GAME SUMMARY:
It was a Wednesday night feast for Superior City FC as they protected their home fortress with a 6-1 win. The City Lions from Minneapolis had some hype coming into this contest, keeping games close with some of the top UPSL clubs early this year, although failing to claim any results. The game kicked off with wind chills dropping the "feels like" temperature to 28 degrees, but the kings of the North were not fazed. Superior opened the scoring early when Henrico Zena picked a FC Minneapolis midfielder's pocket and found Arseno Hamilton streaking forward in the defending half. Hamilton cut through three defenders on his way up the pitch and slotted the ball past City Lion keeper Gafar Ayodele to put the Navy up by one in the 8th minute. The scoring continued in the 15th minute, with Raggi Carvalho finding Siji Gonzalez's run through the box. Gonzalez handled the ball and slotted it past Ayodele to double the host's lead. FC Minneapolis made some midfield substitutions and found some possession throughout the half, but the game found no more goals and the half closed with a 2-0 lead for Superior.
The second frame started off fast, with two goals within the first 15 minutes. FC Minneapolis earned a penalty kick, which was whacked past Dru Senich into the upper left corner of the net by Higo Ruiz, giving the City Lions a goal on their first shot of the game in the 51st minute. Superior City responded well, and David Lopez Perez was slashed down in the box, earning a return penalty kick. Superior's leading scorer, Mally Lumsden, stepped up and inserted the ball into the bottom right corner to regain a two-goal lead. Four minutes later, Siji Gonzalez's cross found Lopez Perez on the back post, and his header trickled into the bottom right corner to open the floodgates for the Navy. Substitutions started to enter the pitch for Superior, but the home squad continued to pressure FC Minneapolis' back line. Mark Fehringer scored the next one on a high-effort diving header from Leo Spry's corner kick, opening his UPSL scoring account in the 79th minute. FC Minneapolis winger Ayoup Bader found himself in trouble as he was given a second yellow, and subsequently a red card, in the 81st minute. Superior City closed out the game in the 90+2 minute when star centerback Matti Sysimaki scored his first goal of the year. Jordan Finneran served a beautiful ball from a free kick, which was flicked on by Brandon Wright, finding Sysimaki streaking through the box. Sysimaki handled it low and slammed the ball into the netting, and the final whistle sounded after the restart, giving Superior City a blowout win as they hit the halfway point of the UPSL Midwest-West season.
BOX SCORE:
5-17/NBC Spartan Sports Complex/UPSL League Game
Superior City FC............................2 4 - 6
FC Minneapolis.............................0 1 - 1
First Half - SCFC - Arseno Hamilton (Henrico Zena) 8', SCFC - Siji Gonzalez (Raggi Carvalho) 15'
Second Half - FCM - Higo Ruiz (PK) 51', SCFC - Mally Lumsden (PK) 57', SCFC - David Lopez Perez (Siji Gonzalez) 61', SCFC - Mark Fehringer (Leo Spry) 79', SCFC - Matti Sysimaki (Brandon Wright) 90+2'
Saves: SCFC - Dru Senich (1 save); FCM- Gafar Ayodele (5 saves)
LOOKING AHEAD:
Superior City FC will make the long trip to face Austin Villa FC on Saturday night in Austin, MN. The match will be at Wescott Field with the kickoff scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.