The NPSL North is back, but there was only one game this week. The Goats of Joy Athletic Club hosted Sioux Falls Thunder at their home of recent years, St Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
Joy starters:
Asher Johnson, Bennett Kouame, Bryan Espadero Sanchez
Carlos Casillas, Daniel Lainsbury, Deven Leonard (GK), Jackson Nichols-Lindsey, Jesus Santana, Kevin Sliva, Leo Shipman, Noah Kantorowicz
Thunder starters:
Aidan Bennett, Ben Denton, Brennan Haggerty, Ethan Glissendorf, Evan Bolster, Joseph Valler (GK), Koki Matsunaga, Simon Woods, Stevenson Storm, Tallen Dobson, Tarek Nou
The opening ten minutes were back and forth but Joy had a golden chance in the tenth minute from a free kick on the edge of the penalty area which stuttered wide for a corner. Thunder then returned fire with their own corner kicks, albeit also not threatening the goal. The hosts pressed up, but Thunder showed more than enough technical skill to play around the challenge. With twenty on the clock, a Sioux Falls break down the right was recycled all the way to the far post but no one in a white jersey could track it down. In the end, it was a direct ball through midfield onto the streaking Stevenson Storm, who let rip from the edge of the area bouncing past Leonard in the Joy AC goal with 21 mins on the clock.
7 minutes later, a similar direct pass put a Joy player clear into the area but the referee waved away a penalty shout. Joy settled into a familiar pattern of possession without a purpose, whereas the visitors were scrapping for every ball. Another Thunder chance arrived in the 33rd minute but Joy scrambled the ball clear. As the first half wound down, it was primarily down the Thunder left that the game was condensed. A free kick 25 yards out was scrambled wide for a corner, but Leonard proved his worth with a succession of saves. In the 40th minute, a rare attacking set piece for Joy was wasted, going sideways and backwards. A long, searching diagonal into the Sioux Falls left-back spot by Joy marginally failed to connect.
Action from Joy Athletic Club (in blue) versus Sioux Falls Thunder (in white) in NPSL play
Almost immediately after half time, Thunder broke away and doubled their lead through Irish former semi-pro Evan Bolster, most notably a Cobh Rambler - a club in Cork which produced Roy Keane.
In the 51st minute, only a flying save at full stretch by Joseph Valler prevented a Joy goal, and a stretch of three Goat corners back to back failed to bring a goal either. Around the hour mark, a teasing Joy cross just failed to connect with attackers in the box.
In the 66th minute, an attack down the Joy Athletic right finished with Daniel Lainsbury scoring close in at the near post across the goalkeeper. The goal gave the hosts some faith, but almost a carbon copy in the 75th minute was blasted clear by the Thunder defense.
In the 77th minute, Nicholas Reinhard was the beneficiary of more wing play, which pulled the Joy defense sideways and out of shape, leaving a slot for a successful shot from the top of the box. With 87 minutes on the clock, Joy had a good chance down their right, with a shot parried to safety. Both keepers had point-blank shot saves, or the score could have been very different - although it good goalkeeping was not going to rescue points for the Goats.
Up Next
Slightly bizarrely, next Saturday's games feature both of today's teams too. Joining the fray are two teams who have been busy away from NPSL, the Blizzard and the Fusion.
Minnesota Blizzard FC v Sioux Falls Thunder FC at 6:30pm on Saturday at Lakeville North High. Also streamed on gametimemn.com
Joy Athletic Club v Dakota Fusion FC is at 7pm on Saturday at St Thomas Academy. Will stream on Hudl.
