Detroit players thanks fans after Sunday's match.
A record of 12-1-1 as good as it'll get this year for the Detroit City Football Club, which lost 4-1 on Sunday afternoon to the Erie Admirals from Pennsylvania.
The outcome at Cass Tech High School's field downtown means Erie plays an Iowa team next Saturday in the Midwest Conference finals of the National Premier Soccer League.
In an unsportsmanlike display, some Erie players taunted Detroit's cheering section with victory jigs directly in front of their bleachers until the Pennsylvania coach pulled them away.
Detroit's team, which beat Cleveland 3-1 in a division semifinal match Saturday, expanded its fan base and media attention notably this season -- its second in the semi-pro league.
Attendance Saturday was a record 2,634 spectators and Sunday's crowd was about 2,100, according to a livestream play-by-play announcer.
"Our fans are the best in the league," the local club posted on its Facebook page (6,796 fans there) after the loss. "This season was for you. Thank you."
-- Alan Stamm
