Maxi Rodriguez set the tone early getting Detroit City FC on the board in the 6′ propelling Le Rouge to a 3-0 road win over Loudoun United keeping DCFC’s playoff hopes alive.
Rodriguez would add another goal just before the half via a penalty while Ben Morris sealed the win in the 65′ with his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Aside from ending a two-game skid, Detroit will enter the final weekend of the regular season with the playoffs on the line as they will take on the league-leading Pittsburgh Riverhounds from Keyworth Stadium next Saturday.
Still on the outside looking in after tonight’s results, DCFC sits at 40 points one point behind The Miami FC who beat the Charleston Battery tonight while FC Tulsa fell to the Indy Eleven at home and where eliminated from postseason contention. Meanwhile, the Birmingham Legion who sit at 43 points will take on Monterey Bay Sunday afternoon.
So with that, the good news is there are multiple opportunities for Detroit to claim that final playoff spot in the East but will require a win against Pittsburgh next weekend plus some help to guarantee them a place in the postseason.
The Birmingham route
With their two wins over the Legion this season, Detroit City holds the tiebreaker over Birmingham which opens up not only a way into the playoffs but a possible shot at the seventh spot in the East. For this to happen, the Legion would need to drop all six remaining points they have on the schedule which would include tomorrow’s match against Monterey Bay (who’s in the thick of a playoff race themselves out west) and next weekend against Charleston. If that happens and Detroit City earns a win over Pittsburgh next Saturday it wouldn’t matter what Miami does Saturday night against Sacramento when it comes to DCFC securing a postseason spot.
Now if Birmingham drops both of their remaining two matches and Miami loses to Sacramento next Saturday then Detroit City FC will secure the seventh spot in the East given that tiebreaker over Birmingham.
The Miami route
The Miami route to the playoffs is a little more straightforward. Like Birmingham, Detroit City also owns the tiebreaker over Miami, however, are a point behind them in the table. First, if Miami beats Sacramento next Saturday, then they punch their ticket to the playoffs and Detroit has to hope that the Birmingham route is still open.
However…
If Miami loses to Sacramento and Detroit beats Pittsburgh then Detroit is in.
If Miami draws against Sacramento and Detroit draws against Pittsburgh then Miami is in.
If Miami loses to Sacramento and Detroit draws against Pittsburgh then Detroit is in with the tiebreaker.
Got that? I guess the potentially good news when it comes to facing Pittsburgh next Saturday is the Riverhounds have nothing to play for as they’ve wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the East and the best record overall so they have nothing to play for. The bad news is, that Sacramento has the No. 1 seed in the West wrapped up as well and essentially has nothing to play for that final week against Miami.