Crows draw with man-down RKC Third Coast in USL2 season opener
Minneapolis City SC and RKC Third Coast opened their 2025 USL League Two season last Sunday at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis. Unfortunately for both clubs, the match ended in a 3-3 draw after a series of late lead changes, sending both teams back to the dressing room in a less-than-jubilant mood.
After having massive success in the NPSL with three straight division titles, the Crows have struggled since entering USL2 in the 2022 season. City has finished no higher than second bottom in the Deep North Division over the previous three seasons, but in a new look Heartland Division the Crows aim to get back to their NPSL success. Minneapolis head coach Justin Oliver said, "To be honest USL2 is head and shoulders above NPSL so it’s been an adjustment period for the club but we are looking forward to doing better this season and in the future we want to get back to competing for championships like we were in NPSL but the quality of opposition is very high."
RKC Third Coast meanwhile has been a top contender in their previous two seasons, making the playoffs in 2023 and missing them by just two points in 2024. The 'Gulls will be shooting for a top two finish to make the USL2 playoffs in a newly reformatted Central Conference Heartland Division that sees quite a few changes, including longtime member Des Moines Menace moving to the Great Plains division.
RKC opened the match with a quick goal just two minutes into the match, with John Wandschneider nabbing the goal for the visitors. Wandschneider would not be on the pitch much longer as he was handed a yellow in the 8th minute followed by a second yellow and being sent off in the 34th minute. Even down one man though, RKC showed the boisterous crowd they were in control, before doubling their lead with a late first half goal from Jaden Prado.
Just two minutes into the second half, Jackson Kirsch headed up to the spot and put the Crows on the board, cutting the RKC lead in half at the 47th minute.
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Just before the 50th minute the Crows added a second goal from Preston Kipnusu to draw the match level, and later in the half Kirsch stepped up to the spot again and struck home to put the hosts up 3-2 and secure himself a brace. "It feels good to score a brace in the opener, said Jackson Kirsch. "I’m always happy to help the team in any way. I was glad to get off to a good start and grow some confidence for some continued output this season."
But the lead was not to last as with 10 minutes plus stoppage to play, RKC Third Coast's Nicholas Pendleton scored on a thundering shot from inside the box to draw the match level once again at 3-3, where it would end.
"It's a tough one to swallow not holding on to the result but sometimes that is football," Jackson Kirsch said. "I am proud of the lads for fighting and being resilient especially being 2-0 down at halftime. There is still much to be proud of."
"For the USL2 season we are going to go game by game and put our best foot forward each time and try to leave with 3 points," said Minneapolis head coach Justin Oliver. "We have goals and ambitions of being a top team in our conference and making the playoffs but you don’t do that by talking about it, you do it by have a process you trust in and buy into each day / game to try and get the best possible result."
Photo Gallery: Minneapolis City SC vs RKC Third Coast
USL League Two
Minneapolis City SC hosted RKC Third Coast in their home opener of the 2025 USL2 sesson. RKC’s John Wandschneider scored the opening goal and received his second yellow card all by the 34th minute. The Crows went down to 2-0 just before halftime but responded with two quick goals in the early portion of the second half.
City’s Jackson Kirsch put the Crows up 3-2 in the 74th minute but RKC rallied and scored six minutes later when Nicholas Pendleton scored the equalizer to take share of the points.
USL League Two
US Open Cup Second Round Preview
Having proven that they can beat a team of developmental professionals from an MLS club and still facing the recruitment battle that amateur sides all face in the Cup's early rounds, Des Moines Menace now play a second division 3 professional side in Union Omaha. The Owls are the defending USL League One champions and secured their first win of the young league season, cruising to a 3-1 win on the road against South Georgia Tormenta.
Forward Madison moves on from their victory over Duluth FC in the first round to face FC Tulsa of the USL Championship. The Oklahoman club is 3-0-1 in their league and their hosts are 1-0-1 in League One.
Looking forward, the remaining Championship clubs will join for the third round, and the clubs MLS has deigned to include in the tournament will join in round four - including our own Minnesota United. Both Menace and Forward play on Wednesday night. Stay tuned to this site for full coverage, and follow us on Bluesky for live posts.
USL League 2 waves goodbye to the Deep North
In the 30-year-old USL League 2, the Heartland Division of the Central Conference is our focus - with that conference the initial focus of any playoff run. Its former neighbor to the East has subsumed the Deep North division. Into the Heartland's Chicagoland base come a trio of Minnesotan clubs and one from Wisconsin. Out go the defending Deep North champions, Thunder Bay Chill, who have gone on hiatus, and Bavarian United, which focuses on UPSL and the Midwest Premier League. Out of the Heartland are St. Charles FC (who are not listed) and national runner-up Peoria City (who move to the Great Plains division).
None of the four playoff qualifiers from the Heartland or Deep North in 2024 are in the Heartland this season. The Central has five divisions.
From the Heartland
Chicago City Dutch Lions are a joint-venture of the operators of two previously separate USL clubs, Chicago City SC and Chicago Dutch Lions (who were one of 11 Dutch Lions teams fielded by the franchise across the USA). CCSC are an established youth operation in the area. Dutch Lions lost all 12 of their games last season, City managed two wins and 2 draws but only managed 6th place.
Joliet-based Sueño FC are a newcomer from last season, when they finished 5th of 7 in the Deep North.
River Light FC were 3 points outside a playoff spot from their base in Aurora, Illinois, with a 7-3-2 record.
From the Deep North
The storied crows of Minneapolis City SC finished 5th of 6 teams in the Deep North last season with 5 wins and 7 losses from a topsy-turvy season.
Their neighbors to the East, St. Croix Legends finished fourth, with a 5-2-5 record.
RKC Third Coast in Racine, WI finished two points short of the second playoff spot last season, with a 6-1-5 record.
Rochester FC finished bottom of the division, with a 2-1-9 record.
Prospects
With the playoff field yet to be established it is difficult to make predictions. However, the absence of all four of last year's playoff representatives would suggest a path for a different club (and maybe some from the Northland) to playoffs. Stay tuned.
Photo Gallery: Mpls City SC v St Croix Legends, MN Super Cup Final
Minneapolis City SC and St Croix Legends faced off at Macalester Stadium on Thursday, July 25, in the final of the second annual Minnesota Super Cup. The Legends won 3-0, with goals from Asher Ozuzu (12th minute), Stu Sain (43rd minute), and Nathan Donovan (46th minute).
You can read our full match recap here. All photos by Jason Morales Ortiz.
MN Super Cup Final: St Croix Legends 3-0 Mpls City SC
The 2024 Minnesota Super Cup final on Thursday, July 25, featured cross-town rivals St Croix Legends and Minneapolis City SC, both making their first appearance in the championship game. St. Croix closed out a high-octane performance with a 3-0 win, leaving Macalester Stadium with a cup and a clean sheet.
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The inaugural final in 2023 saw Med City FC defeat the MNUFC U-19s for their last piece of hardware before folding in the offseason. This year's match-up was a little more personal, with an added dose of friendly competition. Following their meeting in the USL-2 regular season finale, which City won 2-0 on St. Croix's own turf, Thursday's match leveled the Oliver Derby.
Head coach Tyler Oliver's Legends had a slight edge over Justin Oliver's Crows, as the latter lost a handful of key defenders to the college season since that last match. The Legends capitalized on that shuffled backline early, opening the scoring in the 13th minute. Asher Ozuzu ran it in from midfield on a breakaway, slipping a shot past City goalkeeper Evan Siefken.
"I do think we got some great performances from three CBs who stepped up and played their first minutes of the season there," said City head coach Justin Oliver. "Andrew [Soczynski], Sam [Keading] and Tomas [Menna] were all very good today and I’m so proud of their performances. That legends attack is really good and really dangerous so to only concede one through the run of play from them was big time."
Ozuzu's tally was the only goal to come from the run of play. Soczynski, Keading, and Menna, all grew into the match, which became more chippy and physical as the officials became more and more likely to call fouls by the Crows while saying 'play on' after similar fouls by Legends.
St. Croix scored their second goal in the 43rd minute, this from a freekick in a crowded box. Siefken and a number of defenders called for a handball but it was ruled a goal for St. Croix's Stu Sain. City had a few decent chances, including a corner kick in stoppage time but the ball was skied over the crossbar, allowing the Legends a 2-0 lead at the break.
Nathan Donovan made it 3-0 less than a minute into the second half, another set piece that found Siefken's defenders off guard.
Legends head coach Tyler Oliver praised his players' offensive efforts: "Massive credit to the guys on our team today for creating a ton of chances and executing at a high rate on set pieces which was going to be strength of ours heading into the game because of no Kent brothers and others in the back. The game plan was to attack space and attack in transition today as that’s where we are the most dangerous and it showed today with Evan [Siefken] making a high high number of saves and Nolan [Meyer] being relatively uncalled on today especially in the opening 65 minutes."
While the Crows spent plenty of time in the Legends' final third through the last half hour of the match, they were unable to find a consolation goal. Had the match gone on for another 10 or 20 minutes, Sidike Jebatah could have leveled it himself on will, but he could not buy a goal in 90 minutes. Henri Tophoven and Eli Goldman also threw themselves forward.
"I thought we were brilliant on the ball today and just didn’t have that final ball or that finishing touch one of them was always missing," Justin said of the Crows' effort. "Tons of respect for St. Croix and they earned a win tonight by capitalizing off some moments we didn’t compete well enough on."
He continued: "We went into the game with the same plan as always which is to press and defend as high up the field as possible while also always trying to build and play as much as possible too. The squad was absolutely good enough to win and get a result with a lot of guys that featured a lot this season and also a lot guys that were playing the first or first couple games of the season for us. We unfortunately didn’t defend set pieces well enough today and went down 2-0 on them."
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As the players' focus shifts to the college season, so too for the Oliver brothers. Justin will return to his head coaching role at St. Olaf. Tyler, who serves as men's head coach at Hamline, said, "It’s always great to coach against Justin. He won national coach of the year at the D3 level for a reason and he showcased that with City this summer as well. Nice to get one over him heading into the fall where it’s a tall task again."
The Minnesota Super Cup will return for a third year in 2025 and, for the first time, will include a women's tournament. Billed as "a showcase of the best pre-professional soccer talent in Minnesota", the tournament has raised the interest and stakes in the state's lower division market and added an extra layer of competition to the season. A touch of brotherly - and perhaps, one day, sisterly - rivalry is a nice keystone in that growth.
USL-2 Spotlight: MPLS City SC vs Thunder Bay Chill
Minneapolis City SC closed out their home season with a 2-1 win over the Thunder Bay Chill on Friday night. Not only did the Crows melt the Chill for three points, but they also tallied a win for their stadium neighbor, M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital.
Dubbed the Gene Party, Friday's festivities featured a denim print kit and a halftime selfie with a crowd full of denim. The event was inspired by Evan Menk, son of City member Scott Menk, who received a gene therapy treatment at Masonic Children's. [Click here to read more and to donate to the cause.]
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Fans who were there to watch the soccer (in their weather-adapted denim outfits) were also treated to a pretty good game.
After losing to the Chill 3-2 on Canadian soil last Friday, the 5th, the Crows got their revenge at Edor Nelson Field with two first half goals. It took Mizael Harris only 10 minutes to find the opener, a quick volley past the Chill's goalkeeper, player/coach Francesco Leuzzi. Minneapolis keeper Evan Siefken came up with a few big stops to keep the Chill off the board, despite a few of the attacking runs that made the Canadians successful the previous Friday. Just before the halftime whistle, Sidike Jabateh found a lane in a crowded box through which he smashed a volley into the net to double the hosts' lead.
Despite a flurry of chances in the second half, which included a few nutmeg spectacles, the Crows were held to their 2-0 lead until the 85th minute when Loris Tsiatsipy sent a ball past Siefken into the bottom right corner. Siefken kept busy for the remaining minutes of regulation, plus six minutes of stoppage time, to close out the game without another goal.
The win was a great way to close out the Crows' home season, one that started with some ups and downs. While Thunder Bay will continue on to conference playoffs, City capped off their league season on Sunday with a 2-0 road win over St Croix Legends. City still has the MN Super Cup final (against St Croix) to look forward to on Thursday, July 25. Northern Lights will be there to provide live updates and recap the action.
USL League 2 Spotlight: Minneapolis City v Rochester FC
Minneapolis City SC 2-0 Rochester FC
Goals by Eli Goldman and Ryan Keefe
All pictures from Jason Morales Ortiz
USL 2 Spotlight: St Croix Legends vs Rochester FC
USL League Two Spotlight: St Croix Legends 1-3 Rochester FC
In a fight between the top side in the Deep North, and the bottom side, it was the Loons who emerged with all three points – aided by an amazing sequence at the end of the first half where Nathan Donovan was shown a red card for the Legends and almost immediately, Rochester attacked and scored through Jake Parish off the half volley, going on to add a second through Preston McKay in first half stoppage time and a third in the 81st minute by Warren Moss before the Legends spoiled the clean sheet in the 90th minute through Cole Schrage.
Following this game, Rochester FC has beaten St. Croix twice this season. Those matches are RFC’s only wins and St Croix’s only losses.
Check out Ben VanWyk’s photo gallery.
Photo Gallery: Minneapolis City SC v St Croix Legends
USL League Two
Minneapolis City SC held their home opener in the Deep North Division of USL League Two on Wednesday night. The Crows welcomed St. Croix Legends to Edor Nelson field in Minneapolis. The Legends claimed all three points as they squandered the Crow’s hopes of a happy home opener. Take an on the field look from the perspective of our photographer’s with this photo gallery as the Legends defeated the Crows 3-0.
USL League Two Spotlight: Minneapolis City SC v St Croix Legends
USL League Two
Nathan Donovan proved to be the decisive factor in a combative Twin Cities derby, scoring in the 15th and 52nd minute and laying on the assist for the Legends’ third goal in the 90th minute from Dylan Olson, at which point the Crows had been reduced to 10 men by the dismissal of Max Kent for a second bookable offense in the 80th minute.
Other Scores:
Rochester FC 1-4 Bavarian United
USL League Two Deep North Preview
The Deep North division of United Soccer Leagues League Two stays largely unchanged, save for the departure of FC Manitoba in Winnipeg. Here's a look at the League Two landscape.
Thunder Bay Chill
The Division winners are back, having accumulated nine wins, two draws and only one loss on their way to the Conference Semifinals. They eventually lost to Des Moines Menace in extra time.
Minneapolis City SC
The Crows finished second bottom in the Divisional table, with a record of three wins, three draws and six losses. Nonetheless, the non-playoff positions in the table were congested.
St Croix Legends
On the eastern edge of the Twin Cities metro in Stillwater, the Legends finished with five wins, six losses and a draw.
Rochester FC
The Loons in Southern Minnesota (as opposed to the MLS team) have had a busy off-season absorbing their NPSL-playing neighbors Med City FC and it will be interesting to see how the roster composition is impacted by a separate pool of players. RFC managed four wins, six losses and two draws.
Bavarian United
The legendary Bavs have racked up National Amateur Cup championships from their base in metro Milwaukee, but only managed one win in the USL L2 last season - their first in the league.
RKC Third Coast
The considerably younger Racine, WI based Third Coast made the playoffs in their debut season, but were up against Des Moines Menace and did not make it past that first round match. Their regular season record was eight wins, three losses and a draw.
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)
USL2 Central Conference Recap: Week 1-2
Week 1
Sunday
St. Charles FC 0-4 Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace kicked off their 2023 season and return to the Heartland Division against a debuting St. Charles FC side in St. Charles home opener. The match did not go the way the hosts would have liked as they fell to Des Moines 4-0. The Menace struck early on with a Lagos Kunga strike from inside the six. After the opener in the ninth minute, the Menace struck again in the 33rd minute with a goal from Eliot Goldthorp. Des Moines would earn an own goal in the 65th minute before adding the fourth goal when Leroy Enzugusi sent a low shot into the corner of the goal from 15 yards out.
Week 2
Saturday
Midwest United FC 0-0 Oakland County FC
Midwest United hosted in-state rival Oakland County FC at MUFC's home (and season) opener in Grand Raids, MI. Neither said was able to break a deadlock that would go through the entire 90 minutes, ending the match in the conference's first nil-nil draw in the season.
Minneapolis City SC 1-2 St. Croix Legends
The Crows took to the field to open their USL2 season at home against St. Croix SC in the Twin Cities derby. After falling in their season the previous weekend in Minnesota Super Cup match the against MNUFC's U19 team, Minneapolis City looked for their first win under Carl Craig. In what would become a very chippy match with seven yellows issued, Minneapolis City stuck first with a 31st goal from Hakeem Morgan directly from a free kick. Right after the start of the second half, St. Croix's Nathan Donovan chipped the ball over Minneapolis goalkeeper Oscar Herrera's head, then from near the six sent it in for the easy goal to draw the match level. Six minutes later Otis Anderson kicked in a ball bouncing around inside the six to put St. Croix up 2-1 and earn what would be the match winning goal.
Des Moines Menace 3-0 FC Wichita
After a routing win to open the season for Des Moines, FC Wichita looked to get the season off to a good start against easily the toughest team in the division. After staying even for nearly 30 minutes, the Menace snagged the opener when Eliot Goldthorp scored his second of the season on a rocket from inside the 18. Just four minutes after the opening goal, Lagos Kunga snapped up his second goal of the season when he chipped a ball over Wichita keeper Breno Zanolla, who would later be issued a straight red card, allowing the ball to roll in for the second goal and push the Menace firmly in control. Leroy Enzugusi tacked on the third goal in the 74th minute with an easy finish after receiving a pass inside the six in front of a wide open goal.
Cleveland Force SC 3-3 FC Buffalo
The season opener for both sides and the first ever USL2 match for FC Buffalo would end in each side taking home just one point after playing to a 3-3 draw.
AFC Ann Arbor 5-0 Kalamazoo FC
Another Michigan rivalry match opened the season with AFC Ann Arbor hosting Kalamazoo FC. After going into half-time up 1-0 off a goal from Charlie Sharp, The Mighty Oak broke the match wide open in the second half, with four more goals to secure a dominating win.
Fort Wayne FC 1-0 Kings Hammer FC
Fort Wayne FC edged out Kings Hammer FC in a closely fought contest with Alexandre Frank's 75th minute bicycle kick goal being the deciding factor in the match..
Coming up
Wednesday
Lansing City Football v AFC Ann Arbor
Friday
Kings Hammer FC v Cleveland Force SC
Kalamazoo FC v Flint City Bucks
Rochester FC v Bavarian United SC
Chicago City SC v Springfield Athletic SC
Saturday
Midwest United FC v South Bend Lions
Minneapolis City SC v RKC Third Coast
FC Wichita v Des Moines Menace
Peoria City v St. Charles FC
Oakland County FC v Lansing City Football
Sunday
St. Croix Legends v Bavarian United SC
USL2 Central Conference Preview
Deep North Division
Clubs: 7
Clubs Lost: 2 (moved to Heartland Division)
Expansion sides: 3
Matches: 12
Playoff Spots: TBD (2 in 2022)
The 2022 season in the Deep North was dominated by perennial National Championship challengers, Des Moines Menace and expansion side Peoria City. Both of those sides have been moved out of the Deep North and into the Heartland Division for 2023. Thunder Bay Chill, FC Manitoba, St. Croix SC, and Minneapolis City SC will continue in the division, the existing four sides will be joined by three expansion clubs. RKC Third Coast is the only tried and true expansion side as Bavarian United and Rochester FC are additions to already existing clubs.
With the changes to the division the geography has been massively reduced and now is similar to, though larger than, the NPSL North Conference. After their performance last season, tying Peoria City on 21 points, Thunder Bay Chill are unquestionably the favourites in the league. On the flip side of that Minneapolis City SC finished dead last in the division in 2022. The Crows new, and former MNUFC (NASL) and Forward Madison boss Carl Craig will look to right the ship and rebound in 2023.
Great Lakes Division
Clubs: 7
Clubs Lost: 0
Expansion sides: 0 (gained 1 from Valley)
Matches: 12
Playoff Spots: TBD (2 in 2022)
The Great Lakes Division is the most stable division, with only one change, in the conference and looks to be the most competitive as well. 2022 Valley Division champion South Bend Lions join the Great Lakes and will play alongside: AFC Ann Arbor, Flint City Bucks, Kalamazoo FC, Lansing City Football, Midwest United FC, and Oakland County FC.
After an ultra-competitive 2022 where the top four sides finished within 9 points of each other, 2023 looks to be even more wild. The addition of South Bend Lions throws in another very good team who look to push further after being knocked out of the USL2 playoffs in the first round. The Lions will have their work cut out for them as Kalamazoo, Flint City, and AFC Ann Arbor are looking to stake their claim in at the top of the table. Oakland County, Lansing City, and Midwest United all finished the previous season losing more than half their matches, OCFC is looking to build off the best season in club history while Lansing and Midwest United will be looking to improve on their season one performances.
Heartland Division
Clubs: 7
Clubs Lost: 3 (not playing in 2023)
Expansion sides: 1 (gained 2 from Deep North)
Matches: 12
Playoff Spots: TBD (2 in 2022)
From 2022 to 2023 the Heartland Division has had a number of big changes. First of those are that three of the top four finishing teams in 2022, Chicago FC United, Kaw Valley FC, and St. Louis Lions, have all left the division. The division will not have the number of sides change as they have gained back Des Moines Menace from the Deep North, Peoria City also joins from the Deep North, The new look Heartland is rounded out with expansion side St. Charles FC.
After last year's performance in the Deep North, Des Moines and Peoria City along with Chicago City SC, will be easy favourites to win the division and gain it's playoff spot (or spots). After a good performance putting up 19 points last season, FC Wichita will also look to challenge the top teams in the conference for the playoff spots. Springfield Athletic SC will look for major improvement after obtaining just 7 points on 14 matches in 2022. Chicago Dutch Lions make a surprising return to USL2 after having finished the previous season as the division punching bag, earning -3 points after forfeiting the last three matches of 2022.
Valley Division
Clubs: 6
Clubs Lost: 1 (moved to Great Lakes Division)
Expansion sides: 1
Matches: 12
Playoff Spots: TBD (2 in 2022)
Rounding out the Central Conference is the six team Valley division. 2022 division champion South Bend Lions have been moved to the Great Lakes division. All five of the other sides from the 2022 season return to the Valley. Finishing out the division is USL expansion side FC Buffalo, who make the move over to USL2 after playing in the NPSL since 2010.
Kings Hammer and Fort Wayne FC enter as the favourites to win the division in 2023. The Kentucky and Indiana based clubs were the only two teams to come anywhere close to South Bend's 32 points last season. Kings Hammer tying them on points, but losing the tiebreaking and Fort Wayne finishing just six points back from the KHFC and South Bend. Toledo, Dayton, and Cleveland will all be looking to improve on overall awful 2022 season, that saw each side lost at least 65% of their matches. Having only qualified once for the NPSL playoffs and having their last winning season come in 2018, FC Buffalo will have their own major challenges to face as they will see an increase in level of play compared to the NPSL.