Photo Gallery: Minneapolis City vs Duluth - Minnesota Super Cup
Photo Gallery: Minneapolis City SC vs Duluth FC in the Minnesota Super Cup
Minneapolis City SC (USL League 2) played to a 3-1 victory over Duluth FC (NPSL) in the Minnesota Super Cup at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Tuesday, July 18th 2023.
Photos by Tim C McLaughlin
Lineups:
Minneapolis City SC:
Eric Contreras (23)
Camel Htoo (52)
Shea Bechtel (21)
Dennis Mensah (25)
Steve Lamarre (7)
Scotty Heinen (27)
Carson Pina (17)
Griffin Gyurci (16)
Rory O’Driscoll (12)
Andrew Soczynski (2)
Evan Siefken (1)
Bench: Miles Akhigbe, Aidan O’Driscoll, Baraka Tarleton
Coach: Carl Craig
Duluth FC:
Felipe Arteaga (11)
Tom Akinola (20)
Manny Morales (24)
Kostyantyn Domaratskyy (10)
Paul Bobai (21)
Rory Doyle (16)
Colin O’Mahony (18)
Jake Starling (3)
Dylan Zavatini (5)
Josh Bellamy (2)
James Price (1)
Bench: Tyler Limmer, Zach Tiemeyer, Felipe Oliveira, Felipe Santos, Alex Paredes, Myles Edmondson, Jake Kidd
Coach: Sean Morgan
Scoring Summary:
28′ Steve Lamarre, Minneapolis City 1-0
69′ Kostyantyn Domaratskyy, Duluth FC 1-1
75′ Griffin Gyurci, Minneapolis City (P) 2-1
80′ Dennis Mensah, Minneapolis City 3-1
Minneapolis City SC will continue their Minnesota Super Cup run on Tuesday, July 25th 2023 in Rochester, Minnesota for a semifinal match against Med City FC (NPSL)
NPSL Midwest Regional Finals Review
How did we get here?
The Gateway Conference went straight to its Championship match, and Des Moines United won 2-1 to advance.
The North Conference tournament saw Med City FC upset both the #2 seeded Dakota Fusion and the National #1 seeded Duluth on the road to earn their spot.
The Great Lakes Conference tournament saw Cleveland upset Michigan Rangers before they fell to Steel City FC.
The Heartland tournament saw the #1 seeded Tulsa Athletic advance.
Feel free to look back at those in detail, here.
The host site was chosen on a vote by the four competing teams, and the #4 seed (Steel City in Pittsburgh) lost out to the more centrally located #11 seed (Des Moines United in Indianola, IA).
Semifinals
#5 Steel City FC (Great Lakes) 0-0 (AET - 7-6 on PKs) #27 Med City FC (North)
Steel City had a golden opportunity to go ahead with only 5 mins on the clock, but Tate Mohney missed a chance unmarked in the six yard box from a counter attack. The first half finished goal less.
Med City's biggest chance came in the seventy-fifth minute, when Henry Tolbert took the ball off the toes of the Steel City keeper Garret Watson, but he failed to tap home into the open net. Iker Gonzalez kept Med City in it, with a point blank save. Two corners didn't result in a goal. A last minute goalmouth scramble for Steel City also failed to break the deadlock.
Steel City had another chance from close range as the first half of extra time. Tolbert had a good chance for Med City but his shot at the near post was under-hit.
In the penalty shootout, Steel City's Nolan Hutter missed, wide off the right hand post. Watson stopped the first Med City shot, from Toby Millward. Steel City's Bryan Akongo struck the decisive blow, as Matias Milla hit his own attempt high off the crossbar.
#8 Des Moines United (Gateway) 3-4 #12 Tulsa Athletic (Heartland)
In this battle of top-placed teams, Sora Noda had a chance for Des Moines in the eleventh minute, but from the save, the ball went right up the other end and Luis Flores scored from a free kick, direct from the top line of the penalty area. It was 2-0 in the thirty-ninth minute. United were temporarily down to ten men as a solo counter knifed down the right side vacated by the injured defender and it was blasted across the goalie into the side netting by Aboubakr Sidiki Moubarak Diallo.
The second half opened with United on the front foot but the early pressure did not result in any goals. Tulsa scored their third goal as Riolan Mello finished off an interception in the penalty area in the fifty-fourth minute. Only three minutes later, Aaron Ugbah finished with power, driving in from the left on the edge of the penalty area. In the seventieth minute, United spoiled the clean sheet with a neat interchange of passes between the gridiron hashes before Lucas Malaguez swept home. Five minutes later, it was 4-2 through Lincoln Borges and only one minute after that it was 4-3, after Quentin Arnoud finished from a left wing corner. In the eighty-fifth minute, Nora's snap shot at the near post was saved for a corner. A free kick from twenty five yards out by United went high.
Final - #5 Steel City FC 1-2 (AET) #12 Tulsa Athletic
Regardless of who won this game, both Steel City and Tulsa Athletic received priority in the league's allocation of spots for the US Open Cup, along with the six other regional finalists. Ironically, after voting to hold the matches centrally in Iowa, it is the travelers from furthest East and the furthest South who played both days. Abou Diallo was a threat all night for Tulsa. Tate Mohney provided the most threat for Steel City.
Diallo put Tulsa ahead against the run of play in the twenty-fifth minute from a long ball over the top from Flores. He also had snapshots in the thirty-second and forty-second minutes blocked by last ditch defending.
The second half of regulation began with the same pattern of play. In the fiftieth minute, an Athletic free kick was whipped in, but the keeper gathered it. In the fifty-third minute, Tulsa also had a corner with no end result. The last third was end to end, with two Steel City corners back to back and a long shot from Tulsa. A Steel City attack in the seventieth was ended by a perfectly timed slide tackle, and up the other end it was Garret Watson stopping an Athletic free kick at point blank range. Both goalkeepers had outstanding stops in the eighty-second minute and then in the eighty-third minute, Steel City scrambled home the equalizer.
In the ninety-eighth minute, a Tulsa free kick was scrambled in, but the referee called offside. Ten minutes later, the game was finally settled when Aaron Ugbah dribbled across the field and took a shot from fully twenty yards out.
In a chaotic end to an otherwise calmly conducted game, Steel City ended the game officially down to eight men as Justin Copay, Rodrigo Albayeros and Brice Ghandi were all given straight red cards for dissent in the one-hundred-and-twentieth minute.
Coming Up
For us, nothing else for this season. Tulsa Athletic moves on to play in the National Semifinals and we don't cover the Heartland, so we wish them well but won't be covering the National Semis.
NPSL Midwest: Conference XIs
https://twitter.com/NPSLSoccer/status/1682104281468370944
These Conference Best XIs throw up some interesting results. Sunflower State FC and Club Atletico St Louis have the most members of the Gateway, even though they both failed to make the playoffs. On the other hand, 8 of the 12 selections in the Great Lakes, Heartland and North all come from the Conference Finalists. Obviously, if you want to spin that as a bad thing, that could point towards recency bias and against good performers on bad teams.
Three of the top four in goals per game make their respective XIs (Yu Tsukanome, Miguel Arellano and Colin Innes) as does the player with the tenth highest number of mins per game (Colin Biros). Benjamin Colborn makes the charts with the tenth highest number of games played. I assume that the players voted into these XI form the nominees for the Regional XI (voting this weekend), therefore the Gateway's voting in of non-playoff players will presumably not be reflected in the latter vote.
NPSL Midwest Playoffs: Conference Finals Review
For more on the results that got us here, click here
The rankings featured are the national points-per-game ranking. All Conference Finals are hosted by the higher seed. The NPSL has decided that the Conference Champion title will belong to whoever wins these matches. Amid those we surveyed, the move was unpopular.
https://twitter.com/Lights_Football/status/1674280797086384128
North
#1 Duluth FC 1-2 #28 Med City FC at Public Schools Stadium, Duluth, MN.
A shocking game to end an unbeaten season. The BlueGreens were held scoreless until the third minute of first half stoppage time when Felipe Santos tapped home from close range. Duluth were reduced to ten men as Dylan Zavatini was sent off for a second yellow card in the sixty-fifth minute. Med City equalized in the seventieth minute as Andres Solares committed a foul in the penalty area. The PK from Tristan Jumeau hit Zeke Foltz in the Duluth goal and crept into the goal. In the eighty-sixth minute, Duluth were down to nine men after a late tackle by Solares sent Lucas Hart up in the air. Med City head coach Neil Cassidy received a red card in the one-hundred and tenth minute for abusive language.
Ricardo Schroeder scored the winner in the one-hundred and fifteenth minute, tapping home from a Scott Neil cross from the right. Ignominiously, the hosts were eventually reduced to seven men as Colin O'Mahony was given a second yellow card and Kostya Domaratskyy a straight red (for abusive language) in stoppage time at the end of the game. Cassidy's red card could end up being the costliest, as it would mean his absence from the Regional Semifinal against Steel City FC.
Gateway
#10 Des Moines United 2-1 (AET) #35 FC Milwaukee Torrent at MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex, West Des Moines, IA
In the thirty-first minute, Torrent took the lead as Kyle Crain dribbled through the United defense and slotted it home. The equalizer came in the sixty-fifth minute as a deep cross from the right was met on the volley by Jayce Berger. The winner came in the one-hundred and nineteenth minute, as a deflection took the ball in the opposite direction than a despairing Nick Chiappa's dive.
Great Lakes
#4 Steel City FC 2-0 #36 Cleveland SC at Founders Field in Cheswick, PA.
Steel City took the lead in the thirty-seventh minute after a series of overlaps finished with a short pass into the six yard box where it was finished with aplomb by Gabe Norris. A free kick from the left was nodded home in the eightieth minute by Ryan Landry to settle the game.
Heartland
#16 Tulsa Athletic 2-1 #22 OKC 1889 at Rogers State University, Claremore, OK.
After a goal-less first half, it only took Tulsa take two minutes to break the deadlock, Luis Flores flicking the ball home at the near post after a pin-point drive free kick from the left. In the forty-ninth minute, OKC levelled the game through a blast from Nickell Alexander. Athletic took a quick free kick in the seventy-fourth minute and the cross was deflected home by Flores, with OKC out of shape.
Coming Up
The four Conference winners now move onto the Midwest Regional Semi-Finals, which will take place in Indianola, IA (One of the homes of Des Moines United) on Friday. Those matches will be:
Steel City FC v Med City FC and Des Moines United v Tulsa Athletic.
The Regional Final will then follow on Saturday at the same site.
Stay tuned for coverage of the regionals.
NPSL Midwest Playoffs: Conference Semi-Finals Review
How it works:
North
#1 Duluth FC 5-1 #51 Minnesota TwinStars
In the twenty-fifth minute, Duluth had a chance to go ahead from the penalty spot but Rory Doyle's PK was saved. Instead, TwinStars took the shock lead, on the break through Sidike Jabateh in the thirty-fifth minute. Only five minutes later, the BlueGreens equalized through leading goalscorer Tyler Limmer. In first half stoppage time, Duluth secured a second PK of the half, this time successfully completed by Kostya Domaratskyy.
TwinStars received a red card for dissent in the fiftieth minute. In the sixty-second minute, Andres Solares curled the ball past the keeper from the top of the box to make it 3-1. Felipe Santos hammered a shot off the crossbar at the near post to make it 4-1 in the seventy-fifth minute. The scoring was completed by Duluth's third PK of the night, Tyler Limmer with the shot.
#12 Dakota Fusion 0-2 #28 Med City FC
This matchup always promised to be a tight one, given the proximity of the two clubs in the standings and in the end it took a couple of shots in the second half to provide the difference. The opening five minutes was frantic and accented by an audacious attempt at a chip by Med City of the Fusion goalkeeper. The first half also ended with a sequence of stops by the Fusion keeper on Med City shots on goal.
In the fifty-seventh minute, with the score still 0-0, the home side had a golden opportunity but an unmarked header from a corner somehow skimmed off the attacker's head and into the goalkeeper's grasp. In the end it was more grit than artistry which secured the win, Lucas Hart with the scrambled opener in the sixty-ninth minute. Five minutes later, Med City methodically moved the ball around the Fusion defense and then Tristan Jumeau blasted it home from close range. Fusion had another good chance to get on the scoresheet in the seventy-sixth minute but a header was planted right at the keeper. The best chance for the home team came in second half stoppage time, when a shot off the rebound hit the foot of the post and bounced wide.
Great Lakes
#20 Michigan Rangers 0-1 #36 Cleveland SC
Cleveland pull the upset in a rain soaked semifinal, eventually called due to lightning. Julian Pellegrini had the winning goal.
Heartland
#16 Tulsa Athletic 2-0 #61 Demize NPSL
Luis Flores scored both goals for Athletic, who move on, although it took until the seventy-first minute for Athletic to break through.
#22 OKC 1889 2-1 #48 Kansas City Sol
The away side took the surprise lead in the twelfth minute through Dontell Gilyard but Nickell Alexander proved key to the turnaround, scoring the equalizer in the sixtieth minute and the winner in the eighty-sixth.
Coming Up on Saturday
North - #1 Duluth FC v #28 Med City FC at Public Schools Stadium, Duluth, MN.
Heartland - #16 Tulsa Athletic v #22 OKC 1889 at Rogers State University, Claremore, OK.
Great Lakes - #4 Steel City FC v #36 Cleveland SC at Founders Field in Cheswick, PA.
Gateway - #10 Des Moines United v #35 Milwaukee Torrent at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, IA
NPSL Round Up: Week 8/9
This Week
Friday
Cleveland SC 3-2 Erie Commodores
Twelve minutes into the game, Erie broke through after a free kick was deflected for a corner and the corner was headed home by Joe Gasper. It was 1-1 in the seventeenth minute as Janis Schmidt put his foot through a ball from over twenty yards out and laced it into the back of the net. Paul Katende tripped Julian Pellegrini and in the forty-third minute it was a Cleveland PK by Bojan Kolevski, for the lead.
Shota Toyama hammered a ball home from the top of the area off a corner to make it 2-2. Benjamin Hryszko made it 3-2 in the sixty-second minute, intercepting a ball on the edge of the area. With the win, Cleveland SC secured the third seed in the Great Lakes Conference.
Carpathia's Mohammed Hammoud virtually dribbled the ball into the net in the twelfth minute on the high press, to put his team ahead. The visitors made it 2-0 in the fortieth minute, as Marco Mazzei blasted a ball from the edge of the area, whilst nearly falling down. Rounding out the first half, a PK was awarded for Carpathia after Doug Hainer was stood on. Luke Morrell's shot was saved but Morell himself snapped up the rebound.
The home side started the second half with a bang, Damani Camara lacing a shot into the net on the half volley to make it 3-1. Camara chipped the ball over the keeper on the run to make it 3-2 in the sixty-second minute. Columbus's Yusuf Dabo hit the post in the 70th minute. Camara hit the crossbar in the eighty fifth minute, but still it remained a Carpathian lead. Hainer made it 4-2 in the eighty-seventh minute, capitalising on a searing run down the endline, crossed in by Alex DeMorow. Matarr Sowe made it 4-3 in second half stoppage time.
Saturday
Ehtar Belleville 1-1 Milwaukee Torrent
After a goal less first half, it was the hosts who struck first. David Cole laying the ball perfectly into the path of Brandon Nyagurungo to finish in the fifty-first minute. Torrent rescued a point in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time through Jonas Luskey Sanders's bobbled shot through traffic from the top of the box into the bottom corner.
Steel City 3-2 Michigan Rangers
Three minutes into the game, Chris Mendez converted a right wing cross to put Michigan Rangers on top. Nathan Prex equalized in the eleventh minute, dribbling in from the left and slotting the ball past the keeper into the bottom right corner of the goal. Prex then hit the post in the fourteenth minute.
Anthony DiFalco put Steel City ahead in the sixtieth minute, firmly into the right corner of the goal while running away to the left. In the seventy-third minute, Tomas Echevarria equalized, placing the ball hard into the roof of the net. Michigan Rangers' Adam Hanson got two yellow cards in seventeen minutes and was dismissed in the seventy-seventh minute. Bryan Akongo put the home side back ahead, with a solo dribble and juke before slotting the ball home. Rangers' Nicolas Baigrie received a straight red card for Serious Foul Play in the eighty-fifth minute, scything into a challenge in midfield and both he and Hanson will be suspended for the playoff match Rangers will play.
Sunflower State FC 5-2 Iowa Raptors
Elyes Ellouz broke the deadlock in the seventh minute for Sunflower but the Raptors replied almost immediately, through Saiheed Jah. Kolby Godbolt made it 2-1 to Raptors on the breakaway. Ellouz turned provider in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time, slotting the ball through to Kevin Hubbell.
Bryce Dickerson put Sunflower ahead in the seventy-fifth minute with a delicate chip from a pass after Prince Idornigie had tight-roped the left touchline. Ellouz made it 4-2 in the eighty-second minute. Two minutes later, Colin Innes scored a PK for Sunflower (at the second ask) after an agricultural challenge. The win vaults Sunflower ahead of Torrent in the race for the second place in the Gateway Conference Championship.
Dakota Fusion 8-2 Joy
Interesting scenario. Joy traveled to Moorhead with their black jerseys, but that was also the kit that Fusion were expecting to wear, so the operations staff for the home team scrambled to get an alternative kit on site. Such a scenario is not unheard of, but the stadium is in the middle of a building site and the floodlights are out of action so there was a hanging question mark over whether a) the game would be completed before sunset and b) if it would be called at sunset.
Fusion started the game on the front foot, including a couple of corners and a cross across the six yard box but no goal. Yu Tsukanome put the home side ahead in the twelfth minute, sweeping the ball home after a scramble in the six yard box. Fusion doubled the lead in the twenty-seventh minute, a neat passage of passes ended on the foot of Tsukanome via a Cai Pritchard run for him to tap home. Rashaad Ogun scored the third goal for the home side in the thirty-fifth minute, intercepting a misplayed square pass at the back and finishing past Edward Holmes. Only a minute later, Pritchard to Tsukanome again for his hat trick. Joy struck back immediately, Philip Caputo whipping a free kick from the left wing 20 yards out, inside the near post. Owen Salzwedel made it 4-2 in the forty-fifth minute, on a series of passes right down the gut of the Fusion defense.
Joy began the second half in much better nick than the first, having chances on goal and more controlled possession in midfield but could not make further inroads. In the seventieth minute, Tsukanome hammered a shot at Holmes but the Joy goalkeeper was equal to it. In the seventy-seventh minute, Tsukanome took sole possession of the lead in the NPSL Golden Boot with his fourth goal of the game (and his fifteenth goal in ten games), connecting on a through pass. Tsukanome scored his fifth goal in the eighty-seventh minute, catching another defense splitting pass. Eddie Burgos made it 7-2 in the ninetieth minute, also connecting with a nice through pass. Brandon Gasper made it 8-2 less than a minute later. Thankfully, the daylight held out.
Sunday
Club Atletico St Louis 2-3 Milwaukee Torrent
The visitors started early, with Khedive Konde Gwo rocketing a ball into the net from a right wing corner with only five minutes on the clock. Torrent had a golden opportunity to make it two in the twenty-first minute but a shot from in close went sailing over the goal. Konde Gwo then made it two in the twenty-fifth minute, capitalising on a series of deflections to tap home from within the six yard box - with CASL calling in vain for offside. CASL had a goal called back in the fortieth minute.
In the sixty-fifth minute, Torrent went 3-0 ahead, Konde Gwo finishing from a right wing cross to collect his hat trick. It was 3-1 in the seventieth minute as Nedim Sarajlija blasted home from the edge of the area. Only three minutes later, the home side scored again, Zach Renz smashed the ball home from a corner. CASL were reduced to ten men in the eighty-seventh minute, as Xavier Brown was dismissed for a denial of a goal scoring opportunity. The result puts Torrent within one point of the second spot in the Gateway Conference Championship, but they were to face fellow challengers Sunflower State FC next, in what amounted to a play-in game. See below for details of that match.
Med City FC 1-1 Duluth FC
After an intricate sequence of passes down the left by the hosts, it was Tristan Jumeau who laced one from just outside the area into the back of the net in the seventeenth minute.
The equalizer came from Conor Behan in the forty-ninth minute off a free kick six yards out on the left wing. A Med City free kick in the sixty-fifth minute struck the wall and the rebound from Scott Neil went flying past the outside of the far post. Julio Rojo narrowly missed a headed chance to put the hosts back ahead in the eightieth minute. What were Duluth's first dropped points of the entire season, could have been even more pronounced. In a strange sequence in the eighty-eighth minute, a PK was awarded to Med City - and then rescinded on consultation with the linesman - but a red card was issued to Duluth FC's Colin O'Mahony for abusive language.
Akron City FC 0-1 Carpathia FC
Francesco Mazzei provided the decisive blow, slotting into the side netting on the far post after a sequence of exchanges between Mazzei and his brother, Marco in the thirty-eighth minute.
Erie Commodores 3-0 FC Columbus
The Commodores announced that the game was canceled, and the league has it as a 3-0 win, so our best guess is that it has gone in the books as a Columbus forfeit.
Wednesday
Med City FC 3-0 Sioux Falls Thunder
Scott Neil rocketed home from just outside the penalty area in the twenty-fifth minute from a pull back by Tristan Jumeau to put the hosts ahead. Gio Soares set up a second Neil goal in the fortieth minute, placed into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Joshua Seyer received a straight red card in the fifty-fifth minute for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity. From the resultant free kick, Lucas Hart curled one over the wall and into the top corner of the goal to make it 3-0.
As well as a playoff date in Fargo-Moorhead on the 12th, Med City also have a Minnesota Super Cup semifinal at home on the 22nd.
Minnesota TwinStars 5-1 Aris
Aris went ahead through Ernesto Ascenzo in the twenty-fifth minute after a long ball down the left flank sprung the TwinStars offside trap, three minutes later TwinStars equalized as a series of close passes in the middle of the pitch culminated in Miguel Arellano finishing the chance. The home side went up 2-1 in the thirty-fifth minute when a cross from deep on the right was driven hard and low into the goal by Arellano. It was 3-1 in the fortieth minute as Sadra Golzarian finished off a move triggered by an interception of aimless passing by Aris twenty yards from their own goal.
A long ball up field bounced high off the turf in the fifty-fifth minute and Sidike Jabateh beat the goalkeeper to the spot and headed it home for his hat trick. Five minutes later, Aris scored again, a solo dribbling effort followed by a curled shot into the bottom right corner by Stan Cargill. In the seventy-first minute, it was 5-2 as an interception in midfield led Arellano on a run of his own, including a cheeky move around the keeper for his hat trick. The win seals TwinStars place in the playoffs, although they face the daunting task of a road trip to Duluth.
Sunflower State FC 0-4 Des Moines United
With Sunflower fighting for the only remaining spot in the Gateway Conference Championship, Evan Carlson dribbled across the top of the area and through a challenge from a defender before curling it beyond the Sunflower keeper Noah Reuscher, to put Des Moines in front in the eleventh minute. Sunflower had a period of possession around the half-hour mark and it gave them their first shot on goal in the twenty-ninth minute.
Jayce Berger set up Erich Legut in the fifty-first minute to make it 2-0, with a rocket from close range into the roof of the net. In the seventy-seventh minute, United's Andre Lopes made it 3-0, also from close range after he connected with a long ball upfield. A neat sequence of passing lead to number four, scored by Kais Sabic. This defeat is immaterial to Sunflower's playoff hopes, which hinged entirely on the game against Milwaukee Torrent (outlined below). Des Moines United secured their spot a while ago.
Friday 7/7
A fifth minute PK was ordered for Carpathia after a Columbus defender clumsily ran into the back of a counterpart, and it was successfully taken by James Todd.
The lead was doubled by Joshua Rubin, finishing off a neat exchange of passes between the gridiron hashes in the fifty-first minute.
Cleveland SC 1-1 Steel City FC
Ryan Landry nailed a header from six yards out from a left wing cross in the thirty-ninth minute to put the division winners on top. Bojan Kolevski dribbled into position along the top of the penalty area and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for the equalizer in the fifty-first minute. Pedro Alves in goal for Cleveland blocked an immediate effort by Steel City to reclaim the lead but that was the best chance either side had in the second half. The Pittsburghers have earned slightly more than a week of rest before the Great Lakes Conference Final on the 15th, whereas Cleveland will have to play on Wednesday the 12th and then again on Saturday.
Saturday
Sunflower State FC 0-1 Milwaukee Torrent
Sunflower needed a win, but came away with a loss.
After a goal-less first half, Sunflower had a PK early in the second half to go ahead. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was well saved by the Torrent goalie Nick Chiappa. Torrent eventually gained the goal which would be insurance in the eightieth minute as Cole Stephens took advantage of a Sunflower team pushed high in search of their essential goal.
Duluth started quick. Rory Doyle scored a penalty earned by Tyler Limmer in the twelfth minute and made it 2-0 only two minutes later through Joshua Bellamy. Fusion scored three goals against the BlueGreens. Unfortunately, two of those goals were in their own net. Benjamin Colborn scored the only time they struck at the right end. In the end, this match was academic in every sense but one: If the top seeds both win their semi-finals, this is the exact two opponents and venue that will host the North Conference championship on Saturday.
Minnesota TwinStars 0-2 Joy Athletic
An own goal in the sixty-third minute gave Joy a lead in this Twin Cities derby, and victory was sealed when Freddy Fernandez scored in the ninetieth minute.
Sioux Falls Thunder 1-1 Aris
Sioux Falls finished the first half leading thanks to a late goal by Lubos Polacko. Benjamin Pena scored the equalizer in the fifty-sixth minute.
Erie Commodores 1-1 Michigan Rangers
Michigan Rangers took the lead on a thirtieth minute Max Wilhelm PK after an attacker was clipped in the box. Erie found their equalizer in the seventy-second minute through Kaito Ueki but in the end it was a drawn game to end the Commodores' season and send the Rangers back home for the playoffs.
Goalscoring Note
Dakota Fusion forward Yu Tsukanome has finished the regular season with 16 goals from 10 games NPSL North schedule, or 1.6 goals per game. This means he has won the Golden Boot as the regular season's top goalscorer across all the entire league. This is the third time in three years that the Midwest has contributed the Golden Boot winner (2021 saw the award go to Duluth FC's Sidney Warden, also with 16 goals, last year it went to Damani Camara of FC Columbus, with 15 goals).
Tsukanome is also in pole position for the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player overall. That award last went to someone in our region in 2017, when Jade Johnson (also of Dakota Fusion) won it with a Fusion-record 17 goals but a GPG of 1.3077, which meant he was pipped to the Golden Boot by 1 goal.
Coming Up - Playoffs:
(# = National ranking)
North
#1 Duluth FC v #51 Minnesota TwinStars
#12 Dakota Fusion v #28 Med City FC
Great Lakes
#20 Michigan Rangers v #36 Cleveland SC
Heartland
#16 Tulsa Athletic v #61 Demize NPSL
#22 OKC 1889 v #48 Kansas City Sol
For more about these match-ups, go here.
NPSL Midwest Playoffs: Conference Semi-Finals Preview
How it works:
#1 Duluth FC v #51 Minnesota TwinStars
The biggest mismatch in seeding, and therefore overall record. Even being here is an achievement for the reanimated TwinStars. Keep an eye out for Kostya Domaratskyy and Sadra Golzarian.
In the head-to-head, the BlueGreens won 3-0 and 6-1. Duluth are looking to go undefeated into the regionals.
#12 Dakota Fusion v #28 Med City FC
Ah yes, a nuanced matchup. These two sides have been nip and tuck all season. Med City have the history (as defending Champions of the North) and the head-to-head (as 1-0 victors in Rochester, the match in Moorhead finished tied) but Fusion have warmed up and have two of the hottest players in the Midwest right now in Shoki Yoshida and Yu Tsukanome (who won the Golden Boot as top goalscorer nationwide). Keep an eye out for Lucas Hart for the Mayhem.
Great Lakes
#20 Michigan Rangers v #36 Cleveland SC
Rangers have handed out some punishment this season on their day, but they are an expansion club against the defending Rust Belt champions... albeit a CSC without Vinny Bell. Rangers only won their matches this season by a single goal both times. Keep an eye out for Rangers' Daire O'Riordan, who has 7 goals.
Winner plays #6 Steel City
Heartland
#16 Tulsa Athletic v #61 Demize NPSL
Athletic won their first match 3-1 and drew the second. Still, they have only lost once this season, so should advance. Keep an eye out for Brandon Smalley and Aboubakr Sidiki Moubarak Diallo.
#22 OKC 1889 v #48 Kansas City Sol
OKC 1889 won both their meetings this year, albeit by a one-goal margin both times. Anthony Rangel of the Sol is in the top 10 most goals scored in the regular season. Also of note is the presence of former Kansas City Current head Huw Williams as Sol's head coach. His time at KCC came to a halt after only a year.
Gateway (Saturday)
#9 Des Moines United v #35 Milwaukee Torrent
Yes, I know this isn't a Conference semi-final, but I figured it should be previewed. Torrent claimed one point from the six available in the head-to-head, and could have (possibly should have) had more, having led for most of the match on the road. It finished 1-1. On the other hand, Torrent looked lacking in the loss. Keep an eye out for Jayce Berger on United and Paco Piscaglia for Torrent.
Still with me? Stay tuned for all of Saturday's Conference Finals.
NPSL Round Up: Week 7
Our survey said...
https://twitter.com/Lights_Football/status/1669745556481093638?t=-ctu5FEbkKCX4Mo6Cl4aVw&s=19
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
NPSL Midwest Preview
Welcome back to NPSL coverage on Northern Lights Football.
This year, we will be covering the whole Midwest Region, except for the Heartland Conference — because their closest club would be Kansas City Sol and their furthest away is Tulsa Athletic. I may live in Summit League country, but I’m not prepared to stretch that far. Strangely, NPSL has Kansas City Sol in the Heartland and Sunflower State in the Gateway. Anyway, on to those clubs we do cover.
The Gateway Conference features two clubs from Greater St. Louis, Des Moines United and Iowa Raptors in the Hawkeye State, Sunshine State FC on the Kansas City Kansas/Missouri border and Milwaukee Torrent in Wisconsin.
Club Atletico St Louis is fielding a young side in the conference. Regarding the roster, they have Erik Pereira, who seems to be a professional indoor player in town. I have seen players from NCAA D1, D2 and D3 schools in St. Louis. They are operating teams in NPSL, Midwest Premier League and UPSL and have suggested that the there will be movement between the three before the lists are finalized in June. They have a 60 man pool and only 8 players listed with the league as of today.
Across the river, but still in the St. Louis metropolitan area, Ehtar Belleville FC will bring NPSL football to a city which has previously hosted the storied WPSL program Fire & Ice SC. There is little public information on the makeup of their squad at this time. Of the 11 men listed with the league, Cody Blentlinger used to play pro indoor soccer for St. Louis Rush, Wyatt Fowler is a current pro arena player for St. Louis Ambush, Adam Knight is a coach at D2 level, Connor Woulahan is a coach at D3 level. There are also former players from NCAA D2, D3 and NJCAA level. The two St. Louis clubs are separated by only 33 miles, but seemingly by a chasm of organisational focus.
Des Moines United FC play at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, familiar to anyone who watches the extremely accomplished Des Moines Menace over in USL League Two. They are an expansion club, born out of the professional indoor club DemonHawks, like their conference mates, the Raptors. DMU list Menace GM (and current DemonHawks player) Charlie Bales on their roster — as well as current NCAA D1 players Evan Carlson, Austin Holtebeck, Erich Legut, Lesego Maloma, Kevin Qi, NJCAA coach Raphael Nascimento, and a present D3 player. They also include former USL Championship player Mawolo “Gabe” Gissie and former players from NCAA D1, D2, NAIA, NJCAA levels.
Further north in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Raptors are an established side but there is zero published data on their roster this season. Like CASL, they are also operating (outdoor) teams in UPSL and Midwest Premier League.
Milwaukee Torrent are another club with a professional outlook and a well-established presence at Hart Park in Wauwatosa. They also presently have no roster published. They are somewhat on an island, owners of the furthest road trip in the conference — 560 miles to KC.
Sunflower State FC play at Rockhurst University, in Kansas City, Missouri, about 5 miles from the border of the Sunflower State (Kansas). Their roster includes current D1 players Ryder Barrett, Kevin Hubbell, Caden McLagan, Grant Peters and current D2 players Connor Brummett, Miguel Cobos, Bryce Dickerson, Garrison Hill and Tim Smith. There’s also current NAIA players.
This conference has the potential for healthy derbies, CASL vs Ehtar and DMU v Raptors although we are denied a KC derby by the strange decision of NPSL to place two KC teams in separate conferences. I guess that’ll have to wait for the playoffs.
I’m gonna say that Des Moines United will be the team to beat in the Gateway.
The Great Lakes Conference has been expanded. It features teams from the Cleveland, Akron, Detroit, Columbus, Grand Rapids (MI) and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas as well as Erie, Pennsylvania.
Akron City FC play at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, whose most famous alumnus is the NBA’s all time leading scorer, LeBron James. Their roster includes a 2022 College Cup winner in Colin Biros and 14 other D1 players (Nathan Childress, Gyuwon Chong, Dyson Clapier, Samuel George, Will Jackson, Ryan Kolonick,
Adam Lubell, Brent Nanchoff, Josef Paulus, Roarke Schmeider, Levi Stephens, Sam Tojaga, Cameron Victor, Jaden Wright). They also have a D2 player (Luan Tufani) as well as some D3 and high school kids from the local area.
Carpathia FC are based in the Detroit metropolitan area, splitting between Avondale, MI and Pontiac. They include 10 players from D1 (Zain Akeel, John deLeon, Kieran Hayes, Hunter Johnson, Finn Jurak, Luke Morell, Spencer Nolff, Dawsun Schrum, Michael Teller, Dylan Wismont) D2 (Adrian Rakipi) and D3, as well as NJCAA and NAIA players and NAIA coaches. They also list former D1 players.
Cleveland SC play at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. They are a seasoned lineup, with some D1 (Thomas Beck, Parker Csiszar, Matthew Skye Harter, Corban McAvinew, Julian Pellegrini, Jannis Schmidt) D2 (Ben Bolinger, Conner Hollett, Angel Murillo) D3 players and coaches and an indoor professional (Haralambos Tsirambidis) . They also return the veteran Vinny Bell and other former college players.
Erie Commodores FC play at Gannon University. Their lineup includes present players from D1 (Tyler Card, Adam Hunt, Blaise Liess, ) D2 (Reise Corpuz, Joseph Gasper, Connor Hartwell, Frank Lovett, Charlie Petersen, Marcus Rathburn, Philipp Strube, Luis Jonathan Trapp, Ezequiel Villarreal, Kevan Wambugu, Simon Zahalka) and D3 as well as former college players.
FC Columbus play at the Wellington School. Their roster information is incomplete and possibly out of date.
Michigan Rangers FC play at Davenport University and will split games between Grand Rapids and Caledonia, MI. They have 8 D1 (Grant Balcer, Giuseppe Barone,Elliott Bentley, Lito Esquivel, Miltiadis Hadjipanayiotou, Michael Howell, George Pitsillides, Max Wilhelm) and 5 D2 (Anthonius Berkeley, Adam Hanson, Kaffie Kurz, Chris Mendez-Sanchez, Daire O Riordan) players. They also include NAIA players, a D2 coach and former D2 players and high school players. Finally is the familiar name of Vitalis Takawira Jr, who was last seen playing for Muskegon Risers in the last post-season.
They are the most isolated club in this conference, with a longest road trip of 415 miles to Steel City.
Steel City FC are the NPSL side founded by Pittsburgh Arsenal and Hotspurs (which is ironic in an English context, but anyway…) They play at Pittsburgh Harlequin Rugby Club’s Founders Field in Cheswick, PA. Their roster is a strong one, headlined by twenty D1 players (William Afawubo, Bryan Akongo, Evan Anderson, Rami Bensasi, Giuseppe Croce, Anthony DiFalco, Jack Emanuel, Ethan Hackenberg, Nolan Hutter, Keaton Jennings, Justin Kopay, Ryan Kopay, Ryan Landry, Charlie Lawrence, Eben McIntyre, Ryan Mertz, Tate Mohney, Gabe Norris, Zander Plizga and Michael Sullivan) and backed up by four D2 players (Bryce Ghandi, Daniel Rodgers, Mikel Ubeda, Garret Watson) as well as a former pro (Nicky Kolarac) and a former D2 player.
This division has some of the most obvious rivalries, with a true derby ( Akron v Cleveland, only 40 miles apart) , and two intra-state rivalries (Carpathia v Rangers, Steel City v Erie)
Prediction: Akron City and Steel City fight for their conference title.
North Conference
Dakota Fusion FC have never played in North Dakota. However, their home stadium in Moorhead, MN is 2.5 miles from the Red River and whence into ND. They are up on an island, with the closest teams being Sioux Falls Thunder (244 miles South) and Duluth (238 miles East), and much like the Torrent are on an island in the Great Lakes conference, Fusion’s position in the Red River Valley makes for some daunting travel — the most of which will be 320 miles to Med City in Rochester. The roster is headlined by D1 athletes Wasi Ewnetu and Rashaad Ogun with a D2-heavy mix, (Jeremie Briquet, Ben Colborn, Dylan Ellingson, Máté Lengyel, Yuto Nakamae, Benjamin Nicholson, Xavier O’Garro, Cai Pritchard, Mohammad Sanyang and Kenshiro Yamaguchi) and JuCo players sprinkled in and 2021–22 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in North Dakota, Gannon Brooks.
Duluth FC play at Public Schools Stadium. Their roster includes a Mr Soccer finalist, Parker Chastey, Four D1 athletes (Tom Akinola, Conor Behan, Paul Bobai, Myles Edmondson) leading the way on a roster with ten D2 members (Kostyantyn Domaratskyy, Rory Doyle, Duban Santiago Erazo Medina, Colin O Mahony, James Price, Liam Pritchard, Stefan Roeb, Luis Felipe Santos, Andres Solares, Jake Starling) and an NAIA coach.
Joy Athletic play at St Louis Park High School’s Oriole Stadium. They are the tip of the Joy of the People youth club setup and their roster is largely made up of former Joy youth players. That said, they have moved on to D1 (Aiden Cavenaugh, Bennett Kouame) D2 (Philip Caputo, Noah Eklund, Mika Folstad, Noah Kantorowicz and Zinedine Kroeten) and D3.
It has been announced in a fun way. As featured in that graphic, the club/program is best known for Emmanuel Iwe, who is in the farm system of Minnesota United.
Aris are slated to play at Logan High School but they have a history of changing venues, so stay tuned. Aris are another club with a strong youth focus, but have struggled to translate this into effective play on the pitch. Of the 8 players announced, Anfernee Stokes stands out as a D1 player.
Nicknamed for the Mayo Clinic’s strong presence in the city, Med City FC is based at Rochester Regional Stadium in Rochester, Minnesota. Their roster is powered by D1 (Jack Hilton-Jones,
Abdul-Quddoos Hypolite, Tristan Jumeau, Matias Milla) and D2 players (Noah Gjervik, Lucas Hart, Julian Heppner, Julio Rojo, Ricardo Schroeder and William vanHoornbeek). Chileshe Chitulangoma is at Clemson but not as a varsity player.
Minnesota TwinStars will split games between Minnetonka High School and Spring Lake Park High School, both in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. They are returning to action following a hiatus, and can trace their history overall all the way back to 1997. Their roster is led by D1 athletes Sadra Golzarian, Andrew Holmes, Sidike Jabateh and
Alex Lynch, and D2 players Yuken Harmon, Jonathan Harris, Matthew Janke and Cullen McSweeney.
Sioux Falls Thunder play at University of Sioux Falls’s Bob Young Field.
Their roster remains a mystery as they still have their 2022 lineup posted with the league and on their club site. Of the players who have been announced on Twitter, a couple of guys from D2 Montana State University, Billings jump out (Callum Bryan and Guillermo Gonzalez).
The potential for rivalries sits with the remaining Twin Cities derby between St Louis Park’s Joy Athletic and the more mobile TwinStars, and the I-29 derby between Fargo’s Dakota Fusion and Sioux Falls Thunder.
Prediction: The North will be a scrap.
So, all in all, looks like another fun season with the usual mixture of college athletes, with a sprinkle of high school aged kids and men who have graduated but want to keep playing.
Playoff note:
If you are new to this league, the top two teams in the North, Great Lakes and Gateway (as well as the Heartland) will advance into the playoffs based on points-per-game. More on who will play whom nearer that time.
This week’s fixtures
Saturday 13th:
Steel City FC v Akron City FC
Carpathia FC v Cleveland SC
Dakota Fusion FC v Med City FC
Joy Athletic Club v LC Aris FC
Minnesota TwinStars FC v Duluth FC
Wednesday 17th:
Des Moines United FC v Sunflower State FC
Friday 19th:
Michigan Rangers v Akron City FC
Steel City FC v FC Columbus