NPSL Round Up: Week 6

Muskegon Risers and Med City FC lead their conferences. Muskegon lead the whole NPSL.

Wednesday:

Dakota Fusion FC 4 vs 4 Sioux Falls Thunder FC

Fusion took the lead with Antonio la Gamba on the PK after Tre Bonaparte is taken down from behind by a recovering defender. Bonaparte himself made it two after an attack down the right only a minute later. He doubled his personal tally in the 27th minute, dribbling in field from the left to the top of the box before placing a shot past the keeper from 18 yards out. Thunder got a goal back in the 35th minute, with Marcus Horwood snapping a shot past Kliebe’s near post. Brennan Haggerty made it 3–2 in the 38th minute with a shot from the left after an attack down the right was broken up by the Fusion defense.

The score was level after Riley Aarbo finished off a clinical counter attack in the 73rd minute. Horwood made it 4–3 Thunder three minutes later, with a scuffed finish off a right wing cross. Soshi Fujioka’s shot on goal in stoppage time was deflected in by a Thunder defender for a tie.

Duluth FC 3 vs 0 Joy Athletic Club

Duluth took the lead just before half time, a scruffy goal off the rebound by Keegan Chasty after an initial shot was blocked. It was 2–0 in the 55th minute after a fast run into the box by Blake Perry was ended by a Joy defender illegally. Sam Thornton finished off the PK, just beating the Joy goalkeeper to the spot. A minute later, Chasty grabbed his second and that was all the scoring they needed. Joy will be frustrated to have not scored themselves.

LC Aris FC 0 vs 3 Med City FC

Game canceled “due to field conditions” at Holmen High School. Listed online as a 3–0 win for Med City, indicating an Aris forfeit.

Minneapolis City SC 2 vs 3 Minnesota TwinStars

The visitors opened the scoring after Sidike Jabateh finished off a long cross field pass by Karim Peterson-Darbaki. Tayeb Benjaafar made it 2–0 with a solo goal, driving down the left before blasting the ball into the roof of the net just before half time.

A guy from each side both got sent off ( Abduselam Regassa from Minneapolis and Jafaar Abdulrahman for TwinStars — both for violent conduct) in the 55th minute and Arthur Parens received a red card for leaving the bench. Jabateh made it 3–0 in the 64th minute, as his shot bounced under Kaelen Matascastillo in the City goal. In the 67th minute, Matt Murakami scored off a deep free kick, headed over to Murakami, who headed in. A stoppage time tap in from Lionel Vang was not enough to complete the come back.

Saturday:

FC Columbus 3 vs 1 FC Milwaukee Torrent

Michael Chilton put Columbus ahead in the 44th minute but Torrent leveled the score in the 61st minute, through Michael Carreon. Goals by Damani Camara in the 71st and 82nd minutes gave the home team the win.

Med City FC 2 vs 1 Joy Athletic Club

1–0 Joy in the 4th minute after Zinedine Kroeten blasted a ball home from 20 yards out on the right wing. 1–1 in the 42nd minute after incessant Med City pressure forced Joy defensive miscues and Toby Millward slotted home from close range. 2–1 Med City on the right wing counter, finished by Andres Garcia in the 65th minute.

Minneapolis City SC 5 vs 1 La Crosse Aris FC

Cole Schwartz opened the scoring for the Crows in the 7th minute, blasting the ball across the goalkeeper after neat and methodical build up play down the left. Aiden Cavanaugh hammered one home from the top of the penalty area after Aris gave the ball away in the 12th minute. The Crows returned the favor in the 15th minute as Callum Smith intercepted a backpass for Aris’s only goal. Jacek Nickowski slotted home calmly, despite being sandwiched by two Aris defenders to make it 3–1 in the 23rd minute. Sydney Tume scored the 4th in the 27th minute, hard and precise into the bottom left corner inside the penalty area. Abbai Habte completed the rout, scoring the Crows’ fifth of the half, and of the match, and the club’s 200th in its history after a corner kick was only partially cleared.

Minnesota TwinStars 4 vs 4 Dakota Fusion FC

Fusion went ahead in the 15th minute on a free kick from 30 yards out by Soshi Fujioka, which bounced past the TwinStars keeper. Cullen McSweeney leveled it for the TwinStars, with a blast from just outside the area through the Fusion keeper. Sidike Jabateh broke away a minute later to put the home team ahead. Jabateh grabbed a second in a very similar manner in the 41st minute.

Tre Bonaparte continued his hot start to the season, making it 3–2 in the 73rd minute, with a rifled shot from 20 yards out after neat interplay down the left side. James Brent made it 4–2 in the 78th minute, with a simple finish off a speedy attack down the right. Bonaparte made it 4–3 in the 80th minute after the TwinStars goalkeeper miscued a ball out and the Fusion attacker was left with an easy finish. Soshi Fujioka completed the comeback, finishing off a long, hopeful kick from the half way line in amongst traffic with virtually the last kick of the game.

Sioux Falls Thunder FC 2 vs 3 Duluth FC

After a scoreless first half, Peter Oyetunji took no time to break the tie, scoring in the 46th to put Duluth ahead. James Bolger equaled the score in the 56th minute. Kostya Domaratskyy put the BlueGreens ahead again in the 59th. The game was tied again when Ethan Glissendorf scored in the 83rd minute but the away side escaped with all the points when Paul Bobai scored two minutes later.

Sunday:

Muskegon Risers 4 vs 1 Panathinaikos Chicago

Muskegon Risers led PAO 1–0 at half time, through Giuseppe Barone. Remarkably, the team from Chicago even tied the game up, early in the second half and it took until close to the hour mark for the Risers to re-establish their lead — on a PK from Roni Sylejmani. Mason Smith made it 3–1 just over a minute later. Alec Belcastro finished the scoring in the 85th minute.

Upcoming schedule (home team in bold)

Tomorrow:

Panathinaikos Chicago vs FC Milwaukee Torrent

Thursday:

Muskegon Risers vs Carpathia FC

Saturday:

Carpathia FC vs Panathinaikos Chicago

FC Milwaukee Torrent vs FC Columbus

Duluth FC vs Dakota Fusion FC

Joy Athletic Club vs Minnesota TwinStars

Minneapolis City SC vs Med City FC

Sioux Falls Thunder FC vs La Crosse Aris FC