Ballincollig's Stephen Carroll happy to reach 200 game milestone for Detroit FC
Stephen Carroll in action
He is the first player in Detroit FC history to reach the milestone of playing 200 competitive games and I am proud to say he started off playing football here with my beloved club Wilton United.
Stephen Carroll, from Ballincollig had a successful career growing up in Cork playing for both Wilton and Ballincollig.
He then moved to Cork City.
However, there came a period when bad luck seemed to halt his League of Ireland career with Cork City, but as we all know, sometimes when one door closes, another door opens, and for Carroll, it was an opportunity to accept a scholarship in the States.
An opportunity that has kept him stateside for over a decade building a beautiful life that he is very proud of.
Here he talks about how football has given him everything he wants in life.
“While playing with Cork City U19s I was called into Tommy Dunne's side.
"I played a few Munster Senior Cup games but then went out on loan to College Corinthians.
"During that period Tommy Dunne left the club and that was the end of my Cork City career,” said the 31-year-old. "Rather than going to university in Cork I ended up finding this college program and they were able to find me college scholarship in America to Tennessee.
"It allowed me to keep playing and travel a bit which at that time was fairly uncommon. The States has given me a great life.
"My college career was successful besides tearing my ACL in my first college game. I came back for the following season and won a few personal awards in my conference.
"I ended up transferring to a university in Michigan, which was also a fairly successful college career, in 2016 to be closer to my now wife.
“I joined Detroit City FC in 2017 which was in a summer league at that time. That was considered semi-pro.
"The club made massive strides from that time progressing through the American football pyramid. From the fourth division to the second in the USL Championship.
"Going from summer league to a full-out 10-month professional season. I’ve been a full-time pro with Detroit since 2020 and just signed a new deal to keep me here until 2027 which would see me line up the first season in their new 15k seat stadium in downtown Detroit.
“The USL championship is a highly competitive league. It plays just under the MLS.
"We often compete against MLS teams in the US Open Cup. The league itself is tough not just on the field but off it. The travel is insane.
"You could be in Orange County, California on a Saturday, then to Hartford Connecticut on a Wednesday.
“So, my 200 competitive appearances range from 2017 to now with Detroit. The first two seasons were only 15-game seasons but in 2022, when joining the USL it went to a 36-game season.
"I am the first player in club history to reach that milestone. I’ve also been captain of the club since 2019 which is the longest-tenured captain in Detroit professional sports so I am very proud as I know I worked hard to be where I am.
“In our early professional days we were in a league called NISA which was in the third division in the pyramid.
"We ended up going 54 games unbeaten which gave the team the nickname the unstoppables.
"In the time from 2020-2022, we won multiple conferences and a national championship. I won two MVP of the league awards in that time period.
“Joining the USL our recent success was making playoffs our first and second season to this past season getting a home playoff spot for finishing third in the league.
"In my overall time at Detroit we have beaten multiple MLS sides in the Open Cup including this past year beating Houston Dynamos away on penalties.
"We bought a house soon after just before Covid hit. We also adopted two dogs and recently in August 2024 we welcomed our first-born Liam.
"We were able to source him an Irish and US passport so he is now a dual citizen which is unreal! I have been coming back to Cork every Christmas since arriving in the US to see my family and friends.
"We were able to bring Liam back this past Christmas to introduce him to a proper pint of Guinness," laughs Carroll.
"I don’t think I’ll ever miss a trip home for the Christmas period.”
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