Tim Abbott

NPSL Round Up, Great Lakes and North Divisions - Week 3

NPSL Great Lakes Conference

Panathinaikos Chicago vs FC Columbus

Panathinaikos Chicago came into their second home match of the season on an 0-0-2 record with zero points in the conference. FC Columbus meanwhile came off the a week long break following a 2-0 defeat by Milwaukee. The Nike Sports Complex in Naperville, IL would however see the home side drop their third match of the season by a score of 3-2. Host PAO Chicago will have a bye week this week before facing FC Indiana on the road on June 5th. FC Columbus will host FC Indiana this Saturday night at Roberts Field at The Wellington School.

FC Indiana vs FC Milwaukee Torrent

Great Lakes Conference leaders Milwaukee Torrent headed down to Indianapolis to continue their two match win streak against the Lions of FC Indiana. The Torrent looked appeared to be putting the Lions through the ringer with Tony Doellefeld scoring in the 5th minute before Emiliano Caballero scored 9 minutes later. FC Indiana's Andrew Revanales scored in the 22nd minute which cut the lead down to 2-1. Both sides would score just once more each, Milwaukee on another Doellefeld goal in the 40th and FC Indiana's Ricardo scoring the only second half goal in the 60th.

NPSL North Conference

Dakota Fusion FC vs Med City FC

The home opener for Fusion could not reverse the recent form for either squad as Med City forced the pace through Peter Lange-Nielson's goal in the 2nd minute, but it was Lucas Hart's pressure which secured their second win of the season, with an assist for Lange-Nielson and two goals ( one from a penalty decision which was unclear even after multiple viewings). Any chances for Fusion to fight back were ended when Huseyin Celik was shown a second yellow card, having been booked for unsporting behavior. Mazeed Aro-Lambo completed the scoring.

Duluth FC vs Joy Athletic Club

Duluth opened their season with a late winner in an instant classic. The home team led 2-0 after 20 minutes through James Westfield and Sidney Warden but Joy fired right back through Philip Capudo and had leveled the game before the half-time whistle through Emanuel Iwe. The team from St. Louis Park then took their own lead shortly after the hour mark after an own goal. The final swing of the pendulum saw the BlueGreens tie the match through Dylan Sumner in the 70th minute and Warden then stepped up to cap the comeback and seal the win only 4 minutes from time.

La Crosse Aris SC vs Minneapolis City SC

What could have been a tricky road trip for the Crows, playing against an Aris side which fought back for a tie against Joy on a field even further flung than usual in Arcadia, WI, turned out to be another paragraph in the continued strong start to the season for Minneapolis City. The goals came courtesy of a double from Justin Oliver in the 16th and the 46th minutes and late goals by Kevin Andrews in the 80th minute and Arthur Parens in the 90th. It also featured a City Futures goalkeeper as striker at one point.

Standings after Week 3

The NPSL's Midwest region is made up of three very different conferences, both in geography and length. The NPSL's format typically has most conference playing a double round robin, this results in varying lengths of seasons depending on the conference. That results in the Great Lakes and Rust Belt Conferences playing a 10 game season while the North plays a 12 game schedule.

In the westernmost conference, the North, Minneapolis City leads with 9 points through three matches. Med City FC and Duluth FC have 6 and 3 points respectively, giving all three sides 3 PPG, which is how the playoffs are seeded.

In the Great Lakes conference FC Milwaukee Torrent has 9 points and a 3-0-0 record while Carpathia has a 2-0-0 record and six points, both good for 3 PPG and the two spots the Great Lakes will have in the NPSL Midwest Playoffs.

Lastly is the Rust Belt Conference where just a few teams have started play. On points however FC Buffalo has 3 points after winning their season opener in Rochester while Cleveland SC has a single point after drawing their home opener against the same Rochester Lancers.

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by Tim Abbott