NPSL North Round Up: Week 6

Wednesday:

Dakota Fusion FC vs Minneapolis City SC

The Crows continue to fly straight towards the Division title again after a comfortable 5-2 win against Dakota Fusion on the road. The home side kept things tight with a high press for the first 20 minutes before a long range effort from Lionel Vang caught out Yan Rosado in the Fusion goal. Both teams continued to have chances but Vang hit the post in the 37^th minute and City assured their position with two goals in the 43rd and 44^th minutes through Medo Youssef and Arthur Parens. Fusion had enough time to break their drought as Diago Adachi attacked down the left wing and supplied the finish.

Despite City substitute goalie Troy Louwagie being put under pressure, the division leaders finished off the job with further goals from Youssef and Mark Boquin, sandwiched by a second Fusion goal by Aaron Pike.

La Crosse Aris vs Joy Athletic Club

Joy injected themselves into the battle for second place with a resounding 6-1 defeat of Aris. When Whitney Browne’s opener was canceled out by Harvinder Koner, the possibility of more dropped points for the St Louis Park club was briefly a possibility. However, through doubles from Darley Florvil and Emmanuel Iwe and a solo goal from Mika Folstad, the Minnesotans finished up comfortable winners.

Sioux Falls Thunder vs Med City FC

A 15th minute sending off for Tyler Limmer for serious foul play set the tone for the home side. Their resistance ended in the second half with Med City goals from Till Trippner in the 47th minute and a double from Jack Hilton-Jones (in the 45th and the 87th minutes). Andreas Garcia completed the scoring in the 90th minute.

Saturday:

Duluth FC vs Dakota Fusion FC

Sidney Warden’s hot start continued as early as the first minute when a deflected shot dropped his way for 1-0. He scored again in the 34th minute to make it 8 goals in 5 games, the most prolific striker in the North. Jacob Daffern scored the home team’s third in less than a minute and Michael Devlin completed the scoring in the 90th minute. The BlueGreens continue to put pressure on Med City for the second playoff spot.

Joy Athletic Club vs Minneapolis City SC

The first ever meeting between the two sides saw Joy take a surprise lead in the 21st minute through Darley Florvil, with his 4th goal in 3 games, but the unbeaten division leaders scored twice in the last minutes of the first half through Lionel Vang and William Kidd to snatch the lead. The margin was extended by Justin Oliver in the 71st minute before Emmanuel Iwe kept up his own personal scoring streak to make it 3-2 in the 90th minute, his 8th goal in 7 games.

La Crosse Aris vs Sioux Falls Thunder

Aris gained another point as they came back against Sioux Falls. Juan Mackrey’s strike opened the scoring for Thunder in the 34th minute and the away side kept the lead through half time. Diego Arenal leveled matters for Aris in the 63rd minute but Thunder would have expected to leave with all three points when a 90th minute penalty was conceded by the Aris goalkeeper, Mitchell Dryden. Dryden recovered from the foul and a yellow card to stop Stephenson Storm’s attempt and to see Mackrey’s rebound go over the bar.

Week 7:

Wednesday

Duluth FC vs Med City FC

This is a key match for Duluth’s playoff hopes, with their season finally getting into gear with a potential win putting the home team within striking distance of the Mayhem. On the other hand, a MCFC win would have them only 3 points behind the Crows for the division title, with the two teams still to match up one more time.

Saturday

In a scheduling quirk (and aren’t those the best type of quirks...), Duluth meet Med City for the second time in two games. No need for us to repeat the preview of that match up

Minneapolis City SC vs Sioux Falls Thunder

With Duluth and Med City taking points off each other, the Crows concentrate on solidifying their spot at the top of the North and their current perfection. Sioux Falls continue their up and down season and will have to pull a major upset to get any points from this match up.

Dakota Fusion FC vs Joy Athletic Club

Driven by two of the most prolific scorers in the league in Darley Florvil and Emmanuel Iwe, Joy will consider their chances of claiming something from a trip to Moorhead fairly high given their own commendable first season and Fusion’s struggles to keep clean sheets.