PART I: A Silly Place
After doing separate posts for each position group the past few years, I’ve decided to streamline and cover them all in one, with the goal of avoiding writing (and reading) fatigue.
Note 1: This preview addresses the roster as it currently exists. Official DCFC Roster page is here.
Note 2: For players who play multiple positions, I’ve listed them at what I believe to be their primary spot, based on the information available.
FORWARD/STRIKER
Beginning with the tip of the spear, Shawn Lawson returns as City’s primary option at striker. He followed up his 2017, 9 goal performance with 8 in 2018 to once again lead the team. While he’s an exceptional athlete, his best attribute may be his calm, precise finishing.
He’ll eat up most of the available minutes at striker, and with Tyrone Mondi and Bakie Goodman returning to provide service, he should maintain, if not improve upon, his production of the past two seasons.
Back with the club after a year away is Max Todd. In the 2017 regular season opener against Milwaukee, he scored a late equalizer to salvage a point. Unfortunately, soon thereafter, injuries derailed the rest of his season. As a senior at UIC in 2018, he scored 12 goals and had 2 assists.
Perhaps the most prolific college goalscorer City has ever acquired, Santiago Agudelo tallied a staggering 26 goals in 19 matches in 2018 for Fort Hayes State, en route to being named D2CAA Player of the Year.
Local product (Wixom/Crew SC Academy Wolves) Daniel Wright recently completed his sophomore season at Duke, in which he scored 3 goals to go with 2 assists.
ATTACKING MIDFIELD/WING
Every year I attempt to write something new and fresh about Cyrus Saydee while resisting the temptation to copy and paste his section from last year’s preview. Here it goes:
Cyrus Saydee, the last player left from City’s original 2012 squad, was announced February 1st as the first professional signing in club history. Building your pro roster around Cyrus is about the easiest decision you can make, and it’s exactly what I would’ve done if I was in charge.
This highlight video is a couple years old now, but I’m using it again because it shows what kind of a player he is far better than I can put into words, plus it’s just so damn good.
When last we saw Tyrone Mondi, he was capturing our hearts with the biggest goal in City history.
He returns to the club after sitting out 2018 due to injury. While he recorded 2 goals and 7 assists in 2017 (plus 4 goals in the playoffs), what was most impressive was the attacking threat he posed on such a consistent basis. He’s the rare type of player who makes you hold your breath and lean forward in anticipation whenever he’s on the ball.
While City led their division in goals scored last year, they struggled to generate offense against the stronger teams. I’m wary of anointing any one player as the solution to that problem, but Mondi should provide a massive boost to the attack the minute he steps foot on the field.
On the right wing and entering his third year with City is Roddy Green, who provided the signature moment of 2018 when he scored the winning penalty to beat the Michigan Bucks in the U.S. Open Cup.
After transferring to Spring Arbor from Saginaw Valley State, he had a productive, 8-goal season in the fall.
While he’s always had great speed and a blistering shot, his Spring Arbor highlights show a stronger, calmer, more mature player than the one who joined City in 2017. Expect a big year out of him, especially if opposing defenses key too much on Lawson, Mondi, and Saydee.
In completely unexpected news, there are some rumors floating around that Danny Deakin is attempting a move to left back, but until that’s confirmed I’m leaving him here with the other attacking midfielders.
He’s had an up and down Career with City thus far, showing some moments of brilliance as in the Shawn Lawson goal clip above. Under Ben Pirmann, he never seemed to find a home at any one position, alternating between center midfield, attacking midfield, and, at times, out on the wing. Hopefully Trevor James will be able to figure out where he best fits in.
One of the most intriguing newcomers is Willie Spurr, formerly of Portland Timbers U-23 and Lane United, who’s been spotted around town juggling tennis balls, lima beans, marbles, and quarks.
There are a number of his highlight videos out there, so I’ll feature his most recent one.
My first impression was that he looks like a taller Cyrus Saydee, and that alone leads me to believe he’ll feature heavily, whether as an attack-minded center midfielder, or possibly as a true number 10.
A teammate of Max Todd at UIC, Oscar Gonzalez tallied 6 goals and 6 assists in 2018 and gives City one more dynamic attacker who looks like a good fit on either wing.
CENTER MIDFIELD
Another returnee from that special squad of ’17 is Bakie Goodman, who spent last year playing professionally with Pittsburgh Riverhounds of USL. His absence last season was felt maybe even more so than Mondi’s, as no one in City’s midfield could duplicate his ball-winning and distribution on a consistent basis. He’s an automatic starter and has signed on to play in the Founders Cup, as well.
After dropping some hints that 2018 may have been his last season, Dave Edwardson pleasantly surprised supporters with his return. He may not start as many matches as he used to, but as the captain, he provides excellent leadership, energetic performances off the bench, and is the perfect evangelist to explain to the newcomers what it means to play for this club.
The final returning center mid, George Chomakov, may be the healthiest he’s been in years. Although he made just three regular season appearances in 2018, there should be plenty of opportunities for him to earn more time this year.
Alejandro Covarrubias is an LA Galaxy academy alum who’s spent the past couple of years with various USL and PDL teams, most recently Tulsa Roughnecks. He’s chiefly a defensive/holding player who can get forward at times when needed.
Michael Pimlott is another defensive mid who’s Played for virtually every other team based in Southeast Michigan (Stars, Bucks, Lansing United). He’s been an every-game starter for Michigan State and is heading into his senior season this fall.
The final two newcomers here are mystery men to me; I just can’t find that much on either of them. Abdoulaye Diop is originally from Senegal and played at the powerhouse private PK-12 school Montverde Academy, as well as with Orlando City B. Jeranimo Power is a teammate of Tyrone Mondi and Kervin Kenton (now graduated) at Coastal Carolina.
FULLBACK
On paper, fullback is currently as thin as… paper. I expect more players to be added here, but for now I can only address those who are known. Luckily, one of them is a proven starter, and the other has the quality to become one.
The former, Omar Sinclair, while not listed on the official roster, started the last preseason match against Flint, so I’m counting him in. He recently wrapped up his career as a four-year starter at Saginaw Valley State, being named to the 2018 D-II All-America Third Team, as well as earning the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year award.
In his career with City, he’s played every position on the back line, but he seems to fit best at right back, which is where he featured most recently. I’m also hoping he gets more opportunities to take free kicks this year, as he proved deadly when given the chance at the end of 2017.
His starting counterpart on the left side this past Saturday was Will Perkins, who is coming off his freshman season at Michigan State.
From MSU head coach Damon Rensing, “Will is capable of playing either outside back position, either outside attacking position, and even a little center back. He is extremely quick and very comfortable on the ball which allows him to impact the final third from the outside back position.”
CENTERBACK
After a couple of standout seasons, Stephen Carroll has established himself as City’s leader at the back. Though he’s flown a bit under the radar with his steady, quiet play, he was recognized at the end of 2018 as the Black Arrow Award winner. Now finished with his college career, he’s a good bet to earn a pro contract for the Founders Cup with a strong showing this summer.
Starting next to Carroll should be Jalen Crisler, a 6’4″ skyscraper who played collegiately at Gonzaga and most recently spent time with the Sounders U-23 squad.
Also in contention are a pair of fan favorites and another towering newcomer.
Kervin Kenton spent 2017 and part of 2018 with City, and participated in the 2019 MLS Combine. He can play in the center or at left back, which may turn out to be the position he’s most needed, and he’s another player with a very real shot at making the pro roster.
Despite having two small children and running a full-time business, Seb Harris is back for another round. Along with Edwardson, Seb is one of the team’s veteran emotional leaders, and his mere presence is always an asset to the players (and supporters) around him.
Moussa Gueye, like Abdoulaye Diop, is a Senegalese product of Montverde Academy. There’s not a lot of information available on him, but his size (6’3″) and raw talent give him every opportunity to compete and contribute at this level.
GOALKEEPER
The presumed #1 is Hunter Morse, who spent his freshman season at Michigan State backing up Jimmy Hague, who is now playing in MLS with FC Cincinnati. We were set to see Morse in extended action for the first time last Saturday, but a cleat/knee to the head knocked him out of the game after just 15 minutes.
If he’s unable to start the season opener, the job will presumably fall to Nate Steinwascher, who’s been with City on and off now since 2016 and has made a name for himself with his penalty kick heroics.
Trevor James has also stated that a third keeper will be added to the roster. It was rumored to be Fernando Pina, but he’s opted to take the summer off for knee surgery and rehab. Max Jewett, who started two league matches in 2018, as well as the MSU friendly a few weeks ago, may be in line for the open spot.
PROJECTED STARTING XI & TEAM OVERVIEW
I don’t yet know enough about Trevor James’ preferred formation(s) and tactics, so my projected starting XI is purely based on my own thoughts.
This is a tremendously talented and experienced lineup; eight of the projected starters have played at least one season with City, while Spurr and Crisler have played for the reserve sides of Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders, respectively.
The main question mark is at goalkeeper, since Hunter Morse has made just one brief appearance in his MSU career thus far. Another is the depth. I fully expect more players to be added as the season progresses, but right now the team looks thin at a few spots, particularly fullback. More bodies will be needed to mitigate the effects of the inevitable injuries and mid/late-season departures that always seem to occur.
On the plus side, the attack looks deadly, and should be noticeably improved from 2018. I would take a front three of Lawson-Mondi-Green over any other trio in the NPSL, and with Saydee, Spurr, and Goodman feeding them from midfield, City should be much more productive against the Ann Arbors and Grand Rapidses/Rapidss/Rapidsis? of the division.
Finally, as I mentioned in a previous post, I think Trevor James’ most difficult task this summer will be trying to blend players at several different stages of their career into one cohesive unit.
Some have already signed on to play professionally in the fall, some have aspirations to do so and will be doing their best to impress and win a contract, and some are still in the middle of their time in college.
I don’t have any real concerns about James’ roster-building ability; what I’ll be looking for early in the season is how well the players adapt to his style and how they play together as a team.
As we’ve seen with the short NPSL schedule, slow starts are tough to overcome, while fast starts can snowball into continued success, so the first 3-4 matches will be crucial.
