NPSL Round Up: Week 1

The NPSL North is back under way. Here are the details of this weekend’s games.

Joy St Louis Park 0–6 Duluth FC

The BlueGreens opened the scoring against their hosts after 10 minutes through Blake Perry, and it was doubled through the same scorer after 20. It was 3–0 just before half time, as Kostyantyn Domaratskyy sealed the game as a contest.

The second half saw more pressure from Duluth FC and goal-scorer Perry set up Felipe Oliveira for their 4th goal. The beat down was completed with goals from newcomers Cian Gantley and Rory Carlson in the 51st and 57th minutes respectively.

As ever, early season blowouts should be taken with a grain of salt so it remains to be seen whether Joy will a) be more coherent defensively and b) will muster some offence in the coming weeks.

Med City FC 2–1 LC Aris FC

In a surprisingly tight affair, Med City held on to beat their visitors on the strength of a pair of goals from Narcis Bou. After leading for only 5 minutes, Aris tied the game in the 27th minute through Abdul Samet Ankaoglu and it remained so until the 65th minute. The visitors also had a last second tying goal flagged for offside.

Minnesota TwinStars FC 0–2 Minneapolis City SC

The reanimation of TwinStars came with the visit of the Crows. What a start to the season, and his first-team run, it has been for Loic Mesanvi, who scored in the Open Cup against Des Moines and also tallied late in this game. The other goal came courtesy of Cole Schwartz, who himself only recently moved up from the Futures program.

Sioux Falls Thunder FC 1–1 Dakota Fusion FC

The season’s first I-29 battle finished in a tie as the team’s exchanged goals within the first half an hour. Samuel Baraka opened the Thunder’s account after only 8 minutes and Fusion equalized through Cristhian Bosquez in the 28th minute, one of a flurry of players announced from D1 and D2 schools across the US to radically reshape the Fargo team’s roster. The visitors also had a successful penalty kick ruled out in the 60th minute for encroachment, only to see the re-take saved.

The other conference we cover, the Great Lakes, begins play next weekend and even then only with one game.

Next Weekend (Home teams in bold):

Duluth FC vs Minneapolis City SC

Duluth FC have their home opener at the Public Schools Stadium in the friendly company of the defending division champions. The home team should be on a high after their drubbing of Joy this week, and this matchup is always a spectacle.

Joy St Louis Park vs Dakota Fusion FC

Speaking of Joy, the development driven side hold their second match in a row in St Louis Park, with Fusion on the road for the second straight week. Both teams will be hoping that increased team chemistry can lead to a win.

Med City FC vs Sioux Falls Thunder FC

After surviving a scare against a spirited Aris side in their opener, Med City play host to a Thunder side who held on for their own draw.

Minnesota TwinStars FC vs LC Aris FC

The TwinStars welcome Aris to Minnetonka. The visitors can take some degree of momentum into the match, having almost pulled a draw from their opener. TwinStars, on the other hand, have to recover from the familiar wound of a loss to the Crows.

Carpathia FC vs FC Milwaukee Torrent

The Great Lakes conference opens up play with the two playoff teams from the division last season matching up.