The best story of the last decade in American soccer is the rise of Detroit City Football Club. The tiny club from Hammtramck, Michigan that defeated all odds and went from NPSL to USL Championship. It’s the stuff of legend and the dream of every local club in the country. While the leagues have changed over the years, the man in the net for the club hasn’t.

The schedule for the interview couldn’t have been more timely. Nate called as he was driving to the club to clean out his locker. “I’ve been putting it off, but I got a text from our equipment guy in late December. ‘You’ve got to come clean out your locker.’ I kept telling him ‘I’ll be there next week, I’ll be there next week!’” But after 9 years with the club, today was finally the day for him to clear out his gear. And chat about his near decade of goalkeeping for Detroit City FC, of course.

Rising with the Club

“It was really unique,” Steinwascher responded when asked about being around Detroit City’s transitions. “You heard rumblings in 2017 and 2018 that they were trying to go pro, but at the time I was just one of those guys who had graduated and wanted to hang onto the game as long as I could.” After a couple of months stint in Sweden, hoping and failing to land a spot with an overseas club, Nate got a call from Trevor James. “He said the rumors were true and they were going pro in the fall. One thing led to another and I went from practicing one day a week to two days a week…then Trevor said you’ll have to go full-time because we’re joining the USL Championship.” He laughed and followed that with “It’s been really cool how the club has grown into its popularity in Detroit sports. It’s grown into something I only dreamed of as a kid and for it to come true is really surreal. I’m grateful that I’ve helped grow the club into what it is now.”

Few players (and there are a couple still on Detroit City’s roster, including Steinwascher’s backline partner Stephen Carroll) can claim to have made the full ride with their team from amateur to pro, particularly in the flawed soccer ecosystem in this country. But Detroit City is a special club and Nate was quick to point out that it always felt like the team was destined for bigger things. “They did a really good job from the start. There was so much effort from the front office, they always had a vision and ran the club like a professional club. They always operated at a level up, even from the NPSL days.”

In the NISA Wilderness

The path from NPSL to Championship had a stop in NISA that some may want to forget, but the seasons spent in that league were important for the development of Detroit City as a professional organization. For Steinwascher, the time in NISA never felt transitory.

“A lot of our experience was shielded by how they operated as a club. It didn’t always feel like a stepping stone. At times, the way we (Detroit City) were run made it feel professional, like it had the potential of going somewhere. Looking back, maybe that’s because we were in it. Every day that we were with Detroit it was like ‘this is the way we operate, this is the way we run our club, regardless of everything else going on, you’re professional players and you’ll treat it as such.’ I think all of that is a testament to Trevor and Tiffany and their vision for the club.”

Of course, that professionalism was reflected in the club’s results, particularly in their final full season in the league, when the club lost a single match. But there was plenty of wackiness in NISA that couldn’t be ignored. “I remember in San Diego, playing 1904,” Nate responded. “There was a ¾ mile walk from the locker room to the training field, which they called a ‘professional field.’ That was kind of weird. I’ve blocked most of the NISA stuff out of my memory,” then he burst into laughter. When the matter of that one loss in 2021 was brought up, Nate cringed. “Thanks for the reminder. Rhys Williams [former DCFC teammate who had played for Stumptown that season] doesn’t let us live it down, either. We all still talk about it, but then we remind him of what happened when we played them on the road.” Detroit got its revenge in Matthews, 3-0.

Champions Into USL Championship

Even though the team dominated NISA for several years (really the entire time Detroit was in the league), there were plenty of doubters that the NISA roster could compete in USL Championship. Nate and his teammates heard it too. “I think the first 8 games we top three in the table. Sure, we didn’t know how we would perform in the league, but in the opener in San Antonio, I turned to Maxi [Rodriguez] and I said, ‘I think we’re going to be ok!’ I saved a penalty and that was a good wake up call for us, we were as good as we thought we were” He paused and then continued, “The goal was nothing less than a playoff berth. For us, it was never about just surviving. We were going to go in and make a name for ourselves.” That first year team, with a roster filled with former NISA players, qualified for the 7th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

While the goalkeeper is a focal point of a team, the reality was that the first year in USL brought a large number of players that had made the ride from amateur to professional with Detroit. That kind of change bonds players together and lent itself to having a common culture, regardless of how the roster might change. “Some of these guys, we’ve played together 5-6 years now. The relationship we’ve had in the core, it’s an identity. Players that have joined since say that we’ve made it easier for them to come in and understand the culture of the club right away. The culture is winning. The culture is how we carry ourselves off and on the field.”

In fact, since joining USL, Detroit City has yet to finish a season outside the playoffs. For Steinwascher, that’s a point of pride. “Look, that’s the goal,” he said in a matter of fact way. “It’s a lot of pride for me. For us to come in and make the playoffs every year is definitely an accomplish, both personally and as a team. That’s a standard we’ve set since going pro: we’re going to compete for championships.”

Of course, last year’s 3rd place regular season run was capped by a first round loss to Tampa Bay in penalties. It would also turn out to be Nate’s last professional match for Detroit, but he’s not complaining about the result. “The way it all ended for me in the playoffs, you can’t really write that. I was able to save two penalties and was at the height of the night, but, at the same time, we were crushed not winning in the penalties. It was kind of a pat on my back. If there’s any way I would have wanted to go out, me being at the height of my game, saving two penalties in my last game felt pretty good.”

Turning the Page

This year, Detroit will go into its first season in almost a decade without Nate Steinwascher on the roster. And just like the team will have to sort out that change, the City legend will have to sort things out. But that process has already started. He’s transitioned to a day job, still playing a little local indoor soccer (he didn’t rule out potentially playing amateur outdoor in the future), but he’s also getting to spend more time with his family and two boys than any summer in recent history. It’s a happy ending to a career will spent with his local club. No longer a player, now a fan. “I’ll be a City fan for life.”

2025 will be the first year without Nate on the DCFC lineup since 2016.

- Dan Vaughn