The fourth week of play in the NPSL North brought Dakota Fusion’s first loss; a surprise home defeat to Minnesota TwinStars. The Minnetonka-based team had demolished La Crosse Aris earlier in the week for its first win of the 2017 campaign. La Crosse continued its run of futility against VSLT and Duluth let a lead slip away to share points with Sioux Falls Thunder.

 

Minnesota TwinStars 7, La Crosse Aris FC 1
May 31, 2017
Minnetonka High School Stadium (Minnetonka, Minn.)

Minnesota TwinStars notched their first victory of the season behind a Chase Wright hat trick and seven goal blitz of La Crosse Aris. The game was all TwinStars from the outset. Tyler Oliver opened the scoring in the 11th minute with Wright grabbing his first just six minutes later. Karim Darbaki added another off a corner in the 21st minute, followed two minutes later by Wright’s second of the game. Up 4-0 at that point, the hosts never let up. Wright finished off his hat trick in the 43rd minute and the half ended with the Dragons up by five. Oliver and Wright were part of a quadruple substitution in the 52nd minute, but Tyler’s brother Justin Oliver picked up where his twin left off, assisting Babatunde Oyekan’s 65th minute goal. Oyekan added his second of the game in the 79th minute and 10 minutes later La Crosse scored its first goal of the year as Gustavo Siqueira slotted home on a corner.

 

La Crosse Aris FC 1, VSLT FC 2
June 3, 2017
Viterbo Sports Complex (La Crosse, Wis.)

La Crosse made some improvements in their second game of the week and lost by fewer than four goals for the first time this season. The teams left the action until the second half, with Ayuk Tambe opening the scoring for VSLT in the 63rd minute. Jose Manuel Andriano Castillo doubled the lead for the visitors from St. Paul in the 77th minute. La Crosse turned things around in the final 10 minutes, eventually scoring an 89th-minute goal to avoid being held scoreless for a third time on the year.

Up next:
La Crosse Aris FC vs. Minneapolis City SC, June 7
VSLT FC at Sioux Falls Thunder, June 7

 

Dakota Fusion 2, Minnesota TwinStars 3
June 3, 2017
Jim Gotta Stadium (Moorhead , Minn.)

Dakota took a quick lead but let it evaporate in its first loss of the season, while the TwinStars took their second win in a row. Jade Johnson opened the scoring immediately, finding the back of the net in the first minute of the game. Dakota doubled the lead twenty minutes later after another Johnson goal. The half ended with the hosts up by two. A quarter of an hour after play resumed, TwinStars got on the board when Tyler Oliver scored off a throw in. Dakota was found guilty of a handball in the box and Karim Darbaki slid the resulting penalty into the back of the net to draw level. Dakota’s Isaac Kehson was shown red fifteen minutes later and the game opened up for the Dragons. Babatunde Oyekan put away the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute and a huge save from Sean Teske just before the final whistle sealed the win for the TwinStars.

Up next:
Dakota Fusion vs. Duluth FC, June 7
Minnesota TwinStars at Med City FC, June 7

 

Sioux Falls Thunder 1, Duluth FC 1
June 3, 2017
Yankton Trails Park (Sioux Falls, S.D.)

Duluth took an early lead only to see it slip away for another draw, this time against Sioux Falls. Sean Morgan found Kyle Farrar about 15 minutes into the game to open the scoring, but Sioux Falls remained composed and the game never got away from them. Good chances from both sides sprinkled the remainder of the first half, including a Thunder goal a few minutes before halftime that was called back for being offside. The back and forth trend continued into the second half, but half an hour after kickoff, the hosts found a way through with a Tyler Limmer goal. Duluth poured it on for the rest of the game, but to no avail and had to settle for a draw.

Up next:
Sioux Falls Thunder vs. VSLT FC, June 7
Duluth FC at Dakota Fusion, June 7

 

NPSL North standings

Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GD	Points	Possible
Dakota Fusion	4	3	0	1	+4	9	39
TwinStars	5	2	2	1	+5	8	35
Med City	4	2	1	1	+4	7	37
VSLT	4	2	1	1	+2	7	37
Duluth	4	1	3	0	+4	6	36
Minneapolis City	4	1	1	2	-1	4	34
Sioux Falls	3	0	2	1	-1	2	35
La Crosse Aris	4	0	0	4	-15	0	30

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