This Friday, the Minnesota Blizzard, with a short Amateur Cup run and a busy MASL2 season in their rear-view, and a NPSL season kicking off next week, faces defending Minnesota Amateur Soccer League champions Camargo FC for a spot in the Minnesota Super Cup and a shot at a place in the USASA's Tournament of Champions. Both teams have started their outdoor seasons with Amateur Cup forfeits due to player availability, albeit a round apart.
Blizzard's roster is still developing, but expect it to reflect the team's NPSL announced players, with more of a runway than has been the case in the Amateur Cup. Those players include Devan diGrado, who picked up an MASL2 All-Star nod this past winter, and Carter Hermanson, a former Mr Soccer MN and Minneapolis City player.
Arguably, like many MASL entrants in this tournament, Camargo needs more context. The club is actually older than their opponents, both at the organizational level and on the field, having been founded in 2018. Like all incoming MASL sides, they started that first season in D4 and as noted above, they have steadily ascended to the point of winning the Division 1 title this past season. The club's current GM, Guilherme Castro (Arizona Western College/Luther College) also logged minutes for Lewis Super Dragons in MASL D2 in 2016 and 2017 before that side became Vlora FC. Having helped co-found Vlora he played for them from 2017-2022 before UPSL play demanded too much for an amateur player with a full-time job and kids. At that point, he joined Camargo FC, with its South American core, from 2022 through to the present day.
Their roster includes former college athletes Rafael Broseghini (Luther College in 2016), Eric Fast (UNW St Paul in 2014), Thiago Ganancio (De Paul in 2013), Trent Holmes (Minnesota-Morris in 2013), Imani Paluku (Union in 2021), and high level amateur league players such as Juan Fiz (former player-coach for Viejos son los Trapos in NPSL in 2017), Nico Railef (former Duluth FC in NPSL and Vlora FC ~ 2020) and Lucca Rocha Perucci Shimanuki (well travelled, including a stint in the Super Cup for Force FC of the MASL in 2024).
Stay tuned to Northland Soccer Journal, your home for all things Minnesota soccer and more. Our full preview of the Super Cup will be published this time next week.
