Detroit

Matt Lewis is back!

Detroit City FC announced the return of the center back Monday as the men’s side continues to assemble their roster ahead of the 2022 USL Championship season set to begin in March.

Lewis’ return was perhaps one of the more poorly kept secrets when it came to the perspective DCFC signings this offseason. This stems from Matt Lewis’ offseason indoor team the Kansas City Comets spilling the beans on the defender’s return late last year making today’s announcement more of a formality. Not that this is a bad thing, in fact, it was an incredible relief that Lewis’ return was finally announced when you consider the 25-year-old was one of the best players in NISA and more than likely a player Detroit was going to lose if they didn’t make that jump to USL Championship.

This past summer, while on loan to the El Paso Locomotive of USL-C, Lewis spoke with Dan Vaughn of Protagonist Soccer seemingly suggesting that 2021 may be his last in Detroit if he was given the opportunity to move up.

But impressing 8,000 in Keyworth doesn’t allow Lewis to fill his bank account or step away from any side hustles. He’s grinding in the third division of American soccer, trying to make a living playing a sport he loves. It’s clear, as he talks about Detroit, that he loves playing for Coach James in Keyworth, in front of NGS, but there’s limitations that have to be dealt with. “I wouldn’t go anywhere else if there was a way for Detroit to move up in this system.” And that’s the rub. Detroit was the class of NISA Spring 2021, winning every match they played, cruising to a championship, but what’s next for the little club that could? Another season in NISA as the biggest fish in a little pond.

Protagonist Soccer

Lewis originally made his way to Detroit after being acquired on loan from the New York Cosmos prior to the 2020 NISA season. He went on to make Detroit City FC history scoring the first professional goal for the club against the LA Force back in February of 2020 and since then has been one of Le Rouge’s anchors on the backline forming a very effective on-pitch chemistry with City captain Stephen Carroll. A chemistry that helped Detroit City allow just 10 goals during the entirety of the NISA fall season and a plus-25 goal differential.

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