Article by Garrett Pog
Two weeks after their close loss at home, the Detroit Mechanix grinded out another gritty game against their rivals in Indianapolis. In front of a Mechanix crowd that nearly matched as many fans as the AlleyCats had, everyone was ready to see one of two teams take home their first win of the season. As Head Coach Brent Steepe said in the last huddle before gametime, “There’s nothing more to say, there’s only work to do.”
The Mechanix kept it close with Indianapolis through the 1st Quarter, despite not connecting on any hucks and not completing any breaks. Collin Hill, nicknamed “Chilly” by his team, led the way in Assists and Completions through 12 minutes. For the Lambo group, they made some great turns, but agreed amongst themselves they were too impatient and needed to relax when they got the disc. Joe Cubitt stressed the importance of communication to his team, while Brendan Gessner implored his team to stop making those risky throws.
Adam Whitton’s first Break of his career kicked things off in the 2nd Quarter, and that was a sign of where things were headed. Indy kept themselves in control, leading 9-6 midway through the 2nd. Suddenly, Detroit started a Break chain, after Jake Felton found Justin Perticone on the south endzone. David Zolden knocked a pass out of the air and subsequently scored, followed by Terry Gaither receiving a score from Aiden Rudy, Richard Ware getting open for a break point, and Darren Dyer scored the 5th point in a row for the Mechanix to make it 11-9. All of the momentum was in Detroit’s favor. They lead at the half, 12-11. 5 Hucks and 5 Breaks were completed all in those 12 minutes.
McLaren and Lambo would meet separately as a unit, assisted by Fire Team leaders Justin Wollin and Conrad Nguyen. The boys were recognizing that there were some execution errors, and also realizing that they would have to match the AlleyCats’ toughness if they wanted to win. Coming out of the 2nd half, Gessner would score a hard fought goal, which was followed by a break in 3 touches after picking up the disc. The Mechanix led 14-11 early in the 3rd.
The two clubs would trade haymakers before Indianapolis went on a run to tie things up at 16 heading into the 4th Quarter. Colin Beauregard was vocal with his teammates on Lambo, urging them to stay connected to their marks. Both offenses scored before a pivotal 2 points would follow. Tied at 17 a piece with 10 minutes to go, Lambo would step onto the field and cause a turnover before a timeout was called, and McLaren would come in. After two separate throwaways, another timeout would be called and Lambo would step back on the field before allowing the AlleyCats to score. 17-18, 7 minutes to go. The very next point would last over 5 minutes, and would include 3 turnovers by both sides before the strangest occurrence took place: Indianapolis called a timeout briefly with 2 minutes to go. The only problem was, this would be their 3rd timeout of the half, one more than they’re allowed. Struck by confusion and conversation with the referee crew, Detroit didn’t make any substitutions, while the AlleyCats made a full line change. Those AlleyCats were able to force a turn and score at the other end, bringing Detroit down 2 with only 1:40 left to go. Though the Mechanix kept their spirits up, they could not surmount the comeback, losing 21-18 when zeros hit the clock.
Trevor Polisuk-Balfour played unbelievable on defense, with 3 Blocks in addition to 3 Assists on break points. As he would like me to say, those were some “poggers” assists he scored. Dyer also made his mark as well, scoring 2 Goals, an Assist, as well as 2 Blocks on the defensive side.
Though the team was not happy, they kept their heads up as they interacted with fans following the game. They welcomed the Fan of the Game for Game 2 onto the field, awarded to Maddy Fenton, the girlfriend of Trey Koch. Her support could be heard all over the cities of Lansing and Indianapolis throughout the first two games this season, and the Mechanix are very thankful for her support.
Connor Concannon said after the game, “There were many imperfections, but we’re improving. We’ll come back from this.” Head Coach Steepe had many words for the team in the locker room, including emphasizing how important patience needs to be in their offense, and how they need to monitor their aggressiveness on defense. Gessner and Gaither praised the team’s performance while reminding them that the same team is coming to town in 2 weeks, and Beauregard shared an impactful speech about needing to be unified in the feeling of defeat, using that to get back up stronger and take the win in the next matchup.
“If this were a system, we have a lot of really sharp gears, with a lot of really productive capabilities. We’re just not lining up appropriately yet to be that well-oiled machine…It’s just really unfortunate that we only saw a portion of what we could’ve done rather than seeing that over the whole game,” Steepe said following the loss. He stressed that with more experience and time, this group will learn how to play from ahead and not feel defeated in the momentum shifts. This team would work on these mentality shifts the following morning at practice.
In that same locker room meeting, Darren Dyer announced that he’s going back home to Jamaica, meaning he can no longer compete with the Detroit Mechanix in 2025.
“It’s always been a dream to play in the UFA,” he said. Dyer had been watching the UFA since he was 15, and worked relentlessly to play in the league he had been watching for many years. He thanked everybody for their support before saying “I’m a Mechanic for life.”
“Here’s a guy who knows absolutely nothing about the Detroit Mechanix, has had this dream from 15 years old that he wants to play in the UFA. He shows up to everything, listens completely, and performs as our best player in our first game. He earned his spot. He made his dream a reality by writing it down, taking the steps and applying himself. That’s what the Mechanix are all about,” Steepe emphasized. Detroit has routinely been a team that welcomes people in from extraordinary circumstances, and Dyer’s is no different. Dyer went from not playing an organized game until 2023, to now being immortalized as a Detroit Mechanix veteran while also being considered for the Donovan Award. The Mechanix wish Darren Dyer well as he moves forward with his life back home.
Detroit plays 6 games throughout the month of June, so be ready for a bonanza. They’ll start their homestand taking on the Indianapolis AlleyCats once again on June 7th at 8pm, which is Soccer Night at Hope Sports Complex. Young fans are encouraged to wear their soccer club’s jersey to the game, and tickets are selling at a reduced rate until June 1st! If you can’t make it to the game, feel free to catch all the action live on WatchUFA.TV.
To buy Mechanix tickets, click here.
