Siouxland United 4-1 Sioux Falls Thunder
The Siouxland derby, cheekily called the Siouxper Bowl by Siouxland United, went the way of the hosts, despite a slow start which saw them trailing late into the first half. The second half was a different matter, with a high press from United forcing a number of turnovers and a go-ahead header in the 56th minute from Iowa Western Reiver Koki Ogawa out of Fukuoka, Japan after a neat exchange of passing from a throw in. 2 minutes later, Sho Sakurai (also a Reiver, out of Takasaki, Japan) scored a much simpler goal, finishing off a searing pass through the center of the Thunder defense. The final dagger was delivered by Barton Community College's Samuele Mailer (who hails from Nämberch in Germany), volleying a right wing cross back past the keeper's left hand in the 79th minute.
Speaking to Northland Soccer Journal after the game, Siouxland United head coach Alex Trent saw the result and performance as stepping stones:
I'm happy with the response from the team after conceding a sloppy goal in the first minute. The things we've been working on in training during the short time we've had all together as a group were done well for 90 minutes defensively in transition. We have a great group and our depth was shown last night with the team we were able to put out - something we're excited about.
Elsewhere in the Northland
Minnesota Blizzard 1-0 Joy AC
Duluth FC 0-0 Siouxland United
The standings:
