UPSL Men’s Round Up: Week 2
Spotlight Match:
Vlora FC 0-3 Worthington Community FC
It took 5 mins for either side to find a shot on target and only a minute after Vlora had their first look, Worthington really should have gone ahead with theirs as the ball was intercepted in midfield from a high press by WCFC but the shot from the top of the box sailed high and wide. The Toros continued to press high and force Vlora into defensive miscues. A long ball over the top in the 11th minute was missed by Jesus Galvan-Garcia attempting to head it back to Austin Gunkel in the Vlora net, and the Worthington shot was just fractionally wide. In the 18th minute, a snapped header by Robert Cooper from close range was plucked out of the air by Worthington keeper Ricardo Maldonado. A free kick in the 23rd minute was a good chance for Vlora, claimed by Maldonado.
The break through came only two minutes later as Worthington made a strong diagonal pass from right to left which was slide tackled out for a corner. Chris Cerda’s delivery was whipped in from the left and Miguel Perdomo rose to nod it home.
Only one minute after scoring their first, another WCFC counter attack led to a shot wide from the top of the box. Vlora returned fire up the other end, a shot off a corner was deflected out for another corner, a sequence repeated almost exactly a second successive time but while Vlora maintained possession, it could not threaten the goal again.
The second goal came after a scrappy passage of play where the ball was ineffectively cleared a number of times before falling to Juani Mackrey, who swept it home from close range with half an hour gone.
Mackrey netted his second and Worthington’s third when after a period of back and forth play, a cross was driven in from the right wing by Cerda and tapped in by Mackrey in the 39th minute.
The second half saw neither side firing on all cylinders as it took 15 minutes for either side to muster a further corner and Vlora saw their best chance of the second half go begging as a corner was whipped in from the right but missed everyone’s head and was claimed in a scrum by Maldonado. Worthington’s own corner from their right was comfortable for Gunkel.
Vlora managed to hit a shot off the gridiron crossbar and saw another shot deflected over, with a third shot just wide in the 75th minute. Esteban Badillo applied some pressure of his own for the home side but his shot was wide. As the home side pressed forward, a ball was lofted in in the 86th minute for Vlora, but another header went wide. Ortega had a strong shot on the Worthington goal in stoppage time, but it was secured by the goalie.
Vlora FC fall to 0-2 on the young season, with their visitors ascending to 2-0.
Worthington CFC #19 Juani Mackrey celebrates with #21 Anton Cordes and #20 Alex Ruiz Garcia during the Vlora Football Club v Worthington Community Football Club match on Saturday, May 5, 2024 at Bob Pates Stadium in Burnsville, Minnesota. (Photo by Jason Morales Ortiz)
Other Results:
Sunday:
Superior City FC 4-1 Austin Villa
Bryce Boldt opened the scoring for the Navy in the 5th minute, Austin Villa equalized but Boldt puts the home team back ahead soon after. Ryan Tomsche made it 3-1 in stoppage time and the scoring was completed by Mally Lumsden in the 84th minute.
Granite City FC 0-9 St Croix Legends II
The Legends put up a touchdown at St Cloud Tech, and didn’t stop at that. Nathan Donovan got a hat trick (and two assists!), Will Miers scored two and there were single goals for Porter Ball (and a assist), JT Olson, Carver M. Tierney (and an assist) and Minneapolis City’s all-time leading goalscorer Will Kidd. Will Heinen got two assists and Alex Paredes and Agostino Quadrio Curzio also got assists.
Thursday:
Superior City FC 1-2 FC Minneapolis
The Lion Kings opened up the scoring through Yushi Nagamatsu in the 17th minute. Superior City equalized late in the first half through center back Matti Sysimaki from a corner. The visitors were reduced to ten men after Ayodele Gafer was sent off for handling outside the penalty area in the 65th minute, with Michael taking over as goalie. Aerial Gbalenchey then followed him into the away showers in stoppage time. Mally Lumsden finally broke the deadlock in the fourth minute of stoppage time, off a long cross-field pass from David Lopez Perez. The match ended with 11 yellow cards, 4 of which turned into 2 red cards.