Detroit City FC launched a women’s team in 2020, and on Thursday night in Kentwood, Le Rouge for the first time won the W League’s Great Lakes Division and clinched a playoff berth by beating a longtime rival.

Tatiana Mason’s first goal of the season came in the ninth minute and lifted DCFC to a sweep over Midwest United with a 1-0 road victory. 

Earlier this week, DCFC head coach David Dwaihy told The Detroit News that capturing the league title against United would put the cherry on top of what’d already been — by a wide margin — the best women’s season in club history.

“It would mean so much to achieve that, and we’re within reach of that, and it would really just make everything, make all the effort worthwhile,” Dwaihy said.

The first round of W League playoffs will take place the weekend of July 6. Le Rouge has applied to host a postseason game at Keyworth Stadium. More information will be available at a later date.

DCFC (9D-2D-0L) heads into Saturday’s finale at AFC Ann Arbor with the chance to finish undefeated. DCFC won the first meeting in the series at Keyworth, 4-1, on June 8.

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi

The 2024 high school baseball season is in the rearview mirror but it has left a slew of memories in its wake. The Metro Detroit area’s top players were a big part of those lasting memories.

In an area of Michigan filled with baseball talent, it is time to recognize the top players from around Metro Detroit.

DETROIT – The leader of a conspiracy to sell cocaine and counterfeit pills over the dark web was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison.

Victor Hernandez, 31, of Detroit, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to distribute illicit substances, a conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, his distribution of counterfeit pills, and the use of firearms in furtherance of the crime.

Hernandez was sentenced on Wednesday, June 26. As part of his sentencing, Hernandez was ordered to forfeit the proceeds from his crimes in the form of a $3.1 million money judgment.

Hernandez’s sister, Carolyn Hernandez-Taylor, also pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to 60 months.

Court documents revealed Hernandez ran a dark web vendor site under the moniker “Opiateconnect,” selling illicit scheduled drugs, including cocaine and various counterfeit drugs.

The counterfeit pills were made to look like alprazolam, the most commonly prescribed psychotropic medication in the United States (including under the brand name Xanax), used to manage panic and anxiety disorders. However, they were, in fact, uncontrolled research chemicals that were not scheduled for human consumption.

Federal investigators worked for months to determine the identity of “opiateconnect” and the location he was using.

That investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at Hernandez’s house in Detroit, where agents discovered a clandestine drug lab capable of producing upwards of 20,000 pills per hour.

They also found around three firearms, a “tub” containing approximately 600 grams of cocaine, thousands of pressed counterfeit alprazolam pills, $340,000 in cash, and more than $1 million in cryptocurrency.

—> Police break down how 2 women, 2 men in Metro Detroit helped move trash bags of drugs sold on dark web