NPSL North Playoffs Review
Wednesday
The games were both punctuated by hydration breaks, with the temperatures in the 80s.
#2 Siouxland United FC 2-0 #4 Sioux Falls Thunder FC
The two sides split the regular season series with a win each, however the wins were not equal - a last kick win for Thunder having trailed in the 80th minute versus a 7-2 hammering by the Outlaws.
The home side broke through in the 10th minute as Dariel Contreras squared it for João Rocha to add to his healthy tally for the season. Thunder finished the half on the front foot, high pressure forcing a corner and a shot on goal, just wide but it remained 1-0 to the Outlaws at halftime.
It only took the hosts five minutes after the break to widen their lead, Contreras finishing off a box-to-box break with a 30 yard sprint to connect to a pass from Keitatsu Yoshida.
As the #2 seed in the North, Siouxland would need a Joy Athletic win to set up another home game. 430 miles Northeast, the Goats were threatening an upset.
#1 Duluth FC 2-3 #3 Joy AC
Duluth won one (rallying from 1-0 down to win 4-1) and drew one (which Joy should have won) in the regular season series. The home standing BlueGreens started the match on fire and were 2-0 up within 5 minutes with goals from Alex Ruiz and Liam Pritchard, but Griffin Price got one back for the visiting Goats in the 20th minute and it was there it stayed at half time.
In the 52nd minute, Goalie Alexandre Paredes and defender Juande mixed up for Duluth and a Phil Caputo cross found its way through to Christopher Plaza Alvarado for the equalizer. In the 66th minute, Joy broke free down the left and Carver Tierney dribbled deep into the box before slotting the ball into the far side netting for the go-ahead goal. Constant pressure from the home team founded on the shores of the Goat defense.
Saturday
NPSL North Conference Final - #2 Siouxland United FC 3-0 #3 Joy AC
As last year, it is only the winner of this match who can claim the title of Conference Champions. Duluth FC won last year and made it to the National Semifinals but this year saw a first time champion crowned.
Joy AC had the only real chance of the opening half an hour , but Siouxland keeper Will Devine smothered it. The Goats arguably had the better of the opening half but neither team had broken through at half time and the home side recovered their composure at half time and João Rocha added to his goal scoring streak with barely two minutes played in the second half, connecting to a breakaway pass to put the Outlaws ahead.
Outlaws head coach Alex Trent said the team "just needed a reminder to relax". The second half saw the home side gaining more control but still not able to completely put away the Goats until the 67th minute when Hayato Takayama latched on to a ball over the top of the Goat defense. Substitute Christian Piewe made it 3-0 after capitalising on a turnover by Joy in their own penalty area.
Reflecting on the season so far, Coach Trent said:
Happy for the club and everyone who has been part of it. Looking forward to a big challenge on Wednesday and more memories with this group.
Coming Up
Midwest Regional Playoffs
We look at the mini-tournament here
NPSL Round Up: Week 7-8
Wednesday June 25th
Joy Athletic Club 2-1 Minnesota Blizzard FC
An ill-tempered and scrappy game ends the playoff hopes of the visitors and solidifies Joy in third. Minneapolis's Dimitri Nair burst into the visitors' penalty area from the right. He passed the ball onto Eagan, MN's Phil Caputo, who slotted his 12th goal of a Golden Boot-caliber season into the opposite side netting with only 19 minutes played. However, Joy struggled all night to finish off Blizzard, and the visitors were level in the 41st minute when Ulsterman Jadon Morgan expertly volleyed a cross into the net at the far post, after a corner was only partially cleared.
On the hour mark, a give and go down the left released Hopkin's MN's Griffin Price, whose pass was side footed home by Buffalo, MN's Carver Tierney. Even despite a red card, for violent conduct, by the St Thomas Tommie Bennett Kouame (out of St. Louis Park, MN) in stoppage time, Blizzard were unable to rally again.
Saturday June 28th
Joy Athletic Club 1-4 Sioux Falls Thunder FC
Things looked rosy for Joy as Phil Caputo scored a free kick, 30 yards out and dead central. However, the visitors scored four unanswered to vault themselves into a playoff spot. Nick North seized on a pass through the Joy defense in the 40th minute. Four minutes later, Thunder had the lead, AJ Bowman curling it past the keeper into the bottom corner.
Luis Waeschle added a finish to an intricate sequence down the right and Nick North added a counter attack goal in the second half.
Minnesota Blizzard FC 0-2 Siouxland United FC
The Outlaws spent an hour scoreless but sealed a win with goals from Dariel Contreras Portorreal in the 62nd, and Sergio Mijangos in the 80th minute, with a solo run down the right and a blast into the side netting.
Iowa Demon Hawks 0-1 Duluth FC
JJ Oyebamiji caught his own rebound after a point blank stop to secure the full three points for Duluth.
Wednesday July 2nd
Duluth FC 3-2 Siouxland United FC
It took half an hour, but an interception in midfield set up João Rocha for the opener by the visiting Outlaws, curled beyond Schenk in the BlueGreen net. In the 65th minute, a handball in the box allowed Duluth FC an opportunity to equalize from the spot, and the penalty kick by Felipe Oliveira slid underneath the Siouxland keeper. In the 81st minute, Siouxland United failed to clear for a period of two minutes and the ball leaked out to Peter Pearson, who blasted home from the top of the box. A late third by JJ Oyebamiji put the game beyond the reach of the visitors, even though United got their second in stoppage time through Sergio Mijangos.
Saturday July 5th
Siouxland United FC 1-2 Iowa Demon Hawks
With the seedings settled, Siouxland looked to stay healthy ahead of their rematch with Thunder. In the end it was the Demon Hawks who snuck the win. The visitors opened the scoring through an own goal in the 16th minute. Kyohei Eguchi equalized in the 31st minute but a Iowa PK by Jeanderson Pereira in the 70th secured the victory.
Coming Up:
The NPSL North Playoffs.
We look at the match-ups here
NPSL North Playoff Preview
#1 Duluth FC are the top seed despite a new head coach in Rio de Janeiro's Thomas Pazo. The perennial contenders for the North are defending Midwest Region champions and Liam Pritchard continues to torment opposing defenses. Felipe Oliveira and JJ Oyebamiji are their leading goalscorers, with 4 and 3 respectively.
#2 This is only Siouxland United's second season of existence, and following a 6-0-6 debut season, the Outlaws have been a surprise to everyone but themselves, beginning the season with two straight road losses but being unbeaten before losing to Duluth FC yesterday. Leading the way has been Rio de Janeiro's João Rocha, who has five goals, tied for second best in the conference. In the technical area is Alex Trent, who coached Dakota Fusion to an unbeaten regular season, before losing in the inaugural North Conference Final to Duluth FC. The Kansan has attracted a number of his players from 2024 to follow him to Sioux City.
We've overcome a lot of adversity as a group and we are in a great place now as a team with a strong bond together. We're learning how to win in different ways and winning has become the expectation. Our aim has always been getting home playoff games for our fans and club as we keep growing as a club in our second year and first year making playoffs.
- Alex Trent, Head Coach of Siouxland United FC
#3 The chance to be Siouxland United's opponents in the North Conference playoffs turned out to be a scrap between two wildly inconsistent teams, the Iowa Demon Hawks from Des Moines and the Sioux Falls Thunder. A new rule making it necessary for the matchups to be decided "on geography and/or other economic criteria" ensures that the teams from the South of the conference will meet each other.
Sioux Falls Thunder have a 4-1-5 record, with Aran Hernandez-Vivar having scored four and a rotating cast of others having added one to the record.
#4 Facing the BlueGreens in the Twin Ports are Joy Athletic, led by the Golden Boot nominee Philip Caputo, from Eagan, MN via Porto Alegre in the south of Brasil. He is the latest product of the Joy of the People "free play" system to make a name for himself in the NPSL, following Emmanuel Iwe (currently playing in the German 3.Liga) and Zinedine Kroeten (who is playing for Milwaukee Torrent in the Central States Conference). Buffalo, MN's Carver Tierney has ably assisted Caputo, to the tune of 5 goals.
I'll update this piece once I receive the quotes from the other clubs.
Coming Up - Wednesday
Duluth FC v Joy AC
Duluth won one (rallying from 1-0 down to win 4-1) and drew one (which Joy should have won) in the regular season series.
Siouxland United FC v Sioux Falls Thunder FC
The two sides have split the regular season series with a win each, however the wins were not equal - a last kick win for Thunder having trailed in the 80th minute versus a 7-2 hammering by the Outlaws.
Saturday
NPSL North Conference Final
As for last year, it is only the winner of this match who can claim the Conference Champions trophy. Duluth FC won last year and made it to the National Semifinals.
NPSL Round Up: Week 6
Tuesday
Joy Athletic Club 2-2 Duluth FC
Joy controlled the first half and got into a two-nil lead in the 32nd minute through a pair of goals by Carter Tierney, once from open play and once off a corner. However, they entered halftime level after a breakaway goal by the Londoner Jireh Oyebamji and a sloppy back pass capitalized upon by João Magalhaes with virtually the last kick of the half.
It was the division leaders who dominated the second half, including a penalty kick conceded and then tipped onto the post by Derek Stevens. A draw was probably a fair result.
Thursday
Siouxland United FC 7-2 Sioux Falls Thunder FC
Siouxland United entered the game with a chance to trim the gap to first to 1 point, whereas Thunder had the opportunity to overtake Joy in third. Both sides had good chances saved before the visitors took a lead in the 13th minute as a free kick 30 yards out was clipped early over the wall and into the penalty area for Aaron Hernandez-Vivar to slot home at the near post. The lead only lasted five minutes, João Rocha finished off a move from within the penalty area started by an Emilio Madrigal interception in midfield and fed to the Carioca by the Dominican Dariel Contrera, driving down the right. As the second half stoppage reached its conclusion of 2 minutes, Rocha was brought down on the right wing. The resultant free kick was sliced along the ground to Rocha, who blasted it into the side netting from the top of the penalty area.
The third goal for the Outlaws was the product of quick execution in the 54th minute, a rapidly taken throw from the left wing found Javier Munoz Cruz at the back post for a tap in. It was 4-1 ten minutes later, Kyohei Eguchi on a mazy run from 40 yards out on the left wing, all the way into the six yard box for a composed finish, beating six Thunder players in the process. Three minutes later, it was Rocha's hat trick, a simple finish off the rebound as Harumi Yunaiyama's shot cannoned into his path. The Outlaws had a shout for a penalty kick as Aimar Aramendia appeared to foul Christian Piewe Tientcheu. Piewe sprung the offside trap from a long ball curled into his path to make it 6-1. Nicolas Reinhard pulled one back 3 minutes later, but United made it 7 with the last kick of the game as Yunaiyama burst from midfield.
Saturday
Iowa Demon Hawks 3-0 Minnesota Blizzard FC
A hat trick by Robin Vandewalle gave the home team the win in this Summer time matchup of two teams who spend the winter in arena football. The first goal was a tap in after a neat pass around the corner in the 7th minute. The second goal came early in the second half and was all the Frenchman's creation and his special day was capped off in the 70th minute after he slid home easily from a left-wing cross.
Duluth FC 0-0 Sioux Falls Thunder FC (in Superior, WI)
A game with very few goal scoring chances leads to a highly unlikely, but firmly deserved, point for Thunder.
Standings
The tie-breakers are:
Head-to-head results, Goal difference in head-to-head matchups, Most wins in conference competition, Goal difference in conference competition, Fewest losses in conference competition.
Therefore, the Outlaws' 1-0 win over Duluth FC means they currently hold the tie-breaker atop the division. The two sides have still to meet in the Twin Ports. The next two teams will be seeded #3 and #4, but who plays whom will be defined by "geography and/or other economic factors", thus a Siouxland v Demon Hawks or Thunder match is much more likely than one for Duluth.
Coming Up
Wednesday
Joy Athletic Club v Minnesota Blizzard FC
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club v Sioux Falls Thunder FC
Minnesota Blizzard FC v Siouxland United FC
Wednesday July 2nd
Duluth FC v Siouxland United FC
Saturday July 5th
Siouxland United FC v Iowa Demon Hawks
NPSL Round Up: Week 5
Wednesday
Minnesota Blizzard 1-0 Joy Athletic Club
Shannonsider Cian Mcgoey ran all night, frequently ending offside but also popping up on the hour mark as an outlet pass for Carter Hermanson, a former Mpls City Futures product out of St Paul, MN. Mcgoey calmly dispatched the chance and Blizzard collectively defended from midfield back as the division's hottest striker, Phil Caputo with 9, put them under severe pressure. There were at least 3 calls for a penalty kick for Joy turned away, although Mcgoey also could have earned one at the other end.
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club 1-2 Siouxland United
Siouxland United took the lead after half an hour, João Rocha with a clean half volley strike in at the near post after he chested down a recycled ball from a 35 yard free kick whipped in from the left wing. In stoppage time at the end of the first half, the Outlaws high press produced a second, blasted into the far side netting by Daniel Contreras Portorreal. The Goats were only able to spoil the clean sheet with a soft penalty kick award, the ball hammered at a Siouxland defender from close range for a handball. Nonetheless, Phil Caputo stepped up and scored his tenth goal of the campaign.
Iowa Demon Hawks 0-3 Sioux Falls Thunder FC
In the 13th minute, a tough sequence saw the visitors break the deadlock. Max Matthies chipped the ball past the advancing Demon Hawks keeper Luan Teles, who clattered into him - leaving the Thunder player on the ground but the ball in the net. The goal was awarded, a penalty kick (or caution) was not. The hosts were, however, reduced to ten men in the 63rd minute when Matheus Barbosa da Silva received his second yellow card.
A mis-hit clearance in the 69th minute left Aran Hernández Vivar to slide the ball home for Thunder's second. Luke Waeschle added the icing to the visitor's cake in the last ten minutes, softly cushioning a header back across the keeper from a right wing cross.
Minnesota Blizzard FC 1-2 Duluth FC
The BlueGreens scored all three of the game's goals, opening the scoring from the wrong end in the 13th minute as a corner bounced fortuitously off a defender. It took them 15 more minutes to level the match, Liam Pritchard picked up the ball in midfield, beat three defenders and wrong footed the Blizzard keeper by reversing to put the ball in at the near post. The Tees-sider scored his second, and the game's winning goal, in the early stages of the second half with another near post effort, this time playing off the shoulder of the left back and blasting it into the roof of the net.
Coming Up:
Tuesday
Thursday
Siouxland United FC v Sioux Falls Thunder FC
Saturday
Iowa Demon Hawks v Minnesota Blizzard FC
Duluth FC v Sioux Falls Thunder FC (in Superior, WI)
NPSL Round Up: Week 4
Friday
Sioux Falls Thunder 0-2 Duluth FC
The undefeated BlueGreens took the win after goals from the 57th minute through the Mineiro Felipe Oliveira, who attends Wisconsin-Superior. The game was put beyond doubt by half time substitute, Londoner Harvey McLoughlin (also attending Wisconsin-Superior) in stoppage time at the end of the second half.
Joy Athletic Club 3-0 Iowa Demon Hawks
Stop me if you've heard this before, St Cloud State standout Philip Caputo scored twice and Jessie Juarez added a third as Joy saw off early pressure and snagged goals in the 21st and 29th, with the third in the early going of the second half.
Saturday
Minnesota Blizzard FC 2-2 Iowa Demon Hawks
A counter attack down the right in the 12th minute by Evan Carlson to put the visitors on top, but only a minute later Owen Johnson was sent off for handling the ball outside his area. The subsequent free kick was whipped past the makeshift "goalkeeper" (and defender) Mauricio Groppo by Cian Mcgoey to level the score and that is how it would stand at half time.
Around the hour mark, it looked like Blizzard would join Demon Hawks, Thunder, Joy and Siouxland with at least 6 points in an almighty log-jam for playoff positioning, when J Morgan slotted home from an attack down their right. Instead, the ten men got up off the canvas and punched back only two mins later, Carlson blasting home his second from the top of the area.
Siouxland United 1-0 Duluth FC
Siouxland United provided a spark in second half stoppage time of a match otherwise dominated by box to box midfield action. A long throw from the right was flicked on by a Duluth defender, into the path of Sporting KC academy graduate (out of Kansas City, MO) Abdulmuni Abdalla, who proceeded to take off his shirt in celebration and receive a second yellow card for delaying the restart. It is the second game in a row that the Outlaws have lost their discipline late, but they are now on a three game winning streak and have taken the first points of the season off the BlueGreens.
Coming Up:
Wednesday
Minnesota Blizzard v Joy Athletic Club
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club v Siouxland United
Iowa Demon Hawks v Sioux Falls Thunder FC
Minnesota Blizzard FC v Duluth FC
NPSL Round Up: Week 3
Tuesday
Duluth FC 1-0 Minnesota Blizzard FC
When you aren't destroying teams, just find a way to win. A draw is possible in this game we love, but that was not to be for the visitors, who conceded a fatal late free kick, 20 yards out on the right wing.
Duluth FC had a couple of half chances in the opening ten minutes but the Blizzard were steadfast in their defense. The Blizzard's first chances came shortly after back to back corners resulted in an unmarked shot from the top of the box, wide. Luis Vergara shot high from a corner in the 19th minute for Duluth, and the BlueGreens saw a goal disallowed for offside in the 25th. The home side's first corner took 27 minutes to arrive, and it resulted in a counter for Blizzard, albeit ended by a Mark Donaldson interception. Adrian Mejia nearly broke through for the hosts in the waning moments of the first half but the shot went wide. Blizzard had 5 corners in the opening 45 but could not threaten the goal.
Devan DiGrado (a St. Thomas graduate) provided the first shot in anger from the Blizzard in the second half, but it was blocked before it could make the box. Duluth had their own shots around the hour mark. Donaldson had the closest chance, side footed just wide from the edge of the Blizzard area in the 62nd minute. Bryant + Stratton's Cian McGoey (out of Limerick, Ireland) whipped the ball across the six yard box two minutes later for Blizzard, but it remained tied. The visitors' Evan Moreno (a Northern Arizona grad) received a red card, which turned yellow after consultation with the assistant referee in the 69th minute.
The rule (Law 12) governing denial of a goalscoring opportunity is convoluted, so I'm going to quote it:
Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for the ball; in all other circumstances (e.g. holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.), the offending player must be sent off.
João Magalhaes, who was fouled, saw his PK saved by Evan Siefken (formerly of St Johns and Minneapolis City) . The Mineiro Felipe Oliveira (who plays at Wisconsin-Superior) saw his shot blocked at point blank range in the 81st minute by Siefken.
Stoppage time degenerated into a sequence of fouls by Blizzard, the last of which was a killer for the visitors. The ball was whipped all the way from the right wing over to the left, then headed back across the penalty area and tapped into the goal by the Quiteño[Teddy Miranda (William Carey University) from inside the 6-yard box in the 6th minute of second-half stoppage time.
Friday
Sioux Falls Thunder 2-4 Joy AC
So what's new for Joy Athletic? Philip Caputo (a local product, and original St. Cloud State Husky) scored a first half hat trick, totaling 7 in his last two games. The first came courtesy of a ball into the left channel, expertly controlled and slotted across the keeper into the far side netting in the 15th minute. The second was a penalty kick fifteen minutes later. Caputo sealed his hatty with a lung busting run down the left wing, again finished into the far side netting.
The Goats kept pushing forward, but it would be the 60th minute before their fourth, a 25 yard free kick from Shakopee, MN's Jessie Juarez - who transferred into Hamline from Augsburg and has previously played for Duluth FC. The ball whipped over the wall and past the keeper at full stretch into the side netting.
Thunder scored their first after a left wing corner pinballed around and was poked home by local product and Gustavus Adolphus Gustie Tallen Dobson in the 70th minute. 3 minutes later, a counter attack made it 4-2 through the Canary Islander Aran Hernández Vivar, currently attending Western Iowa Tech. Unfortunately for the crowd at Bob Young Field, there would be no rousing rally this time.
Saturday
Sioux Falls Thunder 2-1 Minnesota Blizzard
It didn't take the Thunder long to break into this game, Hooper hammered the ball into the roof of the Blizzard net from the top of the penalty area with only 7 minutes on the clock, after the visitors failed to scramble the ball clear. However, a free kick on the right side in the 15th minute hit the wall and Devan DiGrado hammered home the rebound to equalize from close to 20 yards out.
2 mins into the 2nd half, the home side reasserted control. A burst down the left wing by local product Nick North, who attends SD School of Mines, culminated in an easy finish for Aran Hernández Vivar inside the six yard box. A draw might have been a fairer result, but 8 mins of stoppage did not yield a game changing goal and the home team secured their second win of the season.
Siouxland United 5-0 Joy AC
It took half an hour for a side to break the deadlock in Sioux City, and it was the Carioca product of Lewis and Clark Community College, João Lutz beating the defense down the middle to put Siouxland United ahead. Two minutes after half-time, Takumi Sato slid in a second at short range from a right wing cross. It was 3-0 in the 63rd minute, as Outlaw center back and St. Bonaventure player Xavier Davidson connected on a right wing corner. The game was iced in the 77th minute, when the Ontarian Christian Piewe Tientcheu (who goes to school at West Virginia Tech) tapped in on a counter-attack. A fifth goal was scored in the 86th minute on the counter again by Keitatsu Yoshida (From Osaka, Japan and currently lacing them up for Cowley College). Remarkably, Siouxland United's Yotaro Furutani (from Tokyo, via Munroe University) received a second yellow card in second half stoppage for a late challenge.
Duluth FC 3-1 Iowa Demon Hawks
In the 28th minute, Duluth took the lead after a header from Alejandro Ruiz Garcia squirmed past the Demon Hawks' keeper. A 37th minute penalty kick put the BlueGreens up two at half time. Iowa's sole goal came in the 47th minute through Saiheed Jah (Moline, IL via Drake). Bayerische Tobias Gerber (NE Community College) scored the third home goal in the 55th minute.
Sunday
Siouxland United 4-1 Minnesota Blizzard
The week's last action came in less than favorable weather conditions, high 80 degree heat and wildfire smoke triggering hydration protocols. It took the Outlaws of Siouxland United just 15 seconds after resumption from one of those hydration breaks to score the first goal via Keitatsu Yoshida. Daniel Contreras Portorreal doubled the lead. Christian Piewe Tientcheu made it 3-0 and Yoshida scored his second and SUX's fourth in the 71st minute. Carter Hermanson drifted a free kick in, and Ryan DeBois placed it past Bradley Ironside for Blizzard's only tally of the game in the 85th minute but a rally was not forthcoming. After starting their season with two losses, Siouxland United are now 2-2 and sit second, three points behind Duluth but with a game in hand and the two sides meeting next Saturday at Bishop Heelan in Sioux City.
Coming Up
Friday June 6th
Sioux Falls Thunder v Duluth FC
Joy Athletic Club v Iowa Demon Hawks
Saturday June 7th
Minnesota Blizzard v Iowa Demon Hawks
Siouxland United v Duluth FC
NPSL Round Up: Week 2
Wednesday May 21st
Sioux Falls Thunder 3-0 Iowa Demon Hawks
After a promising opening 10 minutes for the Thunder at Bob Young Field, the Demon Hawks grew into the match. A back-and-forth period finished with the visitors opening the scoring in the 31st minute as Jeanderson Pereira hit the ball low from the penalty arc and it deflected before spinning away from Joseph Valler in the Thunder net. The hosts refused to lie down but the Iowa lead was doubled in stoppage time at the end of the first half when Saiheed Jah hammered home from the left side of the penalty area, from a square pass from the right.
Thunder had their chances to lessen the score-line but failed to break through, and their chances were further hurt by a 66th minute injury to Valler. The substitute keeper Aimar Aramendia would concede the final goal 10 minutes later. Mauricio Groppo crossed from the left and Robin Vanderwalle sliced it home.
Saturday May 24th
Iowa Demon Hawks 1-6 Joy AC
Two games in the week, two lopsided losses. This time it was Joy who took advantage of the Hawks. Philip Caputo, who has been in the Joy system since he was 8 years old and just left St Cloud State as an original member of the 4 year-old program - and an all time statistical leader for the Huskies - decided tonight was the night to light up the NPSL North too. His first goal came in the 21st minute, blasting low at the goalkeeper's near post from the edge of the area. Two minutes later, Carver Tierney hammered a ball into the roof of the net from the right, also at the keeper's near post, to make it 2-0. In the 32nd minute, Caputo chipped Tom Gallagher in the Demon Hawks net from the top of the box to make it 3. The Hawks' sole goal came from Guilherme Lima, only a minute later - slotting home from a quick counter. However, it was Caputo's game, and the striker completed his hat trick with an almost identical strike to his first, snapped hard and low to the keeper's near post with the first half not yet over.
Caputo truly put his seal on the game in the 71st minute when a ball straight down the middle from Joy split the Demon Hawks defense and he raced on to slot home his fourth goal. Tierney completed the rout in the 87th minute with his second, a self-made half-volley from the penalty spot.
Coming Up:
Tuesday May 27th
Duluth FC v Minnesota Blizzard FC
Friday May 30th
Sioux Falls Thunder v Joy AC
Saturday May 31st
Sioux Falls Thunder v Minnesota Blizzard
Siouxland United v Joy AC
Duluth FC v Iowa Demon Hawks
Sunday June 1st
Siouxland United v Minnesota Blizzard
NPSL North kicks-off
Saturday May 10th
Sioux Falls Thunder 2-1 Siouxland United
Thunder left it late with goals from Sunao Midorikawa in the 82nd minute and Nick North in the 5th minute of second-half stoppage time to reverse the tide of a Siouxland derby which had seen the visitors go ahead in the 32nd minute through Harumi Yunaiyama.
Thursday May 15th
Duluth FC 3-1 Joy AC
Fresh from a National Semifinal, Duluth FC opened their league season at home against Joy Athletic Club, having already fallen in the US Open Cup to Forward Madison FC . An 8th minute cross from the right, headed back past the keeper from the left by Joy's Carver Tierney put the visitors ahead However, it was honors even at half time after sustained BlueGreen pressure told in the 37th minute, Teddy Miranda squaring from the right and Felipe Oliveira tapping it in from close range.
Early in the second half, Felipe Olivera picked it out from under his feet and slotted home from a Guerrero cross. In the 71st minute, Duluth FC played a searching diagonal ball to Liam Pritchard on the right, who crossed in for Caio Gomes to finish it and cap the win.
Saturday May 17th
Iowa Demon Hawks 2-1 Siouxland United
Guilherme Pereira scored twice for the Demon Hawks, opening the score from the penalty spot in the 16th minute and adding a goal from open play in the 26th minute. In what was a comfortable win for the home side, the Outlaws did get their own penalty goal from Takumi Sato in the 82nd minute but fall to 0-2 on the early season.
Minnesota Blizzard 3-0 Sioux Falls Thunder
This match was closer than the final score-line would indicate but it will go down in Blizzard history as the club's first outdoor win, following a disappointing debut season in NPSL. Jadon Morgan opened scoring in the 28th minute, tapping in from inside the 6 yard box after Cian Mcgoey burst down the left and crossed into his strike partner. Mcgoey himself made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute, lifting a free kick from inches outside the penalty arc over the outstretched Thunder keeper into the top corner of the net. He notched his second after a clearance from their own penalty area was allowed to skip unopposed to the Irishman, who finished from the edge of the Thunder area.
Blizzard now move to 1-0-0 on the NPSL season and Thunder drop to 1-0-1.
Coming Up:
Wednesday May 21st
Sioux Falls Thunder v Iowa Demon Hawks
Saturday May 24th
Iowa Demon Hawks v Joy AC
A new North is unveiled by NPSL
There are no brand-new clubs to the North Conference of the NPSL, but it is getting longer and shorter at the same time with Dakota Fusion's hiatus and the entry of former Gateway Conference members Iowa Demon Hawks.
Of the four playoff qualifiers from the North in 2024, two (Dakota Fusion and Minnesota TwinStars) are not part of 2025's festivities. The TwinStars leave after 20 years at this level and a 30-year history overall that made them by far the oldest club in this division.
Duluth FC will be defending their region with a new head coach for the first time since 2020, with the departure of Sean Morgan. Their fellow playoff team, Joy Athletic Club, is joined by Lakeville's Minnesota Blizzard (who also play in MASL2 alongside the Demon Hawks) as the only presence in the Twin Cities metro.
The Demon Hawks arrive in the North, having lost in the Regional Semifinals to Duluth FC (as Des Moines United). The Demon Hawks are also an established MASL2 indoor team. There is a possible fresh rivalry between the Des Moines-based Demon Hawks and the Sioux City-based Siouxland United. On the subject of the latter, the Outlaws bring in Alex Trent as head coach off the back of his undefeated regular season with Fusion. Lastly, Sioux Falls Thunder remain in the conference and at Bob Young Field as another potential rival to the Iowans.
Also, a little note about the US Open Cup. The tournament saw Duluth FC seize a priority bid as regional winners and it turns out that Fusion were offered a spot (turned down because of hiatus) as spectacular regular season participants. The BlueGreens are on the road against Forward Madison of USL League One for the second consecutive year, largely as a consequence of two things: Relatively close proximity and a desire to match all amateurs against a pro side in the 1st round. We will be covering that for you.
NPSL Round-Up: July 1-6
Tuesday:
Siouxland United 3-1 Sioux Falls Thunder
A 43rd minute goal by Lucas Foreman and two from Ben Shields were countered by a goal by Simon Woods for Thunder.
Dakota Fusion 6-1 Minnesota TwinStars
A strong wind blew left to right, in the faces of Fusion, at the backs of TwinStars for the first half. It was a broken opening 10 with multiple TwinStars down and Chigoze Eneje out injured a couple times.
Fusion had three different players shoot on target before Rich Busmeister scored for Fusion in the 18th minute. TwinStars scored direct from the kick-off, wind assisted by Carlos Boquin, over the head of Devine, who was upfield congratulating the goalscorer. Both sides had chances but it was Busmeister who made it 2-1 in the 30th minute, finishing off a passage of close passing down the middle, slotting it calmly past the keeper into the corner.
In the 40th minute, a Fusion corner was recycled and Sho Toda ran in on goal but was tackled by Balakiyem Katanga in the TwinStars goal, leaving both down and the goal empty. Ryosuke Miyata chipped the ball in.
Jino Agbassa made it 4-1 off a neat passage of play just to the right of center, again calmly dispatched. James Narke curled one off the post before Telvin Vah cushioned the ball and slotted it home in the 61st minute from the top of the box to make it 5-1. Will Devine stopped TwinStars at point blank range a few times before the last goal came close to the end, Vah with his second, off a neat interchange.
The result seals the #1 seed for Fusion, and a home playoff game against the #4 team in the North, which was yet to be settled.
Speaking to us after the match about the season to this point, Fusion head coach Alex Trent said:
Minnesota Blizzard 2-5 Joy Athletic
Bennett Kouame opened the scoring but Carter Hermanson equalized for Blizzard. Philip Caputo scored twice to put Joy back on top for good, despite an Ashton Frost goal. Zinedine Kroeten scored a penalty and Caputo finished his first half hat trick. The result, and the TwinStars loss, put Joy in 3rd and moved TwinStars down to 4th, with the two teams meeting on Saturday.
Saturday:
Minnesota Blizzard 0-8 Dakota Fusion
The Blizzard bid farewell to their inaugural season with a hammering by the #1 seed in the Midwest region, Dakota Fusion. They are ranked #7 in the national poll, with that seeding determining who hosts. So stay tuned. In tonight's match, Richard Busmeisters scored two, Brandon Garcia also got two (one from the penalty spot), Inshun Han, Sho Toda, Alex Benitez and Rysuke Miyata all scored.
Siouxland United 3-2 Duluth FC
Duluth finish the season down to 10 men after the dismissal of their goalkeeper, Zeke Foltz, although the loss essentially does nothing to the standings.
The BlueGreens took the lead through Dylan Sumner but Ben Shields equalized. Liam Pritchard put the away side back ahead before Kenny Hewitt equalized. Following the red card for Foltz, Marcus Horwood scored to make it 3-2.
Minnesota TwinStars 4-2 Joy Athletic Club
A Joy AC win, which was on the cards in this exciting end-to-end game at one point, would have moved Joy into second place and the Outlaws into the #4 seed.
TwinStars goals came from Sadra Golzarian, Abdousalam Akinola and David Diawara twice. Joy's goalscorer information is pending.
Coming Up:
Wednesday
#1 Dakota Fusion FC v #4 Joy Athletic Club
Fusion beat Joy 4-0 in the regular season version of this match, and remain unbeaten.
#2 Duluth FC v #3 Minnesota TwinStars
The BlueGreens hammered TwinStars in the regular season edition of this match-up, so they will be hoping for a better trip up to the banks of Lake Superior this time around.
Saturday
Top remaining seed hosts the other winner for the Conference Championship.
NPSL Round-Up: 23-29 June 2024
Wednesday
Duluth FC 10-0 Minnesota Blizzard
Tyler Limmer scored a hat trick, Dylan Sumner scored twice, Myles Edmondson, Felipe Santos, Felipe Carli, Manny Morales and Golden Boot leader Eduoard Nys all scored one.
Sioux Falls Thunder 0-0 Minnesota TwinStars
Siouxland United 3-0 Joy Athletic Club
Ahmed Dosso, Magloire Makila and Marcus Harwood scored for the Outlaws.
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club 4-0 Sioux Falls Thunder
Bennett Kouame, Mika Folstad, Philip Caputo and Zinedine Kroeten scored for the Goats as they lock the TwinStars in every category other than head to head (which the Goats lead)
Minnesota Blizzard 0-2 Minnesota TwinStars
Abdoulsalam Akinola and Sadra Golzarian led the TwinStars past the Blizzard.
Dakota Fusion 3-2 Siouxland United
An end to end opening 10 minutes led into a straight red card for Queenslander Flynn Faulkner from Siouxland United for verbal abuse of an opponent in the 15th minute.
Even as the team with the numerical advantage, it took another 15 minutes before Fusion scored, through Gael Gonzalez. Only 5 mins after that, Sho Toda finished a passage of intricate passing to make it 2-0 and it looked like the home side were going to play out a copy of their smash and grab 2-0 on the road in Sioux City.
Outlaws came out with renewed vigor in the second half, and Kenny Hewitt broke through for Siouxland, poking home from a corner in the 62nd minute. Felix Buabeng made it 3-1, capitalizing on a square pass by a Siouxland defender to break away and score in the 81st minute. Marcus Harwood scrambled home a second goal from a ball over the defense, in the third minute of stoppage time but they were unable to tie it up.
The win takes Fusion clear of Duluth FC at the top of the Conference.
Speaking to us after the win, Dakota Fusion head coach Alex Trent had this to say:
We were great in possession in the first half and then we got away from what was working halfway through the second half. Proud of the effort of the team to get into good areas offensively and put the ball in the back of the net, but we had a few lapses on things defensively that normally we're great at. We're looking forward to another challenge on Tuesday against TwinStars.
I have reached out to Siouxland United and will update the story when I hear back.
Coming Up:
Tuesday:
Siouxland United v Sioux Falls Thunder
Dakota Fusion v Minnesota TwinStars
Minnesota Blizzard v Joy Athletic
Saturday:
Minnesota Blizzard v Dakota Fusion
Siouxland United v Duluth FC
Minnesota TwinStars v Joy Athletic Club
NPSL Round-Up: 16-22 June 2024
Tuesday:
Joy Athletic Club 2-1* Minnesota TwinStars
This back and forth match was brought to a halt in the 48th minute by torrential rain and high winds. Grant Luce put Joy ahead in the 14th minute. Akinola equalized for TwinStars five minutes later. Philip Caputo put the hosts back ahead in the 35th minute.
If this result stands, Joy have taken 4 points off teams around them in playoff positioning in the past two matches. Next visitors to St Louis Park on Saturday, a Duluth side needing to keep winning to fight for first place.
Wednesday:
Duluth FC 6-1 Sioux Falls Thunder
Eduoard Nys notched another two goals and Jireh Oyebamiji also got two. Dylan Sumner and former Thunder player Tyler Limmer picked up solo goals. Thunder made it 2-1 briefly with a penalty kick.
Minnesota Blizzard 2-3 Siouxland United
Blizzard opened the scoring in the 53rd minute through Landon Atkins. Flynn Faulkner equalized in the 84th minute before Atkins instantly put Blizzard back ahead. The Outlaws stole the three points for their journey home with a penalty kick from Marcus Horwood in the 90th minute and a goal from open play in stoppage time from Hibiki Mizutani.
Saturday Spotlight Match
Our full coverage of Minnesota TwinStars v Dakota Fusion is here.
Joy Athletic Club 4-2 Duluth FC
Joy continued their trend of taking points off their fellow playoff contenders, Phil Caputo scoring four on the way to a home victory. Eduoard Nys continues his red hot form, opening and closing the scoring for the BlueGreens.
Sioux Falls Thunder 1-1 Minnesota Blizzard
In a game of dueling penalty kicks, Thunder dispatched theirs in the 30th minute but Blizzard missed one just before half-time. However, Max Just provided the equalizer in the 85th minute.
Coming Up:
Wednesday
Duluth FC v Minnesota Blizzard
Sioux Falls Thunder v Minnesota TwinStars
Siouxland United v Joy Athletic Club
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club v Sioux Falls Thunder
Minnesota Blizzard v Minnesota TwinStars
Dakota Fusion v Siouxland United
NPSL Spotlight: Joy AC v Dakota Fusion FC
Wednesday
Sioux Falls Thunder 0-2 Dakota Fusion
Fusion continue to set the pace, with goals from substitutes Felix Buabeng and Takumi Sato and riding out five mins down to ten men due to a second yellow card for captain Gael Gonzalez.
Minnesota Blizzard 0-3 Duluth FC
Edouard Nys scored twice and Jireh Oyebamiji got one as Duluth kept up the pressure on the top spot.
Joy Athletic Club 4-1 Siouxland United
Philip Caputo netted a first half hat trick and Zinedine Kroeten scored in the 79th minute to lift the Goats over the Outlaws, who spoiled the clean sheet through Magloire Makila.
Friday:
Sioux Falls Thunder 3-0 Siouxland United
Saturday Spotlight Match
Joy Athletic Club 0-0 Dakota Fusion
Joy held serve at home, rattling the crossbar and missing a penalty kick but failing to take three points which at times seemed to be coming their way. Fusion, on the other hand, lacked a finisher in a season when seven men have scored two goals, but no one man has more than two.
Minnesota TwinStars 3-1 Sioux Falls Thunder
Goalscorer information is not available at time of publication.
Since this is the last time the top two clubs will be on even games played until July, here is the table:
Coming Up:
Tuesday:
Joy Athletic Club v Minnesota TwinStars
Wednesday:
Duluth FC v Sioux Falls Thunder
Minnesota Blizzard v Siouxland United
Saturday:
Minnesota TwinStars v Dakota Fusion
Joy Athletic Club v Duluth FC
Sioux Falls Thunder v Minnesota Blizzard
NPSL Round Up: 8th June 2024
Dakota Fusion FC 2-0 Sioux Falls Thunder FC
Fusion fans brought a drum. The team proved them worthy of the accompaniment.
Fusion dominated possession in the opening 10 minutes but the first Fusion shot on goal came via Brandon Garcia at 9:45. Sioux Falls Thunder’s keeper Jack Howard played much of the match either out of his area or out of his goal, and in the 14th minute, Fusion took a snap shot with Howard out of his net, wide.
Fusion spent much of the opening half knocking on the door, including a flying volley by Nicolo Lai, saved by Howard diving one way and using his opposite hand. The first half would end goal less, chiefly courtesy of scrambling defense by Howard and center-back Colin Burke.
Just before the hour mark, a blasted clearance by Fusion defender Ahmad Hijaz from within his own half took a lucky deflection off a Thunder player for a corner. Lai was the first to a ricocheting ball in a goalmouth scramble, to poke the ball home for a home lead.
After yet more Fusion attacks were repelled by Thunder, the match took an unexpected turn in the 74th minute as a free kick for Fusion in their own penalty area led - for reasons that were unclear - to Lai being sent off for dissent.
The Thunder man advantage made no substantial difference to the flow of the game, and the match ended 10 v 10 as the visitors saw their own red card in the 87th minute. With nothing left to lose, Jack Howard fully released the hand brake and spent the last 5 minutes of the game in the Fusion penalty area. It was the hosts who scored, though, when a long clearance from Will Devine in the Fusion net in the second minute of stoppage time came all the way through to a Fusion attacker who was fouled. Takumi Sato hammered the penalty kick off the crossbar and down for the death blow.
Duluth FC 7-1 Minnesota TwinStars
The BlueGreens got revenge in grand style, putting up a touchdown against the TwinStars. Goals from Liam Pritchard and Jake Starling, a brace from Eduoard Nys and a hat trick by Jireh Oyebamiji were the emphatic answer to a third minute go ahead goal by the visitors - Fatorma Conneh seizing on a weak header back by Dylan Zavatini.
Siouxland United FC 5-0 Minnesota Blizzard FC
Early and then often, the home side turned over the Blizzard. Kenny Hewitt, Magloire Makila and Ben Shields made it three, and Nick Walker scored twice in the 89th minute, the last one a penalty kick.
Here are how the teams stand:
The conference table for the North Conference of the National Premier Soccer League (source: NPSL)
Coming Up:
Wednesday
Sioux Falls Thunder v Dakota Fusion
Joy Athletic Club v Siouxland United
Minnesota Blizzard v Duluth FC
Friday:
Sioux Falls Thunder v Siouxland United
Saturday:
Minnesota TwinStars v Sioux Falls Thunder
Joy Athletic Club v Dakota Fusion