NPSL Round-Up: Week 1
This week
Saturday
Steel City FC 2-1 Akron City FC
In Steel City’s NPSL debut*, all the action came within a ten minute spell at the end of the first half. The home side broke the deadlock in the 36th minute with a penalty after Tate Mohney was upended in the box. Michael Sullivan was the scorer. 4 minutes later, ACFC drew level through Jaden Wright but the hosts reclaimed the lead again in the second minute of stoppage time from the edge of the box through Ryan Mertz.
* The league consider SCFC a continuation of Hotspurs’ NPSL side, but the club were marking debuts.
FULL TIME
Steel City 2-1 @AkronCityFC
1st half goals from Sullivan and Mertz are enough to secure 3 points in Steel City’s inaugural match in the @NPSLSoccer #SCFCvACFC #StrongerTogether
— Steel City FC (@SteelCityFC) May 13, 2023
After a goal-less hour in Auburn Hills, Jack Foht opened the scoring for the visitors, slotting home a Logan Penton assist after a long, raking diagonal into the left back corner.
Dakota Fusion FC 1-1 Med City FC
Following a scrappy opening 15 minutes, Fusion began to assert some control and had a couple of good chances to score. After another good chance for Fusion was boomed clear, the game levelled out again. Med City had a shot on goal, albeit from 30 yards out and it sailed over the crossbar and through the gridiron uprights. Daniel Helle broke the deadlock after a break down the right wing by Sebastian Acuna in the 40th minute. The half finished with a long throw from Med City into the Fusion box but it was cleared. MCFC had a good, early chance in the 2nd half but it was cleared. Fusion had a corner which went nowhere and pretty much immediately, Med City put a chance straight at the Fusion keeper Jamie Colvill. In the 68th minute, Med City looped a chance over the crossbar and less than a minute later, Lucas Hart equalized for the visitors on a solo effort, driving in from the left wing. It was mostly Med City pressure after that, although no golden chances. Máté Lengyel had a clear chance for Fusion in the 81st minute but Med City goalie Iker González managed to close it down. Med City had a golden chance but also skied it over the crossbar. Med City earned a corner but nothing more as the game entered stoppage time after a shot was blocked clear by Colvill. Fusion had two good chances in stoppage time but the game finished level.
Joy Athletic Club 3-1 LC Aris FC
The Goats’ opener saw two penalty kicks, both scored by Zinedine Kroeten for Joy. Scoring was opened in the 33rd minute by Mika Folstad, tapping in a searching cross from Kroeten on the right wing. The first penalty came in stoppage time at the end of the first half when Bennett Kouame was tripped up by the Aris goalkeeper. That was the last action of the first half and the last touch for Kouame, who left injured.
Following some sustained possession by Aris, it was Joy who received their second penalty kick of the game from an agricultural challenge on Spencer Enright near the top of the box in the 51st minute. Kroeten then missed a golden opportunity to bag his hat trick from an Enright cross. In the 65th minute, Joy’s goalkeeper Sam Gage saved an Aris shot with his knees. (It should be noted at this point that Gage was referred to as “an emergency goalie” by the club, and is listed as a forward). The visitors made the opportunity pay with a smart header from the corner. Shortly after, Aris took a long range potshot, which skipped off the rain-slicked surface and was scrambled wide by Gage. There then followed a sequence where Gage proved himself worthy of the gloves, denying multiple chances for Aris to draw even closer. Joy missed a solid opportunity when Owen Salzwedel missed. Aris had another good chance in the 85th minute, but the ball was headed wide. In the 89th minute, Aris burst forward but their shot on target crept along the goal line and off a post without going in. In stoppage time at the end of the game, Aris’s Sebastian Acosta received a straight red card.
Minnesota TwinStars FC 0-3 Duluth FC
Rory Doyle provided the go-ahead goal for the visitors in the 34th minute. Their lead was doubled by Tyler Limmer in the 58th minute. A third goal came from Kostya Domaratskyy in the 66th minute.
Wednesday
Des Moines United FC 2-1 Sunflower State FC
A debut of two teams saw the home side go ahead in the 27th minute, Lesego Maloma finishing a counter attack. DMU went up by 2 from the penalty spot through Lincoln Borges just before half time, after a defender’s shoulder barge was deemed a foul. DMU’s Raphael Nascimento received a red card in the 60th minute. Sunflower halved the deficit with their own PK in the 70th minute, slotting past Rayane El Mehdi, who had conceded the penalty after overstretching and clipping an attacker in the area. In the end, despite a string of Sunflower corners, United were able to hang on for a season-opening win.
Coming up
Friday
Michigan Rangers v Akron City FC
Steel City FC v FC Columbus
Saturday
Sunflower State FC v Club Atletico St Louis
Milwaukee Torrent v Ehtar Belleville
Iowa Raptors v Des Moines United FC
Erie Commodores v Carpathia FC
Dakota Fusion FC v Minnesota TwinStars FC
Duluth FC v Sioux Falls Thunder
Med City FC v La Crosse Aris FC
Sunday
Akron City FC v Columbus SC
Michigan Rangers v FC Columbus
Wednesday
Joy Athletic Club v Med City FC
La Crosse Aris FC v Duluth FC
Sioux Falls Thunder FC v Minnesota TwinStars FC