WPSL Central Playoffs: Divisional Round Preview
https://twitter.com/Lights_Football/status/1674280797086384128
How it works:
At this stage, the divisional winners face each other. Don't see Heartland or North? That's because those conferences only have one division, so the regular season champion is the Conference champion and goes through to the next round. Northern winners Minnesota Thunder have declined their invite because of player availability, so someone else will get their bye (since the North also only has one division).
Both these games will be played on Saturday.
Colorado Rapids Women v Utah Avalanche for the Mountain Conference, in a repeat of last year's mountain mash. The kickoff is 7pm Mountain Time.
Rapids were the losing finalists of the entire league last season, and are on a run as #1 seed, having amassed a 10-0 record. They have only conceded a league-leading 2 goals all season. As mentioned above, this is a rematch, so Avalanche will be hoping to avoid another 1 game playoff run. The Utahn side have only dropped two points all season themselves, finishing 7-1-0 (W-D-L). Avalanche also have the Mountain's leading goalscorer - Seven Castain with 8 goals and 3 assists.
FC Milwaukee Torrent v Columbus Eagles FC for the Midwest Conference crown. Kick off is 7pm Central Time.
Torrent (7-1-0) were in their Conference championship last year and got hosed. Their opponents, Kansas City Current II, have taken a year off. Torrent are the highest scorers in the region's playoff field (behind only MN Thunder), but Mikki Easter's defense have also have only conceded six goals, so expect Torrent to get out on the attack and trust that their stingy defense will hold the back door shut.
Eagles (6-1-1) are enjoying their best season in the WPSL, but have had to fight their way past FC Dayton to secure the National Road division title on the last day and now face a 450 mile trip North. They are the third highest scorers in the region but middle of the field in goal difference. Keep an eye out for Abby Townsend on the wing.
Stay tuned for our review of these games and a look forward to the Regional Semifinals and Final.
NPSL Round Up: Week 7
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This Week
Friday
Sunflower State FC 2-1 Ehtar Belleville
Blake Barrick opened the scoring for Sunflower just before half time, finishing off a defense splitting pass from midfield by Cooper Forcellini. Colin Innes blasted home a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the fifty-eighth minute to make it 2-0. Ehtar halved the deficit in the eighty-fifth minute, Wyatt Fowler capitalizing on the goalkeeper parrying the ball right back into their path.
Cleveland SC 4-3 Akron City FC
The home side went up 1-0 in the twelfth minute, on the counter attack. A possible foul throw by Cleveland was instead ruled a re-throw by the referee and it was that re-throw which flew into the area to Julian Pellegrini, whose pass was deflected by the goalie into the path of Thomas Beck. Colin Biros equalized in the twenty-fifth minute, driving across the top of the area from the right before letting fly. Beck made it 2-1 in the thirty-fourth minute, hammering the ball home at the top of the penalty area. Nathan Childress equalized again for Akron City in the thirty-seventh minute, another firmly hit shot from the apex of the area. In the forty-first minute, the visitors took the lead with another shot from the same range - Ryan Kingsford with the finish.
Admir Suljevic whipped a ball into the box from the left and Keegan Dawson equalized in the fifty-first minute. Bojan Kolevski put Cleveland into the lead in the seventy-eighth minute as he fought his way through Akron defenders and poked the ball home from close range. Akron pushed everyone forward in search of the final equalizer but it did not come.
Saturday
Carpathia FC 3-5 Erie Commodores
The visitors scored within the opening ninety seconds through an own goal. They doubled their lead through Jacob Hancock, volleying a shot from close in, only five minutes in. Carpathia made it 2-1 in the ninth minute off a Francesco Mazzei counter attack down the left wing. The Commodores stretched their lead again in the 17th minute, Hancock powering down the left before turning inside the right back and slotting the ball high into the net. It was 3-2 in the twentieth minute as Ryan Williams calmly finished a pass from the left wing. In the twenty-seventh minute, it was 4-2 as Joseph Gasper went on a solo counter down the right wing and finished it himself. Mazzei made it 4-3 in the fifty-sixth minute but Kaito Ueki made it 5-3 in the sixty-second minute.
Dakota Fusion 5-4 Sioux Falls Thunder
Shoki Yoshida put Fusion ahead in the 15th minute, connecting on a long clearance up field before putting the ball under the onrushing goalkeeper. Thunder equalized only five minutes later through Marcus Horwood's bullet header from close range, off a right wing cross. Sioux Falls went ahead in the forty-first minute when Fusion only partially cleared an attempted shot inside the penalty area, the deflection was rifled home by Horwood. The Midwest region's leading goalscorer Yu Tsukanome levelled matters only three minutes later on a counter attack.
Yoshida scored his second goal in the forty-ninth minute to put Fusion ahead, blasting in from the left side of the penalty area. Callum Bryan provided the South Dakotans' third goal of the game, hammering the ball home after an initial save. Tsukanome missed an easy chance in the eightieth minute to re-establish the Fusion lead, as a shot was parried right into his path but he put the shot high. Two minutes later, however, Fusion did take the lead as a neat 1-2 led Edward Burgos to the heart of the box. Thunder went right back up field and equalized through Eric Beltran. Fusion then returned the favor, Mate Lengel getting the fifth goal.
Milwaukee Torrent 2-0 Iowa Raptors
A goal in each half was enough for Torrent to claim all three points. Paco Piscaglia scored the opener for Torrent in the fourth minute, tipping home a Max Ludwig worm-burner of a free kick. Lucas Nesthus made it two in the sixty-third minute, converting off a Khedive Miguel Konde Gwo pass with the defense hopelessly out of position.
Joy Athletic Club 1-3 Duluth FC
Duluth went ahead through Colin O'Mahony in the fifth minute but Joy equalized from the penalty spot via Zinedine Kroeten in the thirty-fifth minute. Liam Pritchard re-established the BlueGreen lead in the thirty-ninth minute.
Tyler Limmer scored the third Duluth goal, in the seventy-second minute. Five minutes later, the home team were reduced to ten men as David Riera was sent off for a second bookable offense, the first having been unsportsmanlike behavior.
Med City FC 1-1 Minnesota TwinStars
TwinStars went into the lead in the fifty-fourth minute through Eric Rosas-Rosas, with close control in the box after a cross from the left. Henry Tolbert was the finisher after a swift counter attack down the left for Med City's equalizer in the eighty-fifth minute.
Sunday
Ehtar Belleville 0-0 Club Atletico St Louis
The second Gateway Derby went scoreless, despite plenty of action. Club Atletico had the best chance, with a free kick on the edge of the area tipped wide by Jose Ogaz.
The opening salvo in this game was struck with four minutes on the clock, when an Akron City snap shot forced an acrobatic tipping of the ball over the crossbar. From this small opening, the visitors forced a sustained few minutes of attacking one way, culminating in a goal by Daniel Baumgartner from a direct ball into the box in the ninth minute. Baumgartner got his second of the match in the twelfth minute, heading a cross from the right back across goal. He had a chance for his hat trick in the fifteenth minute but his shot went just over the crossbar. Just before the nineteenth minute, another direct ball up the center of the Columbus defense led to Jaden Wright slotting the ball home through the keeper's legs for 3-0. In the twenty-fifth minute, Columbus were awarded a penalty kick, although the offense was unclear. Damani Camara scored their first goal in six games.
Baumgartner again had a chance for his third in the seventieth minute but Raymel Bowden in the Columbus net stuck out a hand and denied his point blank header. Columbus's best chance in the second came from Ridwan Abdi, but Cameron Victor in the Akron net shut it down.
Steel City FC 3-2 Cleveland SC
Chris Cvecko put the visitors on top early, a close range opportunity after the ball was turned around the back of the Steel City defense by Cleveland. Tate Mohney equalized off a driven Anthony DiFalco cross from the right with the last kick of the first half.
Five minutes into the second half, Justin Kopay wound his way across the top of the penalty area before sliding the ball to DiFalco who uncorked a curler past the goalkeeper to put Steel City ahead. They were only ahead for six minutes after a handball by a Cleveland player was adjudged to have happened just outside the penalty area. Marcus Pereira made the distinction academic as he drove a free kick off the underside of the wall and in at the far post. The final twist came only five minutes later, a cross-field pass by Mohney led to a shot by Copay and the rebound was finished by Ryan Landry. A flurry of late attacks from Cleveland foundered on the rocks of a sturdy Steel City defense.
Wednesday
Dakota Fusion v Aris
Yu Tsukanome opened the scoring for the home team in the fourth minute of play, connecting on a long ball down the right to blast the ball past Aris's Jacob Havlik from the edge of the area. That goal gives the Japanese player 11 goals from 9 games. A ball from the right was met by Herman Fernandez Ortega at the near post to equalize in the twenty-third minute. Rashaad Ogun made it 2-1 only two minutes later as a goalmouth scramble resulted in a header for Fusion to go back ahead.
Cai Pritchard doubled the lead for Fusion in the fifty-second minute, slotting home a Brandon Gasper pass from the edge of the area - moments after he had joined the game as a substitute. Tsukanome hammered a free kick from twenty yards out but Havlik was equal to it.
Sioux Falls Thunder 6-1 Joy Athletic Club
Sioux Falls took the lead in the twentieth minute after a promising attack was cut short by a foul in the penalty area. The PK was converted by Marcus Horwood , hard to the keeper's right. In the thirty-fifth minute, Joy equalized when a long ball upfield was misjudged by the Sioux Falls center backs and Denilson Ramos ran past them, to make it 1-1.
Thunder went back ahead in the fifty-first minute, a recycled ball from a partially cleared corner was slotted home from within the six yard box by Jack Crombie. A long ball down the middle in the fifty-ninth minute saw Crombie round the right back and slot the ball calmly home for his second. In the seventy-first minute, a bullet header by Trace Dobson from a raking ball from the right wing made it 4-1. Crombie set on a dribbling run across the left wing before sliding home the fifth goal, and his hat trick, in the seventy-eighth minute. A pass from the left, flicked into the area was finished off by Eric Beltran in the eighty-seventh minute.
Schedule note: Duluth FC's match with Med City FC was postponed due to bad air quality in Rochester, MN. The postponement could make life interesting for Med City and Dakota Fusion, who both have to face the Duluth buzzsaw before they can secure their playoff seed.
Playoff Projection - as of 6/30. (# = National points-per-game ranking)
North
#1 Duluth FC v #60 Minnesota TwinStars
#21 Dakota Fusion v #28 Med City FC
Great Lakes
#11 Michigan Rangers v #33 Cleveland SC
Winner plays #5 Steel City FC
Heartland
#19 Tulsa Athletic v #55 Demize NPSL
#25 OKC 1889 v #41 Kansas City Sol
Gateway
#10 Des Moines United v #35 FC Milwaukee Torrent
Coming Up
Tonight
Cleveland SC v Erie Commodores - 7pm ET
FC Columbus v Carpathia FC - 7:15pm ET
Saturday
Ehtar Belleville v Milwaukee Torrent - 6pm CT
Steel City v Michigan Rangers - 6pm ET
Sunflower State FC v Iowa Raptors - 6pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Joy - 7pm CT
Sunday
Akron City FC v Carpathia FC - 6pm ET
Club Atletico St Louis v Milwaukee Torrent - 6pm CT
Erie Commodores v FC Columbus - 7pm ET
Med City FC v Duluth FC - 7pm
Wednesday
Med City FC v Sioux Falls Thunder - 7pm CT
Minnesota TwinStars v Aris - 7pm CT
Sunflower State FC v Des Moines United - 7pm CT
Friday 7/7
Carpathia FC v FC Columbus - 7pm ET
Cleveland SC v Steel City FC - 7pm ET
Erie Commodores v Michigan Rangers - 7pm ET
Saturday
Sunflower State FC v Milwaukee Torrent - 6pm CT
Duluth FC v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
Minnesota TwinStars v Joy Athletic - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls Thunder v Aris - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 6
This Week
Wednesday
Rochester United 0-9 Minnesota Thunder
The North's leaders got off to a storming start, with Paige Kalal converting an Olimpico from the left after only ninety seconds. Thunder continued to press but United had a chance to equalize in the eleventh minute, Samara Nunn seizing on a lax back pass towards the keeper but she was unable to control the shot and it blazed high. Kaitlyn MacBean made it 2-0 in the nineteenth minute with a delicate ball across the goal and off the inside of the far post following neat buildup down the left. The hosts had their own moments of composed possession and passing, without really threatening the goal. Kendall Stadden belted Thunder into a three goal lead in the forty-third minute, from the middle of the box on the left side across into the top right hand corner of the Rochester net.
MacBean made the score 4-0 early in the second half and then Paige Peltier headed the ball home from a corner in the fifty-eighth minute to make it 5-0. She repeated the trick only a minute later. Taylor Heimerl volleyed the seventh goal in the sixty-second minute, off a searching cross from the right to the top of the box. Stadden picked up her second of the game in the eighty-fifth minute, turning into a shot from the top of the box. Stadden then completed her hat trick with the last kick of the game, a firmly placed shot, also from the top of the penalty area.
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher 0-2 KC Courage
A free kick from deep in midfield was allowed to bounce and skip its way past the KCSG keeper for Aya Saiki to make it 1-0 in the 35th minute. Courage made it 2-0 through Gail Logan, tapping home from close range in the 42nd minute after a long, raking ball down the right wing resulted in a scramble for possession.
Friday
Dayton Dutch Lions 0-3 FC Pride
For a Dayton Dutch Lions side who only have one point all season, the game couldn't really have begun much worse. In the seventeenth minute, a Pride attacker was dragged back, inches from the penalty area. Paige Miller finished off the free kick, round the wall and into the bottom left corner and the defender, Suzy Hayes was given a red card for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. In the twenty-fifth minute, the lead was doubled after a cross from right on the endline was tapped home by Miller.
The game entered a lengthy injury break midway through the second half, which saw extensive treatment on the pitch-side running track and the eventual departure of an injured Dutch Lion, Tenley Mcnutt, in an ambulance.
Eleven versus ten is a tough assignment under the best circumstances, but a 37+ minute delay and the departure of an injured player always tends to make such restarts somber and tense affairs. The clock kept running, which will make any references to time in the remainder of this piece look very odd.
Pride scored their third goal in the ninety-fifth minute, Dana Fish with the smart finish from close in. The clock read 122 minutes when the referee blew for full time. My thanks to Brian at Gem City Sports Network for his assistance keeping track of this most unusual of games.
Mankato United 1-5 Rochester United
The Highway 14 Cup comprehensively went the way of the visitors. Sienna Latta opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute, the last player to make contact after Rochester United's fifth corner pinballed around the box. Mankato called for a handball on Latta's control, but it was denied. RU dominated possession but were unable to widen the score margin until first half stoppage time. Briana Johnson clipped a right wing pass home at the near post. Another right wing pass only a minute later was finished by Franciele Cupertino for 3-0 almost immediately before half-time.
Abby Rieff claimed Mankato's only goal early in the second half, off an Olivia Thoen pass. Latta got a gift in the fifty-second minute as the ball deflected right into her path on the goal line. She tapped home for 4-1. MUSC pushed their opposition more in the second half, but it was Rochester United who found the finishing touch - in the eighty sixth minute through Samara Nunn.
MapleBrook Fury 1-1 Joy Athletic Club
Paige Goaley broke the deadlock for the home team in the thirty-third minute, volleying home from the top of the box. Joy found their equalizer in the eighty-third minute from Aliviah McClinton.
Sioux Falls City 2-1 Dakota Fusion
A 2-1 hammering, with the home side dominating possession and Quinn Carter in the Fusion goal arguably the player of the match. Juni Ejere opened the scoring for City in the seventh minute, taking on a defender successfully on the left before placing the ball past the diving Carter into the bottom right corner. Ejere turned provider in the seventeenth minute, setting up a tap in from Rylee Haldeman, who beat a sliding defender to the goal. Blayke Hurley halved the deficit in the forty-second minute, a snap shot going through the hands of Hailee Fischer.
Ejere hammered a ball in the sixty-fifth minute but Carter tipped it on to the crossbar, in the best chance City had in the second half. Chloe Allen also hit the outside post in the eighty-sixth minute and Barbie Castellanos had a late shout for a PK turned down.
Saturday
AFC Columbia 0-6 Kansas City Scott Gallagher
With 31 goals conceded in their first six matches, Columbia made a surprisingly robust start to this match. However, KCSG broke through in the forty-third minute - Monica Brauner dribbling through the defense in the penalty area before slotting the ball home from midway in the box.
The visitors doubled their lead in the fiftieth minute, Adriana Benassi powering one home from the edge of the penalty area. The third goal, in the sixty-third minute, was a spinning shot from the top of the box which snuck inside of the left hand post through traffic by Kate Gibson . In the seventy-fifth minute, it was 4-0 as Gibson drove one past the diving keeper from the outer edge of the box. It was 5-0 in the eighty-sixth minute after Hailey Palmer finished off a neat exchange of passes into the penalty area. The final goal came in the 90th minute , Palmer finishing smartly from a pass into the area.
Sunflower State FC 1-3 St Louis Scott Gallagher
Mackenzie DiMarco opened the scoring for Sunflower, slotting home after a break down the left in the eighth minute. SLSG equalized from a left wing corner in the sixteenth minute, tapped home at close range by Leah Selm . The go-ahead goal for the visitors was struck with fury from just outside the area by Izzy Patterson in the 60th minute. Seven minutes later it was 3-1 after the Sunflower goalkeeper misjudged a long ball and Hannah Larson tapped into the empty net.
Midwest Muskrats 2-2 Iowa Raptors
A turnover in midfield and a through pass down the left wing set up Kelly Schaffer to chip the ball into the roof of the Raptors net for a 1-0 Muskrat lead. The equalizer came in the fourteenth minute after a ball was blasted into the hands of a Muskrat defender from close range for a PK to be harshly awarded. The equalizer was converted from the spot by Jessica Reinhardt. Raptors took the lead in the twenty-first minute in almost the same fashion as the Schaffer goal, Eliza Evans the scorer. Olivia Shaw spun the equalizer in the twenty-sixth minute over the goalkeeper from 30 yards out.
Quad Cities Rush 3-0 Chicago KICS
Emily Bollman broke the deadlock for the struggling QC Rush and it was 1-0 heading into the half time break. The match entered a lightning delay in the eighty-seventh minute. Bollman finished the game with two goals and the other goal was scored by Colleen Rumpza. Once again, Allison Mirimanian racked up the saves in goal for Rush. We believe this is Rush's first win in the WPSL (in their second season), and it puts a spanner in KICS' season, where they are fighting with Milwaukee Torrent on 12 points for the one playoff berth from the Lake Michigan division of the Midwest Conference.
Sunday
Dakota Fusion 0-11 Minnesota Thunder
I was gonna say "it brings me no joy" to report another hammering of Fusion, but that's not true. The truth is, there were no howlers by Fusion in this game, only spotless football by Thunder.
The scoring began in the third minute, after relentless pressure from kick off resulted in a shot in at the near post by Kaitlyn MacBean. Two minutes later, a pass centrally was finished by Paige Peltier from close range. Fusion had a good chance in the fifteenth minute but the counter attack shot did not go in. At the other end, Quinn Carter once again stopped a few shots, but the vast offensive pressure of possession remained with Thunder. In the nineteenth minute, Peltier grabbed her second on a tap in after MacBean broke away and set her up. MacBean had another good chance to add to the score, but the ball across the six yard box was not finished. Carter stopped a MacBean chance at point blank in the twenty-sixth. Taylor Heimerl (the 2022-23 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Soccer Player of the Year) made it 4-0 in the twenty-eighth minute, a curler from the right back spot into the goal. Only four minutes later, a Kalal corner from the right was scored by MacBean to make it five.
In the fourty-eighth minute, MacBean scored number six (and her hat trick) from a PK after a hard challenge on the edge of the area. Peltier secured her hat trick with a finish from the top of the area after a defensive clearance dropped to her, in the fiftieth minute. In the fifty-seventh minute, Morgan Bachelor connected with a Kalal cross and put it into her own net (although the match report credits MacBean with her fourth, so we'll go with that). In the eightieth minute, MacBean spun on the top of the area and made it 9-0. After a Fusion attack, MacBean led a counter and slotted home her sixth in the eighty-fourth minute. Finally, in the eighty-seventh minute, MacBean headed home a Kalal corner from the right for her seventh.
A final note on Kaitlyn MacBean: Having begun her Summer scoring for MN Aurora in USL W League, she now has the most goals in the entire 131 team WPSL, with 13 goals overall and 6 assists. In my years of watching games at this level, I cannot recall another player scoring goals in different amateur leagues in the same season.
Mankato United 0-4 Salvo
Salvo dominated possession in the torrential rain of Mankato but only scored once in the first half, Khyah Harper cleaning up a rebound in the middle of the box with seven minutes on the clock.
Harper hit the ball firmly from around the penalty spot early in the second half, down off the underside of the crossbar to make it two. Ansley Atkinson drove the ball into the box and powered it home in the sixty-first minute for a 3-0 scoreline. Ava Stanchina had a chance for United on the break but the snap shot went wide. Atkinson took a deep free kick and curled it into the goal for the fourth goal in the eighty-third minute.
MapleBrook Fury 0-1 Sioux Falls City
Sioux Falls take all three from a challenging road trip, McKenna Lehman with a blazing strike from the top of the area into the top right hand corner of the goal in the thirty-third minute.
Lainey Huber led a counter attack for Dayton and took the goal herself, after only six minutes. Dara Russo made it 2-0 with a strike from the edge of the area in the fifteenth minute, FCD having intercepted the ball from Abby Townsend in midfield. Townsend cut in from the right wing and answered back immediately. Abby Townsend came steaming down the right wing in the twenty-fifth minute and crossed the ball teasingly onto the foot of Amy King. Kylee Simmons went right back up the other end and made it 3-2 with a blazing shot from the left hand edge of the penalty area. Gaby Hollar hit the post for the Eagles.
Hollar equalized from a sizzling cross into the six yard box by Townsend early in the second half. Nicki Cox almost immediately put Columbus on top. Townsend made it 5-3, pounding the ball in at the near post from a Cox pass through the defense. Huber got the fourth for FCD but they could not escape their first loss of the season.
Milwaukee Torrent 6-0 Iowa Raptors
Alexa Maletis finished a Maddy Celarek cross into the six yard box to make it 1-0 to the Torrent in the seventh minute. Elsi Twombly scored the second goal in the nineteenth minute, off a Lainey Higgins pass down the middle. Twombly scored again, two minutes later with a towering header from a right wing corner. Raptors had a shout for a PK but the referee instead gave a free kick right on the right edge of the area and it went over the goal. Sofia Miranda made it 4-0 in the thirty-fifth minute, blasting home from close range.
Lauren Hernandez scored the fifth goal, in the fifty-fifth minute, via a substantial deflection from a defender. Alexa Maletis scored off a rebound with virtually the last kick of the match.
Tuesday
Joy Athletic Club 1-6 Mankato United
Only fifty-five seconds into the match, Ella Huettl made it 1-0 to the visitors as she connected on a pass from the left wing. Dare Kroeten had a chance for Joy in the thirteenth minute, but the cross-shot failed to be either. Another left wing cross in the twenty-first minute was deflected via an attempted interception in the six yard box for Huettl to pick up her second goal of the match. It was 3-0 in the thirty-second minute as center-back Libby Spangler connected with a ball played back to her, more than forty yards from goal, chipping the goalkeeper and settling in the top left corner of the net. In first half stoppage time, it was Madeline Hobbs's turn to join the scoring, volleying the ball home after a quick throw-in sprung an attack down the right wing and the pass was drawn into the middle of the box.
An Ella Bryant shot was parried up and away by Mackenzie Rath in the United goal in the fifty-third minute, but the corner came to nothing. Ten minutes later, a counter attack set up Annelise Winch for the fifth goal. Jessica Bartz was called for a PK in the seventy-third minute on a mis-timed slide tackle, and Aubrey Bahl converted it to make the score 6-0. Joy would have their own shout for a PK but a handball was unsuccessfully argued for. Mankato had a final flourish denied them in second half stoppage time as a header was flagged offside. Going the other way, Samantha Mcgurgan blasted the ball off the underside of the crossbar and Kroeten was able to tap the ball in.
Coming Up
Tonight
Minnesota Thunder v MapleBrook Fury - 7pm CT
Rochester United v St Croix Legacy - 7pm CT
Manitou FC v Salvo - 7pm CT
St Louis Scott Gallagher v Sunflower State FC - 7pm CT
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v AFC Columbia - 7:30pm CT
Friday
St Croix Legacy v Dakota Fusion - 4pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Manitou FC - 6pm CT
Midwest Muskrats v Milwaukee Torrent - 7pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Chicago KICS - 7pm CT
Salvo v Rochester United - 7pm CT
Saturday
Columbus Eagles v FC Spirit - 12pm ET
Sunflower State FC v Lou Fusz - 2pm CT
KC Courage v Kansas City Scott Gallagher - 2pm CT
Dayton Dutch Lions v FC Dayton - 3pm ET
Sunday
Milwaukee Torrent v Chicago KICS - 3pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Iowa Raptors - 7pm CT
And now for something completely different...
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NPSL Round Up: Week 6
This Week
Friday
Thomas Beck opened the scoring in the Grampa's Cheese Barn Derby in the seventh minute, dribbling in from the left before slotting home. Chris Cvecko made it two in the thirteenth, powering home from close range after a pass along the ground from the left. Emilio Spetic scored the third, driving a shot in from the top of the penalty area.
Des Moines United 1-0 Iowa Raptors
United took the lead in the forty-fifth minute, Jayce Berger converting from close range after a 1-2 with Eloge Iradukunda. The ball was scuffed and dribbled slowly across the line. Rayane El Mehdi made a key save in the last ten minutes to preserve the lead. The victory secured United a playoff spot from the Gateway Conference.
Saturday
Ehtar Belleville 3-2 Sunflower State FC
Sunflower opened the scoring from the spot, Cooper Forcellini with a PK. Ehtar equalized in the twentieth minute, Brandon Nyagurungo blasting home from the touchline. Nyagurungo then took Ehtar into the lead, intercepting a pass back to the goalkeeper before rounding the keeper from the left and slotting into an open net. Nyagurungo hit the crossbar in the thirtieth minute, but no goal. Tim Smith equalized for Sunflower from a second PK of the game in the thirty-eighth minute.
Arthur Ferreira secured the winning goal for Ehtar with the last kick of the match, steaming in when a Tristan Austin penalty kick was saved.
Akron City 0-1 Michigan Rangers
A thirteenth minute goal by Tomas Echevarria was enough to separate these two sides in a match with seventeen shots but only that one on target. Echevarria drove inside off the right and placed the ball past the despairing dive of the ACFC keeper from the middle of the penalty area.
The visitors broke open the game in the fifth minute as Nathan Prex struck from outside the box but Carpathia had the majority of possession between then and half time.
In the fifty-first minute, Steel City made it 2-0 as a ball was laid across for Michael Sullivan to smash it in first time from twenty-five yards out. Another long distance pile-driver, this time from Tate Mohney , gave Steel City a three goal cushion in the sixtieth minute. The sole tally for the home side came in the ninetieth minute when a long ball between the gridiron hashes was met by the foot of Reece Still, who chipped the keeper.
Duluth FC 6-1 Minnesota TwinStars
The home side started early, fluid play from left to right and then a cross from the right was finished by Felipe Santos in the seventh minute. Tom Pritchard made it 2-0 in the tenth minute, on the run on the edge of the area. Tom Akinola scored the third goal from a corner in the sixteenth minute. Conor Behan increased the BlueGreen lead in the seventeenth minute, a neat finish on the half volley coming into the area. Famade Bamba was upended in the box in first half stoppage time and the PK was dispatched by Sadra Golzarian.
Rory Doyle headed home from close range off a Stefan Roeb cross from the right to make it 5-1 in the fifty-fifth minute. Tyler Limmer then followed up only a minute later, stepping on to a Santos pass. Unaccountably, there were no goals in the last thirty minutes.
Milwaukee Torrent 7-0 Club Atletico St Louis
Following a lop-sided opening twenty-five minutes, albeit with no goals, a clumsy challenge on Will Davis resulted in a PK for Torrent, slotted away by Jules Peycelon. Tyler Howard headed home from a left wing corner to make it 2-0 in the thirty-third minute. Davis himself got a goal, finishing off an overhit cross from the left at the far post, in the thirty-eighth minute. Just before half time, Lucas Nesthus lashed a ball home from the left edge of the area.
Nesthus's second of the game made it 5-0 in the fifty-eighth minute, off a lightning counter, finished when he lifted the ball over the advancing keeper. Sam Abreu chested down the ball and volleyed it home from the top of the box in the eighty-ninth minute. Paco Piscaglia made it 7-0 with the last kick of the game.
Aris 1-0 Joy
An Abdul Samet Ankaoglu goal in the nineteenth minute was the difference as Aris claimed all three points for only the second time this season.
The home side were much the more patient and possession-oriented team during a scoreless first half but Fusion arguably had the best chance to score when Med City keeper Iker Gonzalez ran out of his goal and lost possession. The onrushing Fusion attackers could not score into an open net from distance.
Henry Tolbert broke the deadlock in the sixty-third minute after the Mayhem had spun the Fusion defense into knots. Both goalkeepers made big stops to keep the score tight.
Sunday
The second Cheese Barn Derby in a week went the way of Cleveland courtesy of a nineteen minute scoring outburst at the start of the match. Thomas Beck opened the scoring in the opening ten minutes, off a rebound from a shot. Beck then doubled the lead with a PK. A deflected shot in the eighteenth minute made it 3-0. Carter Hancock blasted home number four only three minutes later.
Wednesday
Aris 1-7 Med City FC
Matt Roberts opened the scoring for the visitors in the nineteenth minute, on the volley after a series of bounces and attempts from close range. In the thirty-third minute, their second goal left no such doubts, Toby Millward curling a free kick around the wall and into the top right hand corner from twenty yards out. A PK in the fortieth minute for a hard foul was dispatched by Tristan Jumeau. Roberts got his second as a high press caused a turnover twenty five yards from goal and the Mayhem outsprinted the defense. The home side spoiled the clean sheet with a neatly played ball right down between the gridiron hashes, finished by Jacob Battista. Aris finished the half with only ten men, after Luis Vergara received a red card awarded for violent conduct.
Martin Rasmussen made it 5-1 at the hour mark, controlling a bouncing ball before volleying it in from the edge of the penalty area. Another rifled shot from the top of the box, this time by Lucas Hart, made it 6-1 only seven minutes later. The seventh goal came via a flicked header by Gio Soares off a cross from the right in the eighty-first minute.
Minnesota TwinStars 1-2 Dakota Fusion
The visitors took the lead from a forty-second minute goal by Yu Tsukanome, but TwinStars equalized in the eighty-seventh minute through Anthony Mator's calmly slotted shot past the keeper and in off the post. Fusion stole the lead back in second half stoppage time, on the counter attack as Shoki Yoshida finished off a teasing cross from the right into the six yard box.
Sioux Falls Thunder 0-1 Duluth FC
The runaway leaders of the North took the lead in the twenty-seventh minute as Dylan Viebrantz-Zavatini headed home a corner and the BlueGreens cruised to a victory against the winless Thunder.
Thursday
Iowa Raptors 3-1 Milwaukee Torrent
A stroll for Raptors. Saiheed Jah opened the scoring in the thirty-first minute and Jonah Dancer doubled the lead just before half-time.
Kolby Godbolt made it 3-0 for Raptors in the sixty-second minute before Khedive Miguel Konde Gwo spoiled the clean sheet in the eighty eighth minute.
Michigan Rangers 4-2 Carpathia FC
It took Carpathia precisely 55 seconds from kickoff to score, Mohamed Hammoud with the finishing touch after a one two in the box released him into the right back berth. Rangers nearly equalized through Chris Mendez in the eleventh minute, but his header was deflected out and the corner came to nothing. The Carpathia keeper, Marko Matovski also made a point blank save off Tomas Echevarria in the twentieth minute. Elliott Bentley chipped the ball in from an acute angle on the left two minutes after that but that goal was disallowed. Francesco Mazzei headed the visitors into a two-goal lead in the thirty-second minute from a left wing corner against the run of play and making Carpathia 2-for-2 in converting shots on target into goals. Unfortunately for the team from Detroit, that would be the best it got. TJ Ifaturoti halved the deficit in the thirty-eighth minute, with Rangers' fourth shot on goal - from a Echevarria pass down the gut of the Carpathia defense. Another defense splitting pass, this time by Mendez, finished off by Echevarria for the equalizer in the forty-third minute.
Matovski pulled off a full length dive to the top corner of his net to deny Rangers a go-ahead goal in the fifty-third minute. Ifaturoti put the home side ahead just before the hour mark, reeling in a bouncing ball while dribbling across the penalty box in the fifty-ninth minute, slotting the ball home from the left back position. Only a minute later, it was 4-2 when a pass back towards the goalkeeper (shout out When Playing It Out Of The Back Goes Wrong) was intercepted by Dara O'Riordan.
Coming Up
Tonight
Sunflower State FC v Ehtar Belleville - 6pm CT
Cleveland SC v Akron City FC - 7pm ET
Saturday
Carpathia FC v Erie Commodores - 7pm ET
Dakota Fusion v Sioux Falls Thunder - 7pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Iowa Raptors - 7pm CT
Joy Athletic Club v Duluth FC - 7pm CT
Med City FC v Minnesota TwinStars - 7pm CT
Sunday
Ehtar Belleville v Club Atletico St Louis - 4pm CT
FC Columbus v Akron City FC - 5pm CT
Steel City FC v Cleveland SC - 5pm ET
Wednesday
Dakota Fusion v Aris - 7pm CT
Med City FC v Duluth FC - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls Thunder v Joy Athletic Club - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 5
This Week
Wednesday
Joy 1-8 Minnesota Thunder
On a day when most others canceled due to Canadian wildfire smoke, the visitors got off the bus from Plymouth wearing their hitting shoes and Paige Peltier made it 1-0 within the opening two minutes. Peltier then doubled the lead in the tenth minute, curling the ball beyond the Joy keeper from close range off a Kaitlyn MacBean pass. MacBean added a goal herself in the 21st, tapping home on the rebound after a save. It was 4-0 in the thirty-seventh minute as a firmly hit shot cannoned off the left hand post but the rebound fell to Taylor Heimerl. It was 5-0 as Kendall Stadden sniped one home in the forty-third minute. A left wing corner was headed home by Sofia Cabellero in first half stoppage time to make it 6.
Joy made it 6-1 in the fiftieth minute, Dara Kroeten with a blast from twenty yards out. Just before the hour mark, Peltier took another close range shot from a recycled corner and netted her hat trick. A header by Stadden from a corner made it 8-1 in the eighty-third minute.
KC Scott Gallagher 4-1 Sunflower State
Sunflower State took a third minute lead on the road after a left wing cross was met by Renee Brock, but unfortunately for them, that would be the high point of the match. KCSG equalized in the eleventh minute through Jordyn Wilson, taking on the entire Sunflower defense before slotting home from midway through the penalty area. A bullet header from the top of the box by Calynn Harbert from a right wing corner put KCSG ahead in the twenty-second minute. Kate Gibson got onto the end of a very long free kick punted from midfield to make it 3-1 just before the half.
The only goal of the second half came in the fifty-fourth minute, when KCSG broke from a defensive corner and out sprinted the Sunflower defense for Wilson to pick up her second of the match.
St Louis Scott Gallagher 4-1 Lou Fusz
The St. Louis derby went the way of Scott Gallagher again. SLSG's first goal of the day was scored after eleven minutes through Jessica Larsen. The lead was doubled when Brionna Halverson lofted the ball into the top left hand corner of the net on the dribble. Katie Hauck made it 3-0. Lou Fusz got on the scoreboard in the fortieth minute after an attacker took advantage of an interception in midfield to turn and face her defender before placing the ball with precision and power into the side netting on the far post. The last goal came in the fifty-fifth minute as Ashley Martinez blasted home from the top of the box after a scramble where the visitors just could not clear the ball.
Thursday
Mankato United 1-3 St Croix Legacy
On the pristine pitch at Bethany Lutheran, Kato and St Croix went in search of their second win. Legacy opened the scoring on the counter attack, Anna Wagner smashing a ball into the top left hand corner of the goal while running full speed to her right along the top of the United box. Both sides had possession but it was St Croix who were the most threatening. The lead was doubled on another clinical attack in the forty-first minute, Laney Murdzek passed down the gut of the Mankato defense and Lauren Heinsch finished from close in.
Late in the second half, Mankato broke through with Ava Stanchina curling a ball from the right back berth across the goalkeeper into the far post. Laney Murdzek made it 3-1 in the ninetieth minute, as a free kick from 20 yards out went through the hands of the Mankato keeper.
Friday
Minnesota Thunder 3-1 Sioux Falls City
A much closer match than the eventual scoreline suggests, Minnesota Thunder nonetheless continue their red-hot start to the season. After a back and forth opening twenty minutes, it was the home side who made the breakthrough. Kaitlyn MacBean rose to head home from 6 yards out after a scramble in the box. City got their sole tally of the match on a blistering free kick from Lety Bonifacio from right on the edge of the penalty arc in the thirty-third minute. City also hit the crossbar before the two sides retired for half time.
The second half began with City still threatening, with a ball fizzing across the goal in the fiftieth minute. After another period of even possession, Thunder put their foot on the accelerator and accumulated a bunch of corners. In the fifty-eighth minute, the home side went back ahead - Megan Nemec scoring from a long, acute angle. Thunder continued to colonize the corner flag and Maddie Poor made it 3-1 with a volley from the edge of the area after a corner was headed out. See more of this match with our photo gallery
Midwest Muskrats 4-0 Quad Cities Rush
Muskrats eventually won, but it took a deflection and a save before Kailyn Smith knocked the ball home from close range to put the hosts ahead. Smith bundled home a second as a corner went all the way to the back post in the fiftieth minute. Kelly Schaffer made it 3-0, five minutes later, intercepting an attempted pass along the backline. In the seventy-ninth minute, Olivia Hernandez picked up the fourth goal - sliding the ball past the keeper and a covering defender.
Iowa Raptors 2-6 Milwaukee Torrent
Torrent fell behind 2-0 to the hosts before scoring six unanswered, with braces for Lainey Higgins, Elsie Twombly and Sydnee Sagal.
Dayton Dutch Lions 3-3 FC Spirit
A snap shot from just outside the area in the eighth minute by Addie Erslan put DDL ahead. Patient build up led to the equalizer, Katelyn Cavanaugh slid home under the advancing keeper. The Lions re-established their lead in the twentieth minute as Carley Groh slotted home in the break.
Spirit once more tied the game on a free kick absolutely obliterated from just ten yards out by Ella Hamner. With two minutes of stoppage time elapsed, a speculative effort by FC Spirit's Claudia Melgar somehow fooled the DDL keeper and saw the goalie flap at the ball as it went past. The Lions had one final effort to equalize and did so on the break, Erslan claiming her second of the day.
Saturday
Chicago KICS 8-0 Quad Cities Rush
After a relatively open first quarter of an hour, it increasingly became a battle of KICS offense versus the sweeper keeping of Allison Mirimanian. Josie Bieda broke through in the eighteenth minute, on the counter after an interception in midfield. They doubled their lead only four minutes later, Bieda connecting on a lightning counter after a defensive goal kick. A long diagonal ball to the right hand top of the box was received by Caroline Lyman , who beat the onrushing goalie to the ball and lifted it over for 3-0 in the 31st minute. Rush conceded five corners to none and had zero shots on target in the first half.
KICS took their lead even further in the forty-eighth minute, Karli Ferguson tapping home from close in. Ferguson scored her second in the fifty-fifth minute, winding her way through three defenders before beating Mirimanian to the far post. A deflected shot by Ella Skelton made it 6-0 in the fifty-eighth. Alexis Parker adder her name to the scoresheet with a close range finish from a right wing run, only two minutes later. Parker got her second in the sixty-fourth minute, to make it 8-0.
Dakota Fusion 1-14 Salvo
The visitors got off to a flier in Moorhead, Khyah Harper eviscerating a ball into the top right hand corner of Quinn Carter's net in the second minute, after a run down the right. K. Harper doubled the lead in the ninth minute in very similar fashion. Katelyn Beulke made it 3-0 just two minutes later, with a bullet header off a right wing cross. A long shot cannoned off the crossbar and off Carter before it was dispatched by Beulke. Meredith Haakenson then followed up a minute later with Salvo's fifth goal, on a close range finish. Mason Kimbal smuggled the goal in for Fusion from a corner in the twenty-eighth minute. Madison Ishaug made it 6-1 with a close range finish from a left wing pass in the thirty-fifth minute. Loretta Wacek scored number 7 in a similar fashion in the thirty-seventh minute. Harper grabbed her hat trick in the thirty-eighth minute, also from in close. Sophia Boman finished for the ninth goal IN THE FIRST HALF.
Another close range finish in the fifty-fifth minute was Wacek's second of the game. Two minutes later, Boman unleashed a shot from twenty yards out for her second of the game. Ella Conger scored number twelve, off the underside of the crossbar in the sixty-third minute. Conger then scored with yet another close finish, in the eighty-fifth minute and she completed her hat trick in similar fashion just a minute later.
Pride opened the scoring in the sixteenth minute, with Paige Miller finishing from close in after a run and a defensive miscue. A long shot in the twenty-first minute by Dana Fish wrong-footed the Eagles keeper for 2-0. Caroline Kelley cleaned up after a free kick from eighteen yards out was saved in first half stoppage time. Fish chipped the keeper for 4-0. A close range finish in the ninetieth minute by Celeste Sloma spoiled the Pride clean sheet.
AFC Columbia 0-3 Sunflower State
Sunflower took all three against the struggling CoMO. The goals came from Sofia Hughes, Jessica Baker and Jaylie Hicklin.
FC Dayton 7-0 FC Spirit
No contest in the Gem City, as Madelyn Mozeleski, Lainey Huber, and Jenna Hallbeck claimed goals and Megan Smith and Dara Russo claimed braces. Hallbeck and Huber also claimed assists, along with Maddie Thiss, Heidi Orloff and two from Ava Hall.
Lou Fusz Athletic 1-3 KC Scott Gallagher
Lou Fusz went ahead on the break after only five minutes as Maggie Illig scored but KCSG equalized in the twenty-eighth, through Keegan Good , connecting with a long ball upfield. The visitors then went ahead in first half stoppage time, Good pinging the ball off the inside of the post from the edge of the area.
KCSG extended their lead just before the hour mark when Good lofted a ball past the diving keeper into the roof of the net from the top of the box for her hat trick.
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher 4-2 AFC Columbia
Early start, early finish as this 11am kick off was called at the 70 minute mark due to lightning.
Hannah Larson opened the scoring for Scott Gallagher in the tenth minute. Jessica Larson then made it 2-0 from inside the area. AFC Columbia halved the deficit before SLSG scored a third to go into the half. Both sides scored in the first portion of the second half but the players left the field and did not return.
St Croix Legacy 1-0 Manitou FC
St Croix took all three points with a seventy-fifth minute winner, Marisa Bonilla with the sliding finish from her seat after a long ball in from the right wing to the six yard box by Avery Murdzek.
Lou Fusz Athletic 1-5 KC Courage
Courage opened the scoring in the thirteenth min, Addison Steiner blasting a ball home from twenty yards out. The visitors doubled their lead with a 25 yard screamer in the thirty-second from Aya Saiki. Lou Fusz halved the deficit in the forty-fourth minute, Emily Gaebe slotting home on the run from the right wing.
Courage scored again in the 53rd through Rahael Akaety and again in the 57th, lifting the ball into the side netting on the far post while running away from goal on the right. It was 5-1 in the 75th minute, Abigail Small with another bomb from deep in midfield.
Columbus Eagles 8-0 Dayton Dutch Lions
Twenty minutes of goalless football and pressure by the Eagles were ended by Nikki Cox, who chipped the ball in from an acute angle. It was a 1-0 hammering but Gabrielle Hollar hammered a shot from just outside the box off the post, and the rebound fell to Abby Townsend to make it a two goal lead. A soft clearance in second half stoppage time by the Dayton goalkeeper fell to Avery Schone, who blasted the ball back the way it came.
Victoria Kevdzija delivered a right wing corner all the way onto the head of Alivia Milesky on the goal-line to make it 4-0. Another in-swinging corner from Kevdzija was headed home five minutes later, this time by Townsend for her second. Goal number six in the sixty-seventh minute was an Olimpico by Kevdzija from the right wing. Sydney Worthy scored the seventh goal from a defense splitting pass from Tori Haggit. Townsend secured her hat trick in the ninetieth minute, belting the ball past the keeper at her near post from the top of the area.
Sioux Falls City 3-0 Rochester United
City went for a stroll in the Sioux Falls sunshine. After ten minutes of incessant pressure, it was an interception in midfield which sprung Juni Ejere to make it 1-0, Mckenna Lehman with the through-ball. Barbie Castellanos made it two in the twentieth minute, from a Rylee Haldeman cross tipped by the Rochester keeper. City's third goal came in the thirty-third minute as Kaylie Rock slotted in at the near post from a Kendra Park pass.
Chicago KICS 2-1 Milwaukee Torrent
After an end-to-end match, KICS took control of this Lake Michigan derby in the fifty-eighth minute, McKenna Shaw connecting with a right wing cross from Josie Bieda, chesting it down and slotting it home. The margin was doubled eight minutes later when Megan Hutchison volleyed home a left wing corner from Ebba Costow. Torrent scored in second half stoppage time, Elsi Twombly blasting a goal from the top of the box. The result marks the first lost points of a previously 3-0-0 Torrent squad and the first goals that the Wisconsinites had conceded. It also puts KICS on top of the division, albeit having played a game more.
Mankato United 0-1 MapleBrook Fury
Paige Goaley scored the only goal off a Morgan Barnette assist, with the ball squirming free from the grasp of the Mankato goalkeeper into the net.
Tuesday
Joy 1-0 Dakota Fusion
Although it was an end to end opening twenty-five minutes prior to the game's first hydration break, Fusion tested the gloves of the Joy keeper more. After the break, the Goats had more substantial pressure on the visitors' goal but the first half finished scoreless.
The deadlock was broken in the fifty-fifth minute as a shot was palmed directly into the path of Sophie Pawlyshyn, who supplied the easy finish. Both sides had chances before the game's second hydration break in the seventieth minute, but it remained 1-0. Despite a furious few minutes of last ditch attacking from Fusion, the visitors lacked a cutting edge and failed to score.
Coming Up
Tonight
Rochester United v Minnesota Thunder - 7pm CT
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v KC Courage - 7pm CT
Friday
Mankato United v Rochester United - 7pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Joy Athletic Club - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
Saturday
Sunflower State FC v St Louis Scott Gallagher - 4:30pm CT
Midwest Muskrats v Iowa Raptors - 5pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Chicago KICS - 5pm CT
Sunday
Milwaukee Torrent v Iowa Raptors - 3pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Minnesota Thunder - 3pm CT
Mankato United v Salvo - 5pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Columbus Eagles v FC Dayton - 8pm ET
Tuesday
Joy Athletic Club v Mankato United - 7pm CT
NPSL Round Up: Week 5
This Week
Friday
Des Moines United 2-1 Ehtar Belleville
Ehtar took the lead with a deflected chip over the Des Moines United goalkeeper in the thirty-sixth minute from 20 yards out for the only goal of the first half.
Lesego Maloma levelled the game in the fifty-fifth minute, picking up the loose ball on the edge of the area and shooting - with the ball deflected away from the Ehtar keeper. The home side went ahead in the ninetieth minute, a long free kick pumped into the box, flicked past the keeper by Kais Sabic.
Steel City 2-1 Erie Commodores
The home side took the lead early in a back and forth first half, after a period of head tennis at half way led to a ball down the left. The shot was parried, but the rebound snaffled by Nicholas Graeca. Erie equalized just before half time when the high press caused a turnover in the right back position and the player who stole the ball was unceremoniously taken down by the defender he'd dispossessed. The PK was dispatched by Thomas Binkowski
Steel City stole a winner on the break in the eighty-ninth minute. A ball down the left was passed along the penalty area to the right wing for Anthony DiFalco to beat the Erie keeper back into the left hand corner.
Cleveland travelled 40 miles south on I-77 for a goal-less draw. Cleveland hit the side-netting in the ninth minute and Akron hit the crossbar in the ninth minute. The home side out shot their visitors 13-8 but there were no shots registered on target and only a few saves by either keeper. Cleveland had more corners. Both sides did attack in search of a winner, rather than settling for a draw.
Iowa Raptors 2-3 Club Atletico St Louis
Kyeron Daws opened the scoring for Club Atletico in the sixth minute. Jonah Dancer equalized in the twenty-ninth for the Raptors. Zach Renz re-established the Bluebirds' lead just after half time and they added to their lead through Nick Faddis in the seventy-seventh minute. Keaton Woods grabbed a late consolation for the Raptors.
Michigan Rangers 10-0 FC Columbus
The most astounding thing about this game is that it was scoreless for the first twenty minutes. Chris Mendez opened the scoring in the twenty sixth minute, latching on to a long ball down between the gridiron hashes. Mendez doubled the lead only a minute later, somersaulting in to connect with a long diagonal from the left wing. It was 3-0 in the thirty-third minute as TJ Ifaturoti blasted home from the edge of the area. Mendez sealed his hat trick in the thirty-fifth minute, flicking home a cross from the right at the near post. Two minutes later it was 5-0, Giuseppe Barone applying the finishing touch to a move which included a right wing cross prefaced by a beautiful turn around the Columbus left back.
The second half goalscoring started in the fifty-third minute when a Barone flick fractionally beat a defender and the goalkeeper to make it 6-0. In the sixty-sixth, George Pitsillides dribbled in from the right and Alexis Mendez finished the seventh goal. Daire O'Riordan made it eight from the spot in the seventy-seventh minute, sending the keeper the wrong way. Liam Smith made it 9-0 five minutes later with the second PK of the match. O'Riordan completed the rout in the eighty-sixth minute.
Saturday
Des Moines United 1-0 Club Atletico St Louis
The first half was goal-less. The decider came from Jayce Berger, driving the ball across the keeper from the right wing to the left side netting in the seventy-seventh minute.
Iowa Raptors 6-3 Ehtar Belleville
Raptors got out to a fast start with goals from Keaton Woods in the fifteenth and Ombeni Mubake in the twenty fifth minutes. They also got off to a similar start to the second half, with goals from Woods and Kolby Godbolt in the forty-ninth and fiftieth minutes. Then Ehtar rallied, Arthur Ferreira scoring in the seventy-fourth minute. Unfortunately for the visitors, Raptors' Jonah Dancer immediately made it 5-1. Brandon Nyagurungo then made it 5-2 in the seventy-seventh minute. Ferreira narrowed the gap further to 5-3 in the eighty-first minute but the final nail was delivered by Lucas Duball a minute later.
Duluth FC 5-0 Aris La Crosse
Duluth took a fourth minute lead, breaking with pace directly from a defensive corner, Tyler Limmer provided the finish. The home side finally made the game safe after endless BlueGreen pressure, when Conor Behan finished off a ball flicked carefully in from the left in the sixty-fifth minute. In the seventy-first minute, it was 3-0 after Felipe Santos tapped home from a right-sided pass, only two minutes after entering for Behan. In the seventy-eighth minute, Felipe Arteaga was clothes-lined by an Aris player in the box and Andreas Solares finished off a PK. In the eighty-sixth minute, Santos claimed his second of the game with a tap in after high press by Rory Doyle. In the eighty-eighth minute, Aris went down to nine men after two players received a second yellow card in one sequence.
Med City 4-0 Joy Athletic
A cross from the right wing to the left in the 11th minute was played back to the top of the area by Lucas Hart and dispatched with fury by Scott Neil. They doubled their lead in the sixty-first minute, Henry Tolbert driving inside from the right and blasting a shot from the top of the area. Five minutes later it was 3-0, Toby Milward with a neat finish coming in from the left. Noah Jervik made a long, curving pass into the path of Tolbert who beat the keeper to make it 4-0 in the seventieth minute.
Minnesota TwinStars 3-3 Sioux Falls Thunder
The TwinStars took the lead in the nineteenth minute from the penalty spot after an agricultural challenge in the right back position. Anthony Mator converted the PK. They doubled the lead as Diego Yang belted a magical ball up and then under the crossbar from the edge of the area. Sioux Falls scored in the thirty-fourth minute, Marcus Horwood finished from close range - utterly unmarked from a right wing pass. A swift turnover in the midfield became the third TwinStars goal, Sadra Golzarian with the finish in the fifty-fourth minute. Thunder narrowed the gap with a counter attack from deep in their half to a tap in from Ryushiro Morita in the six yard box. Then, in the seventh minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half, Horwood unleashed a furious shot from twenty-five yards out into the goal to level the game.
Sunday
Erie Commodores 1-0 Cleveland SC
In a hard fought match, the decisive blow was struck by Jacob Hancock, tapping in at the far post after a driven cross from the right in only the third minute of play.
After dominating the opening ten minutes in Columbus, Steel City took the lead with Brice Ghandi hammering a shot from the penalty spot on the drive into the roof of the net. Gandhi again scored in the thirty-fifth minute to make it 2-0, finishing off a driven cross from the left. Eben McIntyre scored the third goal, on the rebound after a shot was initially blocked by the keeper.
Soon after the restart, Nathan Prex made it 4-0, sweeping the ball home from the middle of the penalty area. In the 70th minute, the ball passed through three sets of Columbus feet from the left wing to the right hand edge of the penalty area and Amadou Dia finished off the move with the first time shot home.
Wednesday
Akron City 5-0 Erie Commodores
Ryan Kingsford headed home for Akron from a right wing corner by Josef Paulus with only two minutes on the clock. Paulus then received a straight red card in the twenty-fourth minute for violent conduct(?). Colin Biros served a left wing free kick in for the second goal by William Jackson in the fifty-fifth minute against the run of play to make it 2-0. The ten men made the game safe in the sixty-third minute when a PK was dispatched by Kingsford. Dyson Clapier made it 4-0 in the seventy-fifth, on the rebound after a save from a Gyuwon Chong shot. Adam Lubell made it 5-0 in second half stoppage time, blast home from the left back berth.
Joy Athletic 2-5 Dakota Fusion
Joy went ahead in the seventeenth minute as a ball in midfield was intercepted and Zinedine Kroeten slotted it calmly past the onrushing Fusion keeper, Jamie Colvill. Bennett Kouame doubled the lead in the twenty-first minute, capitalizing on another interception in midfield. The visitors pulled one back in the thirty-fifth minute after Noah Eklund was nutmegged and the ball was squared across the penalty area for Mate Lengyel to score. Yu Tsukanome equalized for Fusion in the forty-third minute, turning the left back inside out before sliding it home to tie the game.
Shoki Yoshida took the visitors into the lead with a free kick from twenty five yards out, on the left with an hour on the clock. Yoshida then finished a minute later from open play, sliding home from close range after a one-two into the area. Yoshida made it 5-2 in the seventy-fifth minute, short-circuiting an offside trap before slotting home.
LC Aris 3-4 Minnesota TwinStars
TwinStars made the trip to Wisconsin and (just) got the win. The visitors took the lead in the fourteenth minute through Sadra Golzarian but their lead only lasted two minutes, Abdul Samet Ankaoglu with the equalizer. Golzarian then made it 2-1 in the twenty-second minute. Isaac Petersen made it 2-2 in the thirty-eighth but it was a short-lived tie as Golzarian completed his hat trick just three minutes later.
Ankaoglu made it 3-3 in the fifty-fifth minute but TwinStars would have the last say, Sidike Jabateh making it 4-3 after yet another short space of time.
Sioux Falls Thunder 1-1 Med City
The Thunder took the lead in the nineteenth minute, as Jack Crombie went on a mazy run and blasted the ball past the Med City keeper from the edge of the area. Unfortunately, the lack of confidence showed in a Sioux Falls side who have no wins in the season so far and the visitors equalized in the seventy-seventh minute when a long run down the endline was crossed back to the top of the box with Scott Neil powering home.
Thursday
Carpathia FC 0-1 Michigan Rangers
After holding out for twenty minutes against an aggressively offensive-minded Rangers team, Carpathia finally gave up the go ahead goal when Chris Mendez converted the rebound from his own PK. The home side gradually climbed back into the game but were unable to break through before halftime.
A Carpathian free kick from twenty-five yards out was the best chance of the second half but it whistled safely into the arms of the Rangers keeper. They also hit the crossbar, with the rebound seeing an attacker offside. At the end of a fiercely contested second half, Rangers kept their clean sheet intact.
Coming Up
Tonight
Cleveland SC v FC Columbus - 7pm ET
Des Moines United v Iowa Raptors - 7pm CT
Saturday
Ehtar Belleville v Sunflower State FC - 4pm CT
Akron City v Michigan Rangers - 7pm ET
Carpathia FC v Steel City - 7pm ET
Duluth FC v Minnesota TwinStars - 7pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Club Atletico St Louis - 7pm CT
Aris v Joy - 7pm CT
Med City FC v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
Sunday
FC Columbus v Cleveland SC - 5pm ET
Wednesday
Aris v Med City FC - 7pm CT
Minnesota TwinStars v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls Thunder v Duluth FC - 7pm CT
Thursday
Iowa Raptors v Milwaukee Torrent - 7pm CT
Michigan Rangers v Carpathia FC - 7pm ET
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 4
This Week
Wednesday
FC Spirit 3-1 Dayton Dutch Lions
Claudia Melgar opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute for Spirit. Ella Hamner doubled the score in the thirty-sixth minute. Carley Groh halved the deficit for DDL in the sixty-third minute but Hope Lensing connected to a long free kick in the seventy-eighth minute to settle it.
Minnesota Thunder 5-1 Mankato United
Thunder went ahead in the eighteenth minute, Paige Peltier scrambling home a ball which had pinballed around the box following a corner. Mankato equalized in the twenty-fifth minute when Lucy Weninger chipped the Thunder goalkeeper from forty yards out. A right wing Paige Kalal corner was headed in by Grace Estby to re-establish the Thunder lead in the 63rd minute, the lead was extended further only three minutes later when Kaitlyn MacBean dribbled inside from the left and placed it snugly inside the far post. Four minutes after that, Madeleine Poor slotted home from close range, following a drive down the left by Estby. Neat passing between the gridiron hashes was finished by Kendall Stadden.
Rochester United 0-3 Manitou FC
Manitou took the lead in the seventeenth minute when Allyson Hamski blasted the ball through the hands of the Rochester goalkeeper from the top of the box. A long ball up field was misjudged by the defense and as defender and goalkeeper recovered, Nicole Moore rolled the ball into an empty net. Another long ball in the ninetieth minute saw Denise Hamdan outpace the defense and make it 3-0.
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher 2-1 St Louis Scott Gallagher
Kansas City won the second Scott Gallagher derby, on the back of goals from Adriana Benassi and Caroline Carter. The visitors had a goal from Ashley Martinez.
Lou Fusz Athletic 6-0 AFC Columbia
Three goals in the first half and three in the second for the home side. No hat-tricks but three players scored twice (Lyndsey Heckel, Nina Preusser, Emily Gaebe).
Friday
Chicago KICS 1-0 Midwest Muskrats
KICS took the lead in the 27th minute, Josie Bieda with the calm finish from close in after a scramble in the six yard box. It turned out to be the decider.
Mankato United 0-2 Sioux Falls City
One way traffic for the visitors, seeking their first win after two draws to start the season. City broke through in the sixtieth minute through Barbie Castellanos, finishing after an initial shot was blocked on the line. Kaylie Rock doubled the lead five minutes later, scrambling home from inside the six yard box.
Rochester United 2-1 Dakota Fusion
After chances for both sides, it was the home side who broke through in the thirty-third minute, a firm pass between the gridiron hashes set Samara Nunn free to glide into the penalty area, she was able to finish it despite fierce pressure from a back tracking defender. The second goal came about when Sienna Latta took a pot shot from the edge of the box and it was spilled into her own net by the Fusion goalie. Fusion halved the deficit on the hour mark when Kadyn Sharpe cut inside and unleashed a ferocious shot from 20 yards out over the United keeper. In the end, however, the visitors were unable to make their late pressure count.
Milwaukee Torrent 6-0 Quad Cities Rush
Elsi Twombly opened the scoring from close range in the third minute and Rush goalie Allison Mirimanian kept the game close in the face of relatively constant Torrent pressure. Unfortunately for the visitors, they lacked an outlet to relieve some pressure and threaten a positive result. With twenty minutes on the clock, Alexa Melitis on the high press, forced the turnover and passed the ball across the area for the easy finish for Leyla Kelbel to make it 2-0. It was 3-0 in the twenty-third minute as Mirimanian dropped a corner and Lola Wojcik tapped it home. The fourth goal came after Lainey Higgins finished off the smooth pass between the gridiron hashes by Wojcik underneath Mirimanian.
In the sixty-seventh minute, Torrent scored their first of the second half as a left wing corner by Maletis deflected in off a Twombly header. The last goal of the game came in the seventy-ninth minute, when Higgins played a pass in towards Miranda Sofia and saw it bounce over the attacker and into the net.
A few times, Torrent employed eight-woman substitutions, taking advantage of the league's unlimited substitutions with re-entry allowed.
Minnesota Thunder 7-2 St Croix Legacy
It's not far from Stillwater to Plymouth, but it will be a long bus ride home. Thunder broke through in the fourteenth minute, Paige Kalal with a snapshot from the top of the box. The equalizer came off a period of sustained pressure from St. Croix culminated in a Claire Cater cross/shot being dropped by the Thunder keeper and tapped home by Olivia Knoepfle in the thirty-first minute. Parity would only last two minutes, however, as a cross from the right by Kalal was converted by Caroline Bailey on the half turn at the top of the penalty area.
A left wing corner from Kalal on fifty-three minutes was headed home on the back post by Paige Peltier for a 3-1 lead. A free kick from 45 yards out was blasted home by Avery Murdzek to make it 3-2 only two minutes later. Straight up the other end and another Kalal corner was headed home at the far post, this time by Kaitlyn MacBean for a 4-2 scoreline. The game then entered a twenty minute spell where neither team scored, before Thunder scored a late flurry to give the final scoreline an appearance which scarcely reflected the match overall. The fifth goal came as a Andrea Barth cross in the seventy-seventh minute hit the post and was then finished off by Sofia Caballero. It was 6-2 in the eighty-fifth minute, as Bailey got her second from close range, volleyed into the roof of the net. The final goal of the game came in the eighty-ninth minute, Kendall Stadden scoring off her own rebound after a good run down the right.
FC Dayton 5-0 Dayton Dutch Lions
A double from Dara Russo and single goals from Diana Benigno, Kylee Simmons and Lauren Bastian gave FCD a comfortable win against their cross-town rivals.
Saturday
FC Spirit 0-3 FC Pride
Madison Swingle, Addy Joiner and Paige Miller had the goals as Pride picked up the win on the road.
Courage opened their account in the sixth minute Riley Smith fed through by a neat exchange in midfield. Their lead was doubled in the thirty-first minute as Aya Saiki finished off a rebound on the right from an initial save of a hard-struck left sided shot. It was only three minutes before the third goal came, this time a leaping header by Saiki from a right wing corner. It was 4-0 in the fiftieth minute, Smith adding a second after the ball was passed across the area.
MapleBrook Fury 0-0 Manitou FC
There are 27 miles between the two sides, but on this occasion no goals and a point each were taken home.
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher 0-0 KC Courage
A goal less first half saw a relatively even match, with the best chances going the way of Courage - notably a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 33rd minute, which was comfortably saved. The closest to the deadlock being broken was in the 71st minute, as SLSG flicked home a searching cross from the left but it was ruled out. In the eighty-fifth minute, KCC missed a golden opportunity to steal a win when an incisive move down the middle saw a shot skew wide.
Quad Cities Rush 1-1 Midwest Muskrats
Abigail Glackin finished off Ellie Whiteman's assist for Rush's first point of the season. Stephanie Perretta scored for the Scrats.
FC Spirit 2-4 FC Dayton
Dayton opened the scoring in the twelfth minute as a shot from the right was parried into the path of Dara Russo, who nearly broke the crossbar with her finish. Four minutes later, Kennedy Neighbors equalized for Spirit from a break.
The deadlock lasted until the fifty-eighth minute when a long ball down the left wing was slotted home by Russo but surrendered again, Claudia Melgar converting a PK in the sixty-first minute for Spirit - smashed into the top right hand corner. Spirit hit the crossbar in the seventy-second minute with a rasping drive. Good goalkeeping by both sides kept it tied until the eighty-second minute, when Kylee Simmons took a speculative, long range shot along the ground and it hit the diving Spirit keeper and went in. Eight minutes later, the match was finally salted away as Heidi Orloff finished off a counter attack from midfield with a calm finish across the goalie. Russo completed her hat trick just before the end.
Dakota Fusion 0-1 Mankato United
Fusion remain rooted to the basement of the North and Mankato claim their first win of the season. The deciding goal from today's match came when Isabelle Ohlmann connected to a long ball lofted into the left back spot, with only seven minutes played.
Sioux Falls City 2-0 St Croix Legacy
City had the best of the opening few mins, and could have gone ahead when Rylee Haldeman's shot from the top of the box was acrobatically tipped around the top of the goal by Hadley Johnson in the Legacy net. The home side went ahead in the forty-third minute after a touchline cross from the left by Haldeman was whipped onto the waiting foot of Kaylie Rock. The second goal came in the sixty-sixth minute as Kendra Park chipped the St Croix keeper from the edge of the area and the ball bounced down off the underside of the crossbar.
A ding-dong battle at De La Salle. After a back and forth opening fifteen minutes, Raptors opened the scoring, Reegan Hess finishing off a close exchange of passes down the gut of the KICS defense. The home side equalized two minutes later, Karli Ferguson capitalizing on poor goalkeeping to squeeze the ball in at the near post from a right wing run. Raptors retook the lead in the twenty-fifth minute, a curling drive from Jessica Reinhardt just outside the penalty area past the KICS keeper, who was patrolling her six yard box. Only a minute later, Raptors notched what would be the decisive goal, taking advantage of an under hit goal kick to quickly play the ball around the KICS defense and make it 3-1. Hallie Peak had the finish. The home side made it close again in the fiftieth minute , Josie Bieda launching a shot from 25 yards out past the helpless Raptors keeper. Despite applying some pressure late on, KICS were unable to get an equalizer.
Becca Smith set up Meredith Haakenson in the sixteenth minute, for the close range finish. Sofia Boman went on a blistering run down the right side and ripped the ball into the far side netting to make it 2-0 only three minutes later. Khyah Harper tracked down a route 1 pass from Emily Heslin at the half way line and slotted home from an acute angle for 3-0 with fifty-one minutes on the clock. Harper blasted in her second from 20 yards out in the fifty-third minute to make it four. Harper then added an assist for number five, finished off at close range by Katelyn Beulke in the sixtieth minute. It was 6-0 in the seventy-first minute after a ball rolled slowly in after Sadie Harper challenged a defender and the ball clattered off the two and into the net.
Playoff Crystal Ball
With half the season in the books and the WPSL only entering single teams from each division (and one each from the North and the Heartland that only have one division) into the playoffs, the following teams are in position to earn a spot in the Central Division playoffs right now:
FC Milwaukee Torrent (Lake Michigan leaders) v FC Dayton (National Road leaders) for the Midwest Conference crown.
Colorado Rapids Women (Rockies leaders) v Utah Avalanche (Wasatch leaders) for the Mountain Conference., in a repeat of last year's mountain mash.
Heartland winners KC Courage and Northern winners Minnesota Thunder get byes as winners of conferences with no divisions.
Coming Up
Wednesday
Joy v Minnesota Thunder - 4pm CT
KC Scott Gallagher v Sunflower State - 7pm CT
St Louis Scott Gallagher v Lou Fusz - 7pm CT
Salvo v MapleBrook Fury - 8pm CT
Thursday
Mankato United v St Croix Legacy - 7pm CT
Friday
Minnesota Thunder v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Midwest Muskrats v Quad Cities Rush - 7pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Milwaukee Torrent - 7pm CT
Dayton Dutch Lions v FC Spirit - 8pm CT
Saturday
Chicago KICS v Quad Cities Rush - 12pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Salvo - 2pm CT
AFC Columbia v Sunflower State - 3pm CT
FC Pride v Columbus Eagles - 3pm CT
FC Dayton v FC Spirit - 3pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v KC Scott Gallagher - 5pm CT
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher v AFC Columbia - 11am CT
St Croix Legacy v Manitou FC - 2pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v KC Courage - 2pm CT
Columbus Eagles v Dayton Dutch Lions - 2pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Rochester United - 4pm CT
Chicago KICS v Milwaukee Torrent - 5pm CT
Mankato United v MapleBrook Fury - 5pm CT
Tuesday
Joy v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
NPSL Round Up: Week 4
This Week
Friday
Michigan Rangers 1-2 Erie Commodores
Rangers took the lead shortly after a hydration break in the thirty-first minute, as a run down the right was squared to the center and Adam Hanson half-volleyed a ball which had been saved. Commodores equalized after Roberto Lagoa unleashed a shot into the roof of the net from fully 18 yards out in the thirty-fifth minute. Erie secured a PK in first half stoppage time and Chanin Orlandin calmly sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 2-1. In an evenly contested second half, Rangers were nonetheless unable to prevent their visitors from picking up a first win of the season.
Akron City FC 0-6 Steel City FC
Steel City took the lead in the twelfth minute as a cross from the right was swept home by an unmarked Michael Sullivan in the center of the area. A solo run down between the hashes provided an opportunity for a second goal for Steel City, the finish dispatched with aplomb into the bottom right hand corner of the goal by Nicholas Graeca in first half stoppage time. A ball across from the right into the heart of the penalty area saw Tate Mohney make it 3-0 in the fifty-eighth minute. It was only four minutes after that that it was 4-0, Nathan Prex scoring in similar fashion after a close pass from the right. The score hit 5 in the sixty-seventh minute, as the ball squeezed through traffic along the end line and was finished off by Gabriel Norris at the near post. A sixth goal came in the eighty-seventh minute, Eben McIntyre sliding in to take the ball in from the right.
Ryan Williams tapped in to put Carpathia ahead in the thirty-sixth minute, following a goalmouth scramble from a corner - capitalizing on a period of pressure. However, the home side equalized in the forty-fourth minute after a long route one pass was slotted home by Julian Pellegrini. Logan Pinton hammered the go-ahead goal for Cleveland home in the seventieth minute, coming in from the right.
Des Moines United 1-1 Milwaukee Torrent
An in-swinging cross from the left into the penalty area was finished off by Lucas Nesthus in the twenty-seventh minute to put Torrent ahead. Torrent goalie Nick Schiappa parried a firmly hit shot by DMU and Torrent retained their lead. The visitors also skewed wide with another chance to equalize in the fortieth minute. The home side equalized in the seventy-ninth minute through a Erich Legut header, back where a long cross from the right wing had come.
Saturday
The opening ten minutes saw a flurry of Duluth corners, but Fusion held steady and had their own period of possession. Nonetheless, the visitors did break through in the fifteenth minute, via Stefan Roeb. They doubled their lead just two minutes later, a pass from the right credited to Roeb but seemingly deflected past the Fusion goalie Jamie Colvill. In the twenty-first minute, the BlueGreens made it three, continuing their domination of the right wing. A long ball over to the left was then passed back towards the center for Tyler Limmer to finish. Fusion had their first shot on goal in the twenty-seventh minute, but it was saved easily. The fourth goal of the match came about in first half stoppage time, Kostya Domaratskyy sweeping the ball home from the center of the box having been involved in a give and go down the left wing. Shoki Yoshida spoiled the clean sheet in the fifty-seventh minute, feeding off a Tsukanome one-two. Paul Bobai made it 5-1 in the sixty-eighth minute, following an attempt on goal by Domaratskyy.
Iowa Raptors 3-2 Sunflower State FC
Carson Wilcox put the visitors ahead in the sixth minute but Ombeni Mubake equalized in the twenty-fifth. Less than ten minutes later, Raptors' Enrique Horna was dismissed for violent conduct but Ronaldo Rojas made it 2-1 for the ten men in the 42nd minute but Tim Smith levelled scores in the 45th and it took an eighty-sixth minute winner from the Raptors' Connor Patton to separate the two sides on the scoresheet.
Joy Athletic Club 5-3 Minnesota TwinStars
TwinStars took the lead in the twenty-ninth minute through Miguel Arellano. Joy equalized in the thirty-sixth, with Zinedine Kroeten the scorer. TwinStars took back the lead in first half stoppage time, with a Famade Bamba strike.
In the fifty-second minute, Spencer Enright tied the game for the Goats. Kroeten grabbed his second of the game only six minutes later to put the home side on top. Despite a double save, Joy made it 4-2 in the sixty-fourth minute through David Riera's volley from twenty yards out. Anthony Mator made it 4-3 with a tally for TwinStars but the hosts had the last laugh, a PK in the seventieth minute sealing a hat trick for Kroeten.
La Crosse Aris FC 2-1 Sioux Falls Thunder
Lewis Albert put the South Dakotans ahead in the fifteenth minute but the home side equalized in the thirty-eighth minute through Stan Cargill and scored the Game Winning Goal just before half time, Anfernee Stokes the scorer.
Club Atletico Saint Louis 1-2 Ehtar Belleville
The visitors made the 30 mile road trip West for their first St Louis derby and went ahead in the nineteenth minute, when Adam Knight dinked a ball over the keeper from close range after Ehtar had successfully fought for possession in the right back spot. Anthony Brown equalized for Club Atletico from the penalty spot in the thirty-second minute. The visitors retook the lead in the fifty-seventh minute, as Wyatt Fowler finished a sweeping move which started on the edge of their own penalty area.
Sunday
Erie Commodores 1-0 Akron City FC
Commodores took all three points on the back of a Philipp Strube goal from a corner in the first minute of second half stoppage time.
Steel City FC 1-1 Carpathia FC
Michael Teller opened the scoring for the visitors in the eleventh minute but Steel City grabbed an equalizer in the seventieth minute from Tate Mohney.
FC Columbus 0-4 Michigan Rangers
Liam Smith opened the scoring for Rangers in the thirty-third minute, ending a rapid counter attack with a powerful strike across the goalkeeper and into the far side netting. Three minutes later it was 2-0, as Max Wilhelm finished off a swift breakaway. Smith claimed his second of the game after Cameron Power drove in from the left and saw his shot parried away. George Pitsillides made it 4-0 with a strong drive from the middle of the area back across the keeper.
Wednesday
Club Atletico Saint Louis 3-4 Sunflower State FC
The Bluebirds of CASL conceded an early penalty when an attack was rudely interrupted by a foul in the area. Tim Smith stepped up and dispatched the PK. Sunflower went up further only two minutes later after an attack down the left was centered and Jack Souder finished it off. Nick Faddis halved the deficit on thirty-two when his free kick from forty yards out on the left was allowed to bounce and skip its way untouched into the goal. In the sixty-first minute, the game was tied as Kyeron Daws capitalized on inattentive defending and hung around the back line as a goal kick was headed back towards him. Daws flicked the bouncing ball up over the Sunflower keeper. Two minutes later, the visitors had taken the lead again, Smith heading home a searching cross from the left. Blake Barrick then made the game safe in the sixty-ninth minute, somehow evading the dive of the Bluebirds keeper. CASL attempted to rally, on the back of an eightieth minute penalty but were unable to score the equalizer.
Milwaukee Torrent 0-2 Des Moines United
On an evening when the finishing product was missing for the home team, the first shot on target for Torrent was registered in the sixty-third minute, and it would be the seventy-first before the deadlock was broken. A long pass downfield was chested down by Jayce Berger and slotted home. Lesego Maloma scored in the second minute of second half stoppage time to salt away the win.
Thursday
La Crosse Aris FC 0-6 Dakota Fusion
A Yu Tsukanome hat trick (his second of the season) was punctuated by goals from Shoki Yoshida, Mate Lengyel and Ben Colborn to put the Fusion back in second place.
Coming Up
Tonight
Des Moines United v Ehtar Belleville - 6pm CT
Steel City v Erie Commodores - 6pm ET
Akron City v Cleveland SC - 7pm ET
Iowa Raptors v Club Atletico St Louis - 7pm CT
Michigan Rangers v FC Columbus - 7pm CT
Saturday
Des Moines United v Club Atletico St Louis - 2pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Ehtar Belleville - 6pm CT
Duluth FC v Aris La Crosse - 7pm CT
Med City v Joy Athletic - 7pm CT
Minnesota TwinStars v Sioux Falls Thunder - 7pm CT
Sunday
Erie Commodores v Cleveland SC - 4:30pm ET
FC Columbus v Steel City - 5pm ET
Wednesday
Akron City v Erie Commodores - 7pm ET
Joy Athletic v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
LC Aris v Minnesota TwinStars - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls Thunder v Med City - 7pm CT
Thursday
Carpathia FC v Michigan Rangers - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 3
This Week
Wednesday
KC Courage 1-1 Sunflower State FC
Having lost narrowly to their neighbors in their home match, Sunflower State went ahead with the last kick of the first half, when Lexie Ruf broke away from midfield and slotted calmly past the onrushing keeper. Courage had a good chance at the start of the second half, but the ball was saved for a corner - which subsequently came to nothing. In the 53rd minute, Sunflower had a free kick from 20 yards out but were unable to capitalize. With only eight minutes left, Courage got the equalizer, Jaycie Johnson chipping it over the goalkeeper after a defense splitting pass at the top of the area from Raheal Akaety.
Iowa Raptors 3-1 Quad Cities Rush
Alexis Vasquez, Jessica Reinhart and Camille Landphair scored for Raptors. Emily Bollman claimed the consolation for Rush.
Manitou FC 2-4 Minnesota Thunder
Thunder broke the deadlock emphatically in the forty-ninth minute as Paige Kalal drove in from the right and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, into the far side netting. The lead was doubled in the fifty-second minute as a ball was crossed in from close to the touchline on the right, headed in by Caroline Bailey. The exhibition of fire-power continued in the fifty-sixth minute, Paige Peltier blasting the ball past the Manitou keeper from 30 yards out. Thunder also rattled the crossbar in the sixty-second minute, although the ball stayed out. Manitou were the beneficiaries of a goalkeeping mistake in the seventy-second minute, as Thunder's goalie rushed out of her area but was beaten to the ball by Denise Hamdan who chipped the ball back past her into the unguarded net. It was 3-2 in the eighty-fifth minute as the Thunder goalkeeper again misjudged a ball into her area and Hamdan tapped it home. It was 4-2 in stoppage time at the end of the game, as Kalal side-footed home from the edge of the penalty area.
Thursday
FC Pride 3-0 FC Spirit
A lung-busting run down the left by Abby Lynch was squared to Paige Miller, who tapped home to put the home team ahead after only 9 minutes. A left wing corner in the fifty-third minute was played short to Samantha King who dribbled down the endline and blasted in at the near post. Addy Joiner picked up the third goal, on a Samantha King assist.
Friday
Manitou FC 2-0 Dakota Fusion FC
A ball recycled from a corner in the seventy-fifth minute was pumped back into the box and the high bouncing ball was missed by everyone but Denise Hamdan who walked the ball in. Manitou made the match safe with the last kick of play, tracking down and battling for a ball down the left, with the runner, Sarah Strating winning a challenge and finishing.
MapleBrook Fury 3-4 Rochester United FC
The visitors opened the scoring through Maysa Walters in the fourth minute, a daisy-cutting rasper from 30 yards out, past the Fury keeper. They then put together a passage of play where they looked untroubled but failed to increase their lead, and it was MapleBrook who equalized in the thirty-fifth minute after an interception in midfield and a straightforward pass to set Izzy Smith on goal, slotting home from an acute angle into the net. However, Rochester came right back with a defense splitting pass and goal of their own through Franciele Cupertino. The pendulum swung the way of the home side once more in the thirty-sixth minute as another direct pass through the heart of the United defense saw defenders frozen, appealing for offside, only to see Smith finish it off for her second goal and tie the game.
The second half started like the first, with Rochester United on the front foot and going ahead again in the forty-ninth minute as Samara Nunn received a dinked ball in from the left and shot past the Fury keeper. The visitors then went further ahead through Walters's second goal of the game in the seventy-first minute, a beautifully flighted free kick from 30 yards out on the right wing all the way through and over the goalkeeper into the left side netting. MapleBrook had a chance to halve the deficit in the seventy-sixth minute but a PK was scuffed into the waiting knees of a sliding Rochester goalie. When the third goal did come, in the eighty-third minute by Kaitlynn Delveaux off a corner, it was too late for Fury to rally any more.
Sioux Falls City 0-0 Joy Athletic Club
Since you are reading this, the chances are you are au fait with the complaints about there not being enough scoring in football (weirdly, even an accusation levelled by hockey fans). To indulge that would be to miss out on entertaining fayre like this match, which included multiple chances on goal and an ambitious overhead kick. It also thoroughly devalues defense and defenders, which after all make up ~ half of the team. Finally, it seems appropriate on a day when City posted this:
https://twitter.com/SiouxFallsCity/status/1664783963393519618?s=20
An inefficient but eventually successful night for Salvo, with two goals in as many minutes settling this local derby. The first goal, in the seventy-seventh minute saw Sophia Boman square a ball for Ansley Atkinson to tap home. The second goal came as Boman cut in from the left and volleyed the ball past the St. Croix goalkeeper.
Lou Fusz Athletic 2-2 St Louis Scott Gallagher
A misplayed header by a defender set the scene, but Hannah Larson settled the ball and switched it to her other foot before firing SLSG into the lead in the fourth minute. The home side equalized just after half time, with a long cross-field pass by Scott Gallagher intercepted by Emily Gaebe, who out-sprinted the defense and slotted home. SLSG retook the lead in the 57th minute, Aubrey Mister unleashing a ferocious shot which crashed down off the crossbar and went in. Logan Racine snatched a point for the home side in this St. Louis derby, finishing off a free kick when SLSG made several unsuccessful attempts to clear.
Saturday
Courage got into an early lead after Riley Smith bundled the ball home from close range, bouncing over the keeper. The home side went up two in the twelfth minute when Addison Steiner blasted a ball from 35 yards out. In the thirtieth minute, it was 3-0, as a ball was pumped into the area and Courtney Claassen beat the keeper to the bouncing ball. In the thirty-fifth minute, Kaira Houser slid the ball inside of a defender and smashed the ball into the top corner from 20 yards out to make it a four-goal first half margin. A neat interchange down the left was finished off by Claassen in the sixtieth minute for five. Another firmly hit shot from the edge of the area in the sixty-fifth minute by Miyako Hallier made it 6-0.
Iowa Raptors 1-3 Midwest Muskrats
Alexis Vasquez scored for the Raptors. Muskrats won with goals from Bridget Sherman, Olivia Hernandez and an own goal.
Lou Fusz Athletic 3-1 Sunflower State FC
Sunflower took the lead in the 24th minute, Mackenzie DiMarco outpacing the defense in trademark fashion. Lou Fusz equalized with a hard, lofted shot into the roof of the net only four minutes later from Emily Gaebe . The home side then took the lead with a solo run from Margaret Duggan ending with a hard shot into the far side netting. It was 3-1 after Gaebe scored her second of the match.
Dayton Dutch Lions 0-6 Columbus Eagles
Nikki Cox opened the scoring for the visitors in the opening two minutes, capitalizing on a cross from the left. It was 2-0 after Katie Cox converted a free kick in the seventh minute, lifting the ball from just behind the D of the penalty area into the top right hand corner of the Dutch Lions goal. The home side had their first shot on goal shortly after, but could not score. The third goal came from Victoria Kevdzija in the fifteenth minute, volleying into the top corner after a driven shot by Abby Townsend was stopped by the keeper. It was Townsend who then turned scorer in the twentieth minute as another shot on goal snuck under the Dayton keeper's dive. The fifth goal was a neatly flicked header from the penalty spot by Gabrielle Hollar from a short cross just after half time. The last goal of the match, blasted in from the right wing, 30 yards out, into the top left hand corner of the goal - with 60 minutes on the clock. When the match entered a weather delay, play did not resume.
Alaina Huber claimed a hat trick, and Alisa Arthur, Marlee Taylor and Jenna Hallbeck also scored as Dayton vault to the top of their division. Addy Joiner scored for Pride.
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher 2-0 Kansas City Scott Gallagher
An unsurprising victory for the senior club in the Scott Gallagher system. SLSG opened the scoring in the 30th minute, Izzy Patterson poking past a despairing KC keeper. It was 2-0 in first half stoppage time as Abby Miller redirected a cross from the right, past the keeper.
Quad Cities Rush 0-7 Milwaukee Torrent
Continuing their red-hot goalscoring form, Torrent notched a big road win. Layla Kelbel picked up a hat trick and Elsi Twombly a brace, as well as Alexa Maletis and Lauren Hernandez also scoring.
Dakota Fusion 0-6 MapleBrook Fury
The visitors broke the deadlock in the tenth minute, Paige Goaley sweeping home from a corner which pinballed around the six yard box. (Goaley plays her collegiate soccer just over the river at North Dakota State in Fargo) Fusion had a chance to equalize in the thirteenth minute, but the pass across the penalty area did not find a home boot. MapleBrook had a strong call for a penalty not given in the thirty-eighth minute after a player was seemingly taken down. Morgan Barnette scored on a flukey sequence with a bouncing ball just beating the Fusion keeper on it's way through the penalty area. A lightning delay caused an hour-long delay to the second half but MapleBrook came back on the pitch hungry for more goals and scored a third goal in auspicious circumstances in the forty-seventh minute, as a corner was punched into her own net by Quinn Carter. It was 4-0 in the sixty-seventh as a PK was awarded and dispatched by Alyssa Marceau. The fifth goal came via a long, direct free kick up field which was flicked on by Barnette and past Carter in the seventy-fifth minute. In the eighty third minute, Goaley hit the post from Fury's second PK of the day and then hit the post from a recycled shot, before Barnette finished it off for her hat trick*. It is a strange thing to say of a blowout loss, but Carter had multiple great saves and on another day could have kept the match closer.
* Morgan Barnette has been credited with a goal, where I have noted a Carter own goal, giving her an extraordinary four in one match.
A last minute winner for Allyson Hamski was the difference for the team from White Bear Lake.
It took until the second half, and an own goal at that, to break the deadlock between these sides - although Eagles more than deserved their lead. The lead was doubled on a neat interchange of close passes in the penalty area, finished by Avery Schone. Victoria Kevdzija scored number three on the day off a defense splitting pass. Gabrielle Hollar completed the scoring, drifting inside from the left before blasting the ball into the net.
Minnesota Thunder 1-1 Salvo SC
After a back and forth opening to the match, Salvo's Meredith Haakenson struck first in the 9th minute, slotting home from close range. The visitors had a good chance to go up two in the twenty-sixth minute but a lung-busting run down the right terminated at the feet of a defender. Thunder equalized in the seventy-fifth minute, a Paige Kalal corner headed in by Paige Peltier. Thunder put pressure on the Salvo goal, but ultimately these two contenders both claim a point.
Tuesday
Midwest Muskrats 1-3 Chicago KICS
From the Southside to the South Shore and a bit further south, the KICS took all three from their road trip to St John, IN with goals from Josie Bieda, Ebba Costow and Isabella Cook. The Scrats' solo goal came from Olivia Shaw.
Coming Up
Tonight
FC Spirit v Dayton Dutch Lions - 6pm CT
Minnesota Thunder v Mankato United - 7pm CT
Rochester United v Manitou FC - 7pm CT
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v St Louis Scott Gallagher - 4pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v AFC Columbia - 7:30pm CT
Friday
Chicago KICS v Midwest Muskrats - 6pm CT
Mankato United v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Rochester United v Dakota Fusion - 6pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Quad Cities Rush - 7pm CT
Minnesota Thunder v St Croix Legacy - 7pm CT
FC Dayton v Dayton Dutch Lions - 7pm CT
Saturday
FC Spirit v FC Pride - 2pm CT
AFC Columbia v KC Courage - 3pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Manitou FC - 8pm CT
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher v KC Courage - 2pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Midwest Muskrats - 3pm CT
FC Spirit v FC Dayton - 3pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Mankato United - 4pm CT
Sioux Falls City v St Croix Legacy - 4pm CT
Chicago KICS v Iowa Raptors - 5pm CT
Salvo v Joy - 7pm CT
NPSL Round Up: Week 3
This Week
Friday
Carpathia FC 3-0 Akron City FC
Mohamed Hammoud opened the scoring for the home side, finishing off a flowing team move with a shot from the top of the box in the seventh minute. Their lead was doubled in the 12th minute after Alexander Demorow headed home. Hammoud then put the match to bed in the 57th minute.
Cleveland SC 1-2 Michigan Rangers
Julian Pellegrini opened the scoring for the home side in the 7th minute but Rangers equalized through Daire O Riordan, chipping the ball off the near post and in with twenty-one minutes on the clock. Two minutes later, Chris Mendez of Michigan Rangers was dismissed for violent conduct.
Despite the man advantage, Cleveland were out-possessed by Rangers, who eventually broke through - with O'Riordan claiming his second goal of the game (and fourth of the season), slotting calmly home from the top of the box after a cross from the right wing.
Erie Commodores 1-3 Steel City FC
The home side broke the deadlock in stoppage time at the end of the first half, Connor Hartwell with a dipping free kick from just outside the penalty area into the bottom corner of the Steel City net. With substitute goalie Keaton Jennings making some key saves, the visitors equalized following a neat sequence of passing down the gut of the Commodore defense, finished off by Nathan Prex in the 75th minute. Steel City then took the well-deserved lead in the 86th minute, when a free kick on the far right wing was recycled from the left, flicked on with one player's head before Eben McIntyre headed into the net. McIntyre then made it a 3-1 game in second half stoppage time.
Saturday
Club Atletico St Louis 4-1 Iowa Raptors FC
CASL broke open the tie in the 7th minute, Xavier Brown scoring on the counter. They went up two in the thirtieth minute as Jake Karolczak drove inside and kissed the ball off the far post and in. The Raptors had a golden opportunity to score in the 40th minute, but a header from close in, was headed over. A left wing corner in the forty-second minute just went through to the Bluebirds keeper. The home side made it three as a counter down the left was volleyed ferociously in by August Harp in the 67th minute. Raptors got a goal from Jonah Dancer via the penalty spot after the Bluebirds keeper dwelled on the ball too long and had the ball stolen from him. The Bluebirds got another goal in the 76th minute after Harp juggled the ball in front of goal and eventually finished it off.
Ehtar Belleville 3-2 Des Moines United
The home team took the lead in a closely contested match in the twentieth minute, when Brandon Nyagurungo drove inside the box from the left wing and slotting home. Adam Knight made it two in the twenty-ninth minute, finishing from close range after a drive and curled pass from the left wing into his path. Ehtar then had a free kick close in on the left, but it was successfully cleared. DMU finished the half with their own spell of pressure, but two corners straight and a couple of counter attacks didn't climax in any goalmouth action. Ehtar extended their lead after the half, as a long, raking cross-field pass in the fifty-seventh minute released Triston Austin to slot past the onrushing goalie. The away side broke their shutout in the 66th minute with a tidy finish from ... off a left wing cross that was laid back into his path. DMU made it close, getting a close range second in the eighty-sixth minute after pressure down the right and ending the match tilting the field in their favor. However, Ehtar survived the pressure.
Duluth FC 6-0 Joy Athletic Club
The home side blitzed the goats in a five minute spell. Kostya Domaratskyy opened the scoring in the 25th minute, to open the scoring off a deep cross-field pass into the six yard box. Tom Akinola doubled the lead in the twenty-eighth, finishing off a bobbling ball. Akinola then added a third only a minute later. Stefan Roeb made it 4-0 in the thirty-fifth minute, tapping home after a goalmouth scramble from a corner. It was 5-0 in the 52nd minute, with Tyler Limmer putting the finishing touch on it. Limmer also scored in the 65th minute to make it 6-0, finishing off a neat pass through the offside trap.
Milwaukee Torrent 2-2 Sunflower State FC
Torrent opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Samuka Toure with a tidy finish through a crowded box after a corner. In the twentieth minute, a cross from the right went all the way through the area to Colin Innes on the left, who blasted it in at the near post to tie the game. A free kick from the right was driven in, with Sunflower taking the lead in the twenty-seventh minute, Blake Barrick heading the ball in. Torrent equalized, Khedive Miguel Konde Gwo saw his effort rebound off the crossbar and Paco Piscaglia bundled it home in the 68th minute. Sunflower State had a chance to regain the lead from the penalty spot in the 74th minute as Sam Novak knocked over an attacker, but the PK was saved by Nick Chiappa in the Torrent net. A late red card for two yellow cards did not impact the result.
Minnesota TwinStars 2-0 Med City FC
TwinStars made the home crowd happy with a battling win over Med City. Neat play saw a defense splitting ball finished by Miguel Arellano. The clinching goal came in odd circumstances, with a free kick being awarded in mysterious circumstances. Nonetheless, the linesman was emphatic in flagging and Sidike Jabateh was equally emphatic in scoring a thunderous shot from right on the penalty D.
Sioux Falls Thunder 0-1 Dakota Fusion
Fusion broke the deadlock in the thirtieth minute, patient buildup followed by a ball across the six yard box, tapped home by Yu Tsukanome for his fourth goal of the season. Thunder had a strong chance in the 67th minute, with a free kick leading to a goalmouth scramble but they failed to finish the chance. The second half fluctuated but Thunder were unable to break back.
Sunday
Club Atletico St Louis 0-1 Des Moines United
Sora Noda was the difference as the team from Iowa notched another win.
Ehtar Belleville 3-5 Iowa Raptors
After an even opening 19 minutes, it was Raptors who struck first - a PK by Ombeni Mubake after a rash tackle on a Raptors forward on the left edge of the area. The lead was doubled by Derek Huffman only five minutes later, on the counter attack following an equalizer for Ehtar being waved off for offside. The home side hit the post and then secured their own PK after handball. Triston Austin scored from the spot, just beating the dive of the Raptors keeper.
Huffman lifted a ball past the Ehtar goalie into the far corner from the top of the box just after play was resumed for the second half. John Edward Schwering brought the home team back to 3-2 in the fifty-fifth minute, sealing a finish after Brandon Nyagurungo made a searing run. Jordan Webb scored after a corner in the sixty-fifth minute to make it 4-2. A neat passage of play from one wing to the other in the 80th minute climaxed with David Cole sliding in to make it 4-3, but the home side were never able to fully rally back and they conceded again in the 89th minute. Ronaldo Rojas headed home the final goal of a back and forth game.
FC Columbus 1-0 Erie Commodores
Ayoub Ouhammou was the difference after his cross from the right drifted in, over the goalkeeper and into the far side of the goal in the fifty-sixth minute.
Michigan Rangers 1-2 Steel City FC
Charlie Lawrence put the visitors ahead in the 27th minute and their lead was doubled by Nicky Kolarac ten minutes later. Rangers rallied to make it a one goal game after Tomas Echevarria scored in the fifty-third minute but the home side were unable to avoid the loss. On the other hand, Steel City move to the top of the division.
Wednesday
Duluth FC 1-0 Med City FC
Duluth's patient buildup came up against Med City's high press. The strongest effort on goal of the opening half hour was a snap shot from Kostya Domaratskyy just past the near post. Colin O'Mahony then had a good chance in the forty-second minute but that also went wide. Med City had a PK awarded and then waved off in the fifty-third minute. Up the other end, Duluth had their own penalty call ignored. The BlueGreens took the lead after Tyler Limmer drove a ball into the box in the sixty-third minute, headed home by Liam Pritchard.
Joy Athletic Club 2-0 Sioux Falls Thunder
Spencer Enright finished off a Joy move which saw the ball patiently moved from side to side and forward, although it took an interception in the penalty area and a header off an initial save for Enright to notch the first goal in the 19th minute. The home side put the game to bed in the seventy-second minute as ... finished off a neat interchange of passes via a deflection which wrong footed the Thunder goalie. The visitors had a route back into the game in the 77th minute, but a PK was saved by the diving Joy keeper.
Coming Up
Friday
Michigan Rangers v Erie Commodores - 6pm ET
Akron City FC v Steel City FC - 7pm ET
Cleveland SC v Carpathia FC - 7pm ET
Des Moines United v Milwaukee Torrent - 7pm CT
Saturday
Club Atletico Saint Louis v Ehtar Belleville - 7pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Duluth FC - 7pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Sunflower State FC - 7pm CT
Joy Athletic Club v Minnesota TwinStars - 7pm CT
La Crosse Aris FC v Sioux Falls Thunder - 7pm CT
Sunday
Erie Commodores v Akron City FC - 2pm ET
Steel City FC v Carpathia FC - 3pm ET
FC Columbus v Michigan Rangers - 5pm ET
Wednesday
Club Atletico Saint Louis v Sunflower State FC - 7pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Des Moines United - 7pm CT
Thursday
La Crosse Aris FC v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 2
This Week
Thursday
AFC Columbia 2-3 St Louis Scott Gallagher
AFC CoMo's home opener saw the visitors go ahead in the thirty-seventh minute after a series of unfortunate events that Lemony Snicket would be proud of. There was a shot off the post, and a save by the Columbia goalkeeper before a final sliding shot deflected off her into the net by Sydney Etter. The equalizer came in the forty-third minute, directly from a booming goalkick, with Kailee Wisber outpacing the defense and blasting the ball in. SLSG re-established their lead in the sixtieth minute, when a searching left wing cross by Ashley Martinez was met by the head of Aubrey Mister. The visitors increased their lead only three minutes later when Hannah Larson dribbled inside the six yard box and slotted the ball firmly inside the far post. The final goal of the night came when Caroline Cole was left entirely unmarked in the center of the attacking box. Columbia had a golden opportunity to claim a point when a left wing free kick was headed just wide of the target in the ninetieth minute.
Friday
In a half characterized by near misses from Salvo on crosses into the City box, it was Kirsten Wetterstrom who applied the finishing touch on a Taylor Thomas cross, underneath Payton Cahill in the Salvo net in the 21st minute. That pattern solidified into the road side threatening almost exclusively on the break and Salvo peppering Hailee Fischer's goal, albeit mostly into the bread basket of the City keeper. The equalizer finally arrived in the 87th minute, as Khyah Harper headed in a perfectly placed cross from Katelyn Beulke. Salvo were awarded a PK in stoppage time at the end of the game, but Meredith Haakenson placed the ball wide of the post.
Milwaukee Torrent 6-0 Midwest Muskrats
The Torrent started early. How early?
https://twitter.com/MKETORRENT/status/1662254860975087617?s=20
Torrent dominated possession, but it took until the twenty-fourth minute for the home side to add to their lead, Mia Haertle driving into the box before laying off the ball for Layla Kelbel to show a neat close-control before smashing the ball into the net in the twenty-fourth minute. Maletis made it 3-0 in the twenty-eighth minute, off the inside of the far post, assisted by Ryann Locante. Muskrats struggled to get possession in their attacking third and had zero shots on goal in the first half.
Torrent kept their pressure on, making it 4-0 in the forty-sixth minute. Kelbel driving into the penalty area and setting up Lauren Hernandez. Lainey Higgins took a free kick from deep in the fifty-fifth minute and Sophia Balistreri flicked it home from the top of the box, bouncing home for 5-0 with 21 players stood around expecting the ball to go wide. Kelbel grabbed her second in the 60th minute for 6-0, beginning and finishing a move with a spinning reception before blasting home.
FC Pride 2-0 Dayton Dutch Lions
Pride scored their first goal with a blast from the top of the box via the boot of Samantha King. The second goal came in a similar fashion as Addy Joiner controlled the ball and slotted home.
St Croix Soccer Club 3-0 Joy Athletic Club
The opening goal of this game was an utter freak, a long free kick by Elayna Murdzek from the half way line was pumped forward and skipped and bounced its way into the net. The second goal, in the fourty-fourth minute, was also unusual - Avery Murdzek scoring an Olimpico. St Croix's third and final effort was more of a team effort, with a neat interchange in the center of the pitch followed by Elayna Murdzek dinking the ball over the Joy goalkeeper for her second goal.
Saturday
FC Spirit 0-2 Columbus Eagles
Eagles secured a road win through goals from Sidney Worthy and Katie Cox.
KC Courage 1-0 Lou Fusz Athletic
Courage stole all three points with a goal from Aya Saiki in the 90th minute, on the rebound after an initial shot was saved.
Sunday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher 3-1 Lou Fusz Athletic
KCSG opened the match fast, Reiss Wood side-footing the ball home in the 7th minute after a Greycen Erisman free kick from fully 30 yards out came rocketing back off the stanchion. Following a quick turnover in midfield, Ashlyn Nichols split the Scott Gallagher defense wide open in the thirteenth minute, for Logan Racine to equalize. After an equal few minutes, KCSG wrestled back the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half after a corner was recycled by Calynn Harbert to Emma Thurston.
Kennedi Hooks eventually added a gloss to the score line, finishing off a Lilian Hollis assist in the eighty-third minute.
A back and forth barn-burner in Centerville. Ashley Gologin opened the scoring for the visitors, with Alaina Huber equalizing. Lacee Bethea put the Eagles on top again, tapping in after a shot was smothered by the Dayton keeper. Bethea scored again but the home side rallied again, Dara Russo making it 3-2. Victoria Kevdzija then made it 4-2, but two goals in the last two minutes by Kylee Simmons rescued a point for Dayton.
Tuesday
Rochester United 0-3 Joy Athletic Club
So far this season, Joy has won 3-0 (twice) and lost 3-0. In the latest 3-0 win, both sides had good chances in the opening 19 minutes but it was a mazy run by Brooke Quam which broke the deadlock, the Joy midfielder driving in from the left wing before chipping the ball in at the far post. Quam also set in motion a chance for Joy to double their lead, driving in from the right hand side before the ball was handled for a PK in the fifty-seventh minute. Unfortunately for Joy, the penalty kick struck the cross bar. The second goal came in the sixty-ninth minute, as a hopeful high ball was misfielded by the United defense and Dare Kroeten finished off the chance past a floundering last second goal line clearance attempt. Joy made it 3-0 (again!) with a blast from outside the area from Allison Wehrman in the eighty-sixth minute.
Coming Up
Tonight
KC Courage v Sunflower State FC - 6pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Quad Cities Rush - 7pm CT
Manitou FC v Minnesota Thunder - 7pm CT
Thursday
FC Pride v FC Spirit - 6:30pm ET
Friday
Manitou FC v Dakota Fusion FC - 6pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Rochester United FC - 6:30pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Joy Athletic Club - 7pm CT
Salvo SC v St Croix SC - 7pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v St Louis Scott Gallagher - 7pm CT
Saturday
KC Courage v AFC Columbia - 2pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Midwest Muskrats - 3pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v Sunflower State FC - 3pm CT
Dayton Dutch Lions v Columbus Eagles - 4pm ET
FC Dayton v FC Pride - 7pm ET
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher v Kansas City Scott Gallagher - 2pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Milwaukee Torrent - 3pm CT
Dakota Fusion v MapleBrook Fury - 3pm CT
Manitou FC v Mankato United - 5pm CT
Columbus Eagles v FC Pride - 5pm CT
Minnesota Thunder v Salvo SC - 7pm CT
Tuesday
Midwest Muskrats v Chicago KICS - 7pm CT
NPSL Round Up: Week 2
This Week
Friday
Michigan Rangers 1-0 Akron City FC
Daire O'Riordan settled an even and open match, opening the NPSL account for Rangers in the 29th minute, after a successful high press and some neat interplay down the left wing culminated in an assist by Adam Hanson.
Steel City dominated possession and chances in the opening half, with Columbus relying on Damani Camara's counterattacking threat. Nonetheless, the breakthrough didn't come through until stoppage time before the half - through Tate Mohney. In what amounted to a 1-0 hammering, it took Steel City until the 81st minute to add a clinching second through Michael Sullivan's stooping header from a deep cross.
Saturday
Sunflower State FC 3-1 Club Atletico St Louis
The home team opened the scoring through Tim Smith after an incisive run down the left wing, leaving Smith with an opportunity inside the 6 yard box. The lead was doubled when a ball was pumped right up the spine of the CASL team and finished off by Bryce Dickerson. The match was over as a contest within 30 mins after an attack down the right wing was crossed to Caden McLagen for Sunflower's third. The visiting Bluebirds did manage to spoil the clean sheet in the 48th minute through Cole Hudson.
Milwaukee Torrent 2-0 Ehtar Belleville
After a goal-less first half, Samuka Toure's foray down the right wing was met on the volley in front of goal by Matabishi Kambali in the 70th minute. It took until stoppage time at the end of the match before Torrent were able to finally finish off their visitors, Paco Piscaglia passing across an open net for Will Davis to tap in.
Iowa Raptors 1-4 Des Moines United FC
Jayce Berger opened scoring for the visitors from the south in the 10th minute but the Raptors equalized in the 34th minute through Jordan Webb. Raptors lost the advantage on the scoreboard in the 60th minute through Guilherme Cunha and then swiftly lost the advantage in man-power with a denial of a goalscoring opportunity, seeing Stefan Mijatovic take an early shower. The match ended in chaos, with Kais Sabic (from a PK) and Lincoln Borges scoring in the 90th minute and Raptors Jonathan Williams and Keaton Woods both given straight red cards for abusive language.
Erie Commodores 0-3 Carpathia FC
Joseph Tinnion opened the scoring in the 29th minute, with the visitors doubling their lead through Alexander Demorow in the 52nd minute. The last goal came in the 90th minute, courtesy of Zain Akeel.
Dakota Fusion FC 4-1 Minnesota TwinStars FC
Daniel Helle touched home a left wing cross in the 19th minute to put the hosts ahead. TwinStars levelled matters from the penalty spot after a yellow card challenge in the 43rd minute. It took until the 73rd minute for the deadlock to be broken again, this time with Yu Tsukanome heading home a cross from the right wing. Tsukanome then increased the margin of victory 8 minutes later and he completed the hat trick in the 89th minute.
Duluth FC 3-1 Sioux Falls Thunder
Duluth went behind to a 4th minute strike from a free kick served from just outside the left hand side of the penalty area into the six yard box, by the center back Patrick Hanson. Stefan Roeb levelled the game in the 20th minute, running on to a long pass down the right wing to chip the Thunder goalie from outside the box. It took until the 65th minute for the home side to reassert their lead, with a cross by Kostya Domaratskyy finished off by Dylan Zavatini. Domaratskyy added a goal to his assist in the 75th minute, after a long pass down the middle was neatly finished, dribbling around two defenders in the box before finishing.
Med City FC 1-0 La Crosse Aris FC
In a scoreless first half, the clearest chance came when Aris had a penalty saved in the 20th minute, awarded for handball - with Med City GK Iker Gonzalez also stopping some other opportunities for the visitors. Entering the 50th minute, the match was suspended because one of the floodlight pylons was on fire. Play resumed after a 12 minute delay. Abdirasak Bulale hit the crossbar for Med City's best chance in the 75th minute of play. Scott Neil made the breakthrough for Med City in the 84th minute from a Lucas Hart assist and the home side made the narrow margin stand up.
Sunday
It only took 3 minutes for the home side to move ahead, with Colin Biros breaking through. Five minutes later, they doubled their lead after Josef Paulus scored direct from a corner. Columbus also gained a man advantage in the 52nd minute, as Malick Sow was dismissed. The resultant penalty kick was dispatched firmly by Sammy George.
Michigan Rangers 2-1 Cleveland SC
Chris Mendez had a good chance in the 10th minute, but Cleveland's Ryan Poling made a spectacular save and the rebound was put into the outside side netting. Poling snuffed out all the chances that Rangers produced during a lop-sided first half, but it entered half time goal-less. The visitors took the lead after a PK was awarded following contact at a corner, and dispatched by Jannis Schmidt. In the 68th minute, a Rangers shot was blasted at a Cleveland defender's hand and Chris Mendez stepped up to calmly put the PK in the opposite direction as Poling. Dara O'Riordan swept home a TJ Ifaturoti cross in the 73rd minute to complete the comeback.
Wednesday
Joy Athletic Club 2-3 Med City FC
Noah Kantorowicz opened the scoring for the hosts, scrambling home after a corner wasn't cleared in the 21st minute. The equalizer came off a turnover by the Joy defense, Scott Neil slotting home just before half time. A free kick from Gustavo Augusto Leal Murtha on the left wing, twenty yards out, bounced all the way through to give Med City the lead on fifty-eight. The equalizer came via a deep cross from the left by Zinedine Kroeten, deflected past the Med City keeper. The visitors took a final lead in the eighty-first minute after good close control and finish by Tristan Jumeau, who subsequently received a second yellow card and was dismissed.
La Crosse Aris FC 0-1 Duluth FC
A hard fought win for the visitors as the ball was crossed from the right wing over to Kostya Domaratskyy in the left back berth, who put the ball back past the goalkeeper in the 76th minute. Duluth head coach Sean Morgan was given a red card just before.
Sioux Falls Thunder FC 2-4 Minnesota TwinStars FC
TwinStars broke the deadlock in the tenth minute, Sidike Jabateh driving home a long diagonal into the left back spot, back across the keeper. Jabateh doubled the lead in the nineteenth minute with a solo effort. Another long ball into the channel, this time down the right wing, was neatly finished by Sadra Golzarian in the thirty-second minute. Despite outshooting their opponents 7-4, it took until the fifty-sixth minute for Thunder to score, through a PK from Marcus Harwood after an attack was definitively stopped deep in the box. It was 4-1 in the 59th minute as Jabateh blasted home from inside the box to complete his hat trick. Thunder earned their second goal in second half stoppage time through Harwood.
Coming Up
Friday
Carpathia FC v Akron City FC - 7pm CT
Cleveland SC v Michigan Rangers - 7pm ET
Erie Commodores v Steel City FC - 7pm ET
Saturday
Club Atletico St Louis v Iowa Raptors FC - 6pm CT
Ehtar Belleville v Des Moines United - 6pm CT
Duluth FC v Joy Athletic Club - 7pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Sunflower State FC - 7pm CT
Minnesota TwinStars v Med City FC - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls Thunder v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
Sunday
Club Atletico St Louis v Des Moines United - 2pm CT
Ehtar Belleville v Iowa Raptors - 2pm CT
FC Columbus v Erie Commodores - 5pm ET
Michigan Rangers v Steel City FC - 6pm ET
Wednesday
Duluth FC v Med City FC - 7pm CT
Joy Athletic Club v Sioux Falls Thunder - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up : Week 1
This week
Wednesday
Sunflower State FC 1-2 KC Courage
A combative Kansas City derby saw the Courage with the better chances in the first half but Sunflower had a counter-attack threat in Mackenzie Dimarco. Neither side were able to breakthrough before the break. Dimarco had a massive chance to put the home team ahead but failed to control the ball when she had rounded the goalkeeper. Addison Steiner made the breakthrough for Courage in the 65th minute, capitalizing on a defensive miscue by Sunflower. Dimarco arrowed the equalizer in the 80th minute, over the Courage goalkeeper Kaylin Williams-Mosier from miles outside the penalty area, following a swift counter attack from their own penalty area. Steiner then applied the finishing touch, grabbing the winning goal in the 89th minute, catching Sunflower up field.
Friday
With a lightning delay mixed in, FC Dayton got their season started on the right foot. Goals by Maddie Thiss and Dara Russo (Assisted by Jenna Hallbeck) were enough to separate the two sides.
Saturday
Sunflower State 5-0 AFC Columbia
AFC CoMo made a forgettable debut on the road in the face of relentless Sunflower State pressure. The home side went ahead on the 10 minute mark when Calista Schechinger connected from a corner. They doubled their lead only 3 minutes later, Mackenzie Dimarco finishing a counter attack. Gabriela Leon made it three in the 17th minute. Goal number four was another breakaway from midfield, finished by Dimarco again, calmly slotting past the advancing keeper, April Mason in the 58th minute. Jaylie Hicklin made it a five-star performance in the 81st minute.
Joy opened their account for the season, Ceilidh Whynott breaking away with pace from a defensive corner, down the left wing and past a despairing goalie with 21 minutes on the clock. The second goal also came down the left wing, with a series of one-two exchanges ending with a bullet finish from Megan Hansen. The match was iced in the 63rd minute, when Sophie Pawlyshyn placed the ball past the Manitou goalie from the right back position across into the far side of the goal.
Sunday
Jasmine Gates lofted a ball from just outside the area into the top left hand corner of the St. Croix goal to put the visitors ahead in the 21st minute. In the 85th minute, St Croix had a wonderful chance to equalize but a corner skidded across the six yard box without anyone making contact. Despite other corners in the waning minutes, Fury held out for a win against their neighbors.
KC Courage 1-1 St Louis Scott Gallagher
Aya Saiki scored for the Courage, SLSG scored through Ashley Martinez.
Coming Up
Thursday
AFC Columbia v St Louis Scott Gallagher - 7pm ET
Friday
Salvo SC v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Midwest Muskrats - 7pm CT
FC Pride v Dayton Dutch Lions - 7pm ET
St Croix Soccer Club v Joy Athletic Club - 7:30pm CT
Saturday
FC Spirit v Columbus Eagles - 1pm CT
KC Courage v Lou Fusz Athletic - 2pm CT
Sunday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v Lou Fusz Athletic - 10am CT
FC Dayton v Columbus Eagles - 6pm ET
Tuesday
Rochester United v Joy Athletic Club - 7pm CT
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.
https://twitter.com/SteelCityFC/status/1657527122594856963
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
WPSL Central Region preview
In overview, we have many derbies to salivate over and we have a far-too-large Northern conference. We will be covering all of the Central region except for the Mountain Conference. As ever, there’s been reshuffling:
Research from the league suggests that sixty-nine percent of WPSL players are rostered on teams from their hometown’s metro area. I have no comparison point but this figure seems to track, given the high number of youth-to-WPSL clubs in our region.
In case you are wondering, the winners of the Heartland and Northern Conferences will each get 1 spot in the Central Region playoffs. The champions of the National Road and Lake Michigan divisions of the Midwest Conference will play each other for 1 berth. The champions of the two divisions of the Mountain Conference will likewise play-in for 1 spot in the playoffs. It's a punishing league to be in, in terms of looking for silverware.
Heartland
AFC Columbia. The team from the capital of Missouri has a young squad, with a handful of NAIA players and a couple of D1 players (Sophia Elfrink, Haley Steinke), and one D2 player (Maddy Schrader) sprinkled in.
Lou Fusz Athletic are one of two St. Louis clubs to step into the void left by Fire & Ice’s departure. LFA was founded by its namesake in the 1990s. Their Creve Coeur, MO complex is home to soccer, lacrosse and gridiron. The roster is exclusively made up of current NCAA D1 and D2 players, even as a first year side and despite recruitment from the other club in town.
St Louis Scott Gallagher are based 13 miles South, at the former home of St. Louis FC in Fenton, MO but they also list Creve Coeur amongst their facilities. In a historical soccer city, SLSG’s predecessors stretch all the way back to the 1970s and the history of company-sponsors names (in this case Scott-Gallagher metals) The players they have announced are all D1 players.
Kansas City Scott Gallagher are one of three teams in the Kansas City metropolitan area , in their case based in Lee’s Summit, MO. They are affiliated with SLSG. The roster is extensively made up of D1 and D2 athletes, with a smattering of high school kids mixed in.
Over to the west in Overland Park, Kansas, KC Courage make their move from the UWS with a roster dominated by D1 athletes, and three D1 graduates (Georgia Vernardakis, Taylor Wagner, Kaylin Williams) and players from NAIA schools also listed.
Lastly, sitting just on the Missouri side of the border with Kansas, the Sunflower state, Sunflower State FC complete the triumvirate of KC clubs. The roster is structured around NAIA and NCAA D2 players, and capped with the D1 athlete Jaylie Hicklin.
In a very compact conference, the longest road trip is the 250 miles from Kansas City to St Louis and the shortest is a short jog across the Kansas City metro for KCSG or Courage. I expect Lou Fusz to finish on top of this conference.
Midwest — Lake Michigan
Chicago KICS are proudly based on the southside of Chicago. Their public roster is incomplete and out of date.
Milwaukee Torrent are firmly settled in Wauwatosa, WI — next door to the city of Milwaukee. Their team is made up of current D1 and D2 players, with one member of the roster playing D3 ball (and one former D1 athlete who is now a D1 coach).
Iowa Raptors are based in Cedar Rapids, IA. There is no public information on the makeup of their squad.
Midwest Select SA Muskrats are based in St. John, IN — an hour south of Chicago. The roster is headlined by D1 athletes Kailyn Smith, Olivia Hansen and Kayla Green. Added to this are players from the D2, D3, NJCAA and NAIA levels as well as some high schoolers.
Quad Cities Rush are based in Davenport, IA. The roster features D1 athletes Emily Bollman, Madison Bulin, Caroline Hazen and Morgan Rinker, as well D2, D3 and NAIA players. One player plays on a school which is sanctioned by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (I have to admit that I know next to nothing about the level of their competition). There is a former athlete who is now a physical therapist. They will hope that this season is better for them than their rookie year in the WPSL.
This conference lost a rivalry when Bavarians moved to USL W but there is potential for KICS — Torrent or Raptors — Rush to develop into rivalries.
The longest trip is from Milwaukee the Quad Cities, at 211 miles. The shortest is the Iowa Raptors to Quad Cities Rush (82 miles)
Midwest — National Road
Columbus Eagles are based in Bexley, OH. Their roster is not yet announced.
Dayton Dutch Lions are based in West Carrolton, OH. Suzy Hayes is a D1 player on a roster of D2, D3 and NAIA players.
FC Dayton is based in Centerville, OH. Their roster is dominated by current D1 talent and also includes D2 and D3 players.
FC Pride are based in Indianapolis. They could field an 11 exclusively of D1 players, and have enough for a deep bench.
FC Spirit are based in Evansville, IN. A young squad is capped by a quartet of D1 players in Ryleigh Anslinger, Annah Hopkins, Camryn LaGrange and Kaylee Woosley.
This is certainly aptly named National Road. The longest road trip is Evansville to Columbus at 330 miles, whereas the shortest is the 7.5 miles between Centerville and West Carrollton. One of the few ‘road trips’ in the WPSL which could be a brisk walk.
Northern
The Northern conference continues to grow, with the puzzling addition of St Croix (whose men’s team is in USL L2). This was too large last year, and got even more so this year — at least the geographical footprint didn’t expand *that* much. Please, WPSL, for the love of all that’s holy, split this conference in two next year. After all, that solution has already been adopted across the entire remainder of this region.
As addressed in my NPSL preview Dakota Fusion are out on an island up in Fargo-Moorhead (North Dakota/Minnesota border), a situation even more extreme in this league — since there is no Duluth women’s team. They have a new head coach, who has an interesting bio. The roster is headlined by D1 athletes Ashleigh Heeley, Olivia Watson and McKenna Strand, backed by a D2-heavy roster and a sprinkling of players from NAIA schools.
Down the I-29, Sioux Falls City are rolling into their second season having made waves during their expansion season. Karoline Riisnaes leads the club's D1 contingent, joined by Delaney Kenney, Mary Perez, Rylee Haldeman, McKenna Lehman, Hailee Fischer and Barbie Castellanos as well as players from D2 and NAIA levels.
Mankato United is led by Maggie Smither, both a D1 goalkeeper and volunteer coach and Ella White. The roster is dominated by the D2 powerhouse Minnesota State Mankato. A notable absentee is future pro Jenny Vetter, who graduated last season.
Down US 14, Rochester United is one of three different organizations operating in the Med City (with separate clubs operating NPSL and USL W squads too). Their roster is led by D1 players Haley Archuleta, Ashley Concolino, Sienna Latta, Briana Johnson, Samara Nunn, Kiara Oliver and Maysa Walters.
Now we move on to the six teams clustered around the Twin Cities.
Joy Athletic in St Louis Park are anchored by Katharine Ashley, Ella Bryant, Ella Clow and Ceilidh Whynott. Also worth noting is Lennon Folstad, whose brother plays for the Goats in NPSL. The club is the tip of the Joy of the People youth club.
Manitou FC in White Bear Lake is led by Molly Knoblauch and Anna Koepke and backed by D2 and high school players from the area.
The limited roster listed for Maplebrook Fury in Maple Grove features D1 athletes Abby Brantner, Brooke Davies, Kaitlynn Delveaux, Annika Eckroth, Izzy Smith, Jasmine Gates and Hannah Zahn.
Minnesota Thunder in Richfield is easily the most famous name in this crowded area, and its academy is a veritable factory of talent. This year's WPSL squad includes enough D1 athletes to fill the roster. They also feature a US U21 player in Caroline Smith.
Salvo SC in Roseville has been the class of the conference and made it to the national quarterfinals last season. They are led by Molly Fiedler, fresh from professional play and currently coaching at D3, and her team mate in Serbia Emily Heslin, together with a panoply of D1 talent.
St Croix Soccer Club in Stillwater is led by D1 players Abby Carlson, Jenna Hallen, Lauren Heinsch, Olivia Knoepfle, Liv Muehlberg, Avery Murdzek, Elayna Murdzek, Jenna Nyblom and Anna Wagner, and backed by a handful of D2 players.
I think Salvo and Thunder will once again fight for the one and only WPSL playoff spot from this conference.
This week's fixtures
Wednesday
Sunflower State v KC Courage
Friday
FC Dayton v FC Pride
Saturday
Joy Athletic v Manitou FC
Sunflower State v AFC Columbia
Sunday
St Croix v MapleBrook Fury
KC Courage v St Louis Scott Gallagher