper for DCFC.

“To see him score the game-winning penalty, it's just like a storybook ending,” Rodriguez said.

DCFC will play the Round of 16 on May 22 on the road against Indy Eleven, a fellow USL Championship side. Next up on the overall schedule, though, is a USL Championship game Saturday at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck against Phoenix Rising FC, folowed by an 18-day break before the Open Cup fixture.

Historic win in changing Open Cup landscape

The idea to capture the reaction from the club’s fervent supporters was Wright’s attempt to preserve the historic moment for the club in a game he also described as a “storybook resolution.” 

“It's a story that we can all tell when we come together, just another brick in the wall of what has become a club and a culture and a group,” Williams said. “We can all say where we were when Ryan Williams hit that banger or when Carlos was able to win his own game.”

DCFC has climbed the ranks of American soccer leagues in the dozen years since its founding, reaching as high as the USL Championship, just below MLS.

When DCFC first started as a semi-pro squad playing its games at Detroit Cass Tech, the Open Cup was an opportunity to play against professional sides. Now, as the club has grown and moved up, the Cup serves as a chance to prove the squad’s ability against MLS teams that employ some of the best players in North America.

DCFC has played three MLS squads in the Cup since moving up to the USL in 2022, boasting a winning record of 2-1. The first win came at home against Columbus in 2022.

The win over another MLS squad, especially the reigning Cup champions in Houston, raises the brand of DCFC nationally and bolsters Detroit’s reputation as able to compete with top teams.

“It shows that this team wants to continue to grow and play against good sides and not only compete against them, but win,” Rodriguez said. “I think the vision for this club is big, I think they’re trying to do the right things and move in the right direction. It’s nice to be a part of it.”

However, the future of these types of fixtures could be in jeopardy.

Just eight MLS clubs sent their top-level teams to the 2024 tournament, including Houston, while the rest either declined to participate or sent their MLS Next Pro squad, the second team focused on development, instead. The tournament format will be discussed more going into 2025, determining if MLS clubs will continue to play in the Open Cup.

“It's a valuable tournament,” Wright said. “It's important and something that everyone should embrace as one of the coolest traditions in American sport. It's unfortunate that the MLS doesn't see it that way.”

Wright said DCFC’s mission of building up the club and connecting with the Detroit community won’t change, no matter what the tournament's future holds as it is still in the air, but wins like Tuesday help share what DCFC is about with more people.

“These games are the moments that are really special to our club, because those of us within the organization, that support the organization, understand how special what we have is,” Wright said. “But it's only nights like this, games like this, where we have this window of opportunity to share that with a larger audience. And I can't think of a better way of doing it than just showing them the drama of that night and that game and letting that do the work.”