NPSL Midwest Playoffs: Conference Semi-Finals Review

July 12, 2023

How it works:

It’s a dog’s breakfast in the Midwest. Using points-per-game as the decider:

(# = National ranking)

Top 3 in the Great Lakes qualified (second placed #20 Michigan Rangers, third placed #36 Cleveland SC and top seeded #4 Steel City FC, who received a bye to the Conference Championship game)

Top 4 in the Heartland qualified (Top seeded #16 Tulsa Athletic, Second placed #22 OKC 1889, third placed #48 Kansas City Sol and fourth-placed #61 Demize NPSL)

Top 4 in the North qualified (#1 Duluth FC, second-placed #12 Dakota Fusion, Third placed #28 Med City FC and fourth-placed #51 Minnesota TwinStars)

The top 2 in the Gateway qualified (#10 Des Moines United and #35 Milwaukee Torrent) and will contest a straight Conference Championship

We will review the Conference Finals in a separate post.

North

#1 Duluth FC 5-1 #51 Minnesota TwinStars

In the twenty-fifth minute, Duluth had a chance to go ahead from the penalty spot but Rory Doyle’s PK was saved. Instead, TwinStars took the shock lead, on the break through Sidike Jabateh in the thirty-fifth minute. Only five minutes later, the BlueGreens equalized through leading goalscorer Tyler Limmer. In first half stoppage time, Duluth secured a second PK of the half, this time successfully completed by Kostya Domaratskyy.

TwinStars received a red card for dissent in the fiftieth minute. In the sixty-second minute, Andres Solares curled the ball past the keeper from the top of the box to make it 3-1. Felipe Santos hammered a shot off the crossbar at the near post to make it 4-1 in the seventy-fifth minute. The scoring was completed by Duluth’s third PK of the night, Tyler Limmer with the shot.

#12 Dakota Fusion 0-2 #28 Med City FC

This matchup always promised to be a tight one, given the proximity of the two clubs in the standings and in the end it took a couple of shots in the second half to provide the difference. The opening five minutes was frantic and accented by an audacious attempt at a chip by Med City of the Fusion goalkeeper. The first half also ended with a sequence of stops by the Fusion keeper on Med City shots on goal.

In the fifty-seventh minute, with the score still 0-0, the home side had a golden opportunity but an unmarked header from a corner somehow skimmed off the attacker’s head and into the goalkeeper’s grasp. In the end it was more grit than artistry which secured the win, Lucas Hart with the scrambled opener in the sixty-ninth minute. Five minutes later, Med City methodically moved the ball around the Fusion defense and then Tristan Jumeau blasted it home from close range. Fusion had another good chance to get on the scoresheet in the seventy-sixth minute but a header was planted right at the keeper. The best chance for the home team came in second half stoppage time, when a shot off the rebound hit the foot of the post and bounced wide.

Great Lakes

#20 Michigan Rangers 0-1 #36 Cleveland SC

Cleveland pull the upset in a rain soaked semifinal, eventually called due to lightning. Julian Pellegrini had the winning goal.

Heartland

#16 Tulsa Athletic 2-0 #61 Demize NPSL

Luis Flores scored both goals for Athletic, who move on, although it took until the seventy-first minute for Athletic to break through.

#22 OKC 1889 2-1 #48 Kansas City Sol

The away side took the surprise lead in the twelfth minute through Dontell Gilyard but Nickell Alexander proved key to the turnaround, scoring the equalizer in the sixtieth minute and the winner in the eighty-sixth.

Coming Up on Saturday

North – #1 Duluth FC v #28 Med City FC at Public Schools Stadium, Duluth, MN.

Heartland – #16 Tulsa Athletic v #22 OKC 1889 at Rogers State University, Claremore, OK.

Great Lakes – #4 Steel City FC v #36 Cleveland SC at Founders Field in Cheswick, PA.

Gateway – #10 Des Moines United v #35 Milwaukee Torrent at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, IA