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