NPSL Midwest, Week 5: Recap
Wednesday:
Med City FC, 3 vs La Crosse Aris, 1 : 6:45 PM - Rochester Regional Stadium at RCTC, Rochester, MN - Eleven Sports
The first of two games on the week for both sides, Aris made the short jaunt from La Crosse to Rochester. Aris scored first in the 15th minute and held the lead shortly until Mazeed Aro-Lambo evened the score in the 22nd minute. La Crosse held off the Mayhem for the rest of the first half but Kolton Prater scored the game winner in the 46th minute. Toby Millward added an insurance goal for Med City in the 62nd to round out the night.
Joy Athletic Club, 3 vs Sioux Falls Thunder, 0 : 8:15 PM - Oriole Stadium, St. Louis Park, MN - Eleven Sports
After a rough last few games Joy Athletic came back home for a late kickoff match in St. Louis Park. A seventh minute free kick goal for Joy by Darley Florvil was all that Joy Athletic needed for the win as they held a clean sheet, their first in club history, against Sioux Falls. Emmanuel Iwe and Xavier Zengue also scored with 65th and 85th minute goals respectively.
Saturday:
FC Indiana 1 vs Panathinaikos Chicago, 3 : 4 PM - Legacy Sports Club, Lafayette, IN - Facebook
PAO Chicago headed east to face the Lions of FC Indiana as both sides attempt to climb into a playoff spot in the Great Lakes Conference. The visitors scored three times inside the first 45 minutes of play en route to a 3-1 away victory propelling them into a tie for second place in the Great Lakes.
Carpathia FC, 2 vs FC Columbus, 1: 6 PM - Avondale High School Stadium, Auburn Hills, MI - Eleven Sports
Michigan vs Ohio, another state vs state rivalry match happening in the Great Lakes Division. Carpathia's two first half goals would be just enough to hold the lead the rest of the match even after Coro Alvarez scored on a free kick in the 75th minute for Columbus.
Minneapolis City SC, 2 vs Med City FC, 0 : 6 PM - Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis, MN - YouTube
The top two in the North faced off to see who would be the undisputed leader in the Conference. Unfortunately for the visiting side they would succumb to what is possibly the best side Minneapolis City has ever put together. After being held off for an entire half Max Stiegwardt got the Crows on the board with a penalty in the 56th minute. He would be followed up just under 20 minutes later by a Kevin Andrews goal.
Dakota Fusion, 3 vs La Crosse Aris, 0: 7 PM - Jim Gotta Stadium, Moorhead, MN - Magnitude Sports Network
Aris had apparent difficulty getting to Moorhead, causing a near 45 minute delay to kick off, and will probably wish they had just taken the forfeit which was on the table for a while - since a 3-0 defeat is how it finished anyway. Fusion survived a red card to their goalkeeper in the 55th minute and a subsequent flurry of free kicks close to their goal to emerge victorious.
Sioux Falls Thunder, 2 vs Duluth FC, 1 : 7 PM - McEneaney Field, Sioux Falls, SD - Eleven Sports
After a tough loss last weekend to Minneapolis City SC, Duluth FC looked to get back to winning ways against Sioux Falls. It took more than 80 minutes for a goal to be scored and that first one came from Trace Dobson in the 81st minute. Duluth quickly answered back with an 86th minute goal by Caleb Tammi. The Thunder's Tyler Limmer ended hopes for a draw with a stoppage time goal for Sioux Falls.
*Note – All Times CDT
NPSL Round Up, Great Lakes and North Divisions - Week 3
NPSL Great Lakes Conference
Panathinaikos Chicago vs FC Columbus
Panathinaikos Chicago came into their second home match of the season on an 0-0-2 record with zero points in the conference. FC Columbus meanwhile came off the a week long break following a 2-0 defeat by Milwaukee. The Nike Sports Complex in Naperville, IL would however see the home side drop their third match of the season by a score of 3-2. Host PAO Chicago will have a bye week this week before facing FC Indiana on the road on June 5th. FC Columbus will host FC Indiana this Saturday night at Roberts Field at The Wellington School.
FC Indiana vs FC Milwaukee Torrent
Great Lakes Conference leaders Milwaukee Torrent headed down to Indianapolis to continue their two match win streak against the Lions of FC Indiana. The Torrent looked appeared to be putting the Lions through the ringer with Tony Doellefeld scoring in the 5th minute before Emiliano Caballero scored 9 minutes later. FC Indiana's Andrew Revanales scored in the 22nd minute which cut the lead down to 2-1. Both sides would score just once more each, Milwaukee on another Doellefeld goal in the 40th and FC Indiana's Ricardo scoring the only second half goal in the 60th.
NPSL North Conference
Dakota Fusion FC vs Med City FC
The home opener for Fusion could not reverse the recent form for either squad as Med City forced the pace through Peter Lange-Nielson's goal in the 2nd minute, but it was Lucas Hart's pressure which secured their second win of the season, with an assist for Lange-Nielson and two goals ( one from a penalty decision which was unclear even after multiple viewings). Any chances for Fusion to fight back were ended when Huseyin Celik was shown a second yellow card, having been booked for unsporting behavior. Mazeed Aro-Lambo completed the scoring.
Duluth FC vs Joy Athletic Club
Duluth opened their season with a late winner in an instant classic. The home team led 2-0 after 20 minutes through James Westfield and Sidney Warden but Joy fired right back through Philip Capudo and had leveled the game before the half-time whistle through Emanuel Iwe. The team from St. Louis Park then took their own lead shortly after the hour mark after an own goal. The final swing of the pendulum saw the BlueGreens tie the match through Dylan Sumner in the 70th minute and Warden then stepped up to cap the comeback and seal the win only 4 minutes from time.
La Crosse Aris SC vs Minneapolis City SC
What could have been a tricky road trip for the Crows, playing against an Aris side which fought back for a tie against Joy on a field even further flung than usual in Arcadia, WI, turned out to be another paragraph in the continued strong start to the season for Minneapolis City. The goals came courtesy of a double from Justin Oliver in the 16th and the 46th minutes and late goals by Kevin Andrews in the 80th minute and Arthur Parens in the 90th. It also featured a City Futures goalkeeper as striker at one point.
Standings after Week 3
The NPSL's Midwest region is made up of three very different conferences, both in geography and length. The NPSL's format typically has most conference playing a double round robin, this results in varying lengths of seasons depending on the conference. That results in the Great Lakes and Rust Belt Conferences playing a 10 game season while the North plays a 12 game schedule.
In the westernmost conference, the North, Minneapolis City leads with 9 points through three matches. Med City FC and Duluth FC have 6 and 3 points respectively, giving all three sides 3 PPG, which is how the playoffs are seeded.
In the Great Lakes conference FC Milwaukee Torrent has 9 points and a 3-0-0 record while Carpathia has a 2-0-0 record and six points, both good for 3 PPG and the two spots the Great Lakes will have in the NPSL Midwest Playoffs.
Lastly is the Rust Belt Conference where just a few teams have started play. On points however FC Buffalo has 3 points after winning their season opener in Rochester while Cleveland SC has a single point after drawing their home opener against the same Rochester Lancers.
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Where to Watch: NPSL Week 3
NPSL Week 3:
Friday:
Panathinaikos Chicago vs FC Columbus : 8 PM - Nike Sports Complex, Naperville, IL - MyCujoo
Saturday:
FC Indiana vs FC Milwaukee Torrent : 4 PM - FC Indiana Stadium, Lafayette, IN - No Stream Announced
Dakota Fusion FC vs Med City FC : 7 PM - Jim Gotta Stadium at Moorhead High School, Moorhead, MN - Magnitude Sports Network
Duluth FC vs Joy Athletic Club : 7PM - Duluth Denfield Stadium, Duluth, MN - MyCujoo
La Crosse Aris SC vs Minneapolis City SC : 7pm - Arcadia High School, Arcadia, WI - No Stream Announced
NPSL Great Lakes and North Scores - Weekend of May 15th, 2021
This weekend the National Premier Soccer League saw a total of five matches between both of the Divisions in the Midwest. The Great Lakes saw Carpathia FC host FC Indiana and the Milwaukee Torrent host PAO Chicago. While in the North there were three matches with the Crows of Minneapolis City host Dakota Fusion, Med City FC host the Sioux Falls Thunder, and finally Joy Athletic host La Crosse Aris.
