NISA Fall Championship: Meet the finalists
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Oct 1, 2020
Detroit City FC needed a goal from Australian-born Scotsman Max Todd, who has had three stints with Le Rouge, to beat the LA Force, 1-0, on Wednesday in the semifinals at Keyworth Stadium.
In the first game, the Roots, who are headed to the USL Championship in 2021, beat Chattanooga FC, 3-2. They got goals from Johnny Rodriguez, Angel Heredia and Matt Fondy but had to hold off a late rally from Chattanooga FC.
Detroit City FC
Goalkeeper
Jean Gamain Antoine (Haiti, 27) Played for teams in the San Diego area.
Defenders
Stephen Carroll (Ireland, 26) Product of NAIA's Davenport University.
Tendai Jirira (Zimbabwe, 28) Joined Le Rouge in 2019 from AFC Ann Arbor.
*Kevin Venegas (USA, 31) Started out as a pro with Minnesota United in NASL.
Midfielders
Sebastian Capozucchi (Chile, 24) Came to Detroit from Milwaukee Torrent.
James Filerman (USA, 24) Four-year starter at Old Dominion University.
Douglas Goodman (USA, 25) Drafted by the Seattle Sounders out of Georgetown.
Michael Kafari (Ghana, 28) Didn't see action in half season (2014) with Sporting KC.
Connor Rutz (USA, 23) Second-team DII All-American at Saginaw Valley State in 2019.
Forwards
Yazeed Matthews (South Africa, 24) Won 2019 NPSL Members Cup Golden Ball.
Max Todd (Scotland, 24) Returned to Le Rouge after finishing up studies at UIC.
Cyrus Saydee (Liberia, 28) Michigan State grad has been with DCFC since launch in 2012.
Ryan Peterson (USA, 24) Played in college at N.C. State and Rutgers.
Oakland Roots
Goalkeeper
Christian Herrera (USA, 23) Bounced around multiple USL clubs
Defenders
David Abidor (USA, 29) Spent 2019 Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Bnei Lod in Israel.
*Gyan Attakora (Canada, 31) Played on 2017 NASL champion San Francisco Deltas
Tarn Weir (USA, 21) East Bay product spent time at youth clubs in Spain, England and Greece.
David Navarro (USA, 29) Spent two years in Brazil before bouncing around U.S. lower leagues.
Midfielders
Angel Heredia (USA, 24) Resided with 2013 U.S. U-17s in Bradenton, Florida.
Peter Pearson (USA, 24) Virginia Beach product played at Virginia and VCU.
Niall Irwin (Ireland, 34) Director of coaching for East Bay's Spurs SC.
Ariel Mbumba (DR Congo, 19) Product of Silicon Valley Soccer Academy.
Yohannes Harish (Eritrea, 26) Starred at Division II Holy Names University.
Forwards
*Matthew Fondy (USA, 31) USL Pro MVP with Louisville City in 2015.
Johnny Rodriguez (USA, 22) Former college star at Fresno City College and CSUN.
*Jack McInerney (USA, 28) Scored 43 goals in eight seasons with five MLS teams.
*MLS product.
