Oriole Stadium | Saint Louis Park, MN
May 7th, 2022 | National Premier Soccer League
Current 2022 Records (0-0-0):
Duluth: 0-0-0; 0-0-0 at home/on the road
Joy Athletic: 0-0-0 ; 0-0-0 at home/on the road
Attendance: 141
Starting XI: Brendan Dally, Martin Gryzwa, Cian Gantley, Santiago Erazo, Kostyantyn Domaratskyy, Felipe Oliviera, Andres Solares, Rory Carlson, Jessie Juarez, Blake Perry
Substitution: Scott Wilson, Harry Ambler, Jake Kidd, Michael Gerrihy
Goals: Blake Perry(2), Felipe Oliviera, Kostya Domaratskyy, Rory Carlson, Cian Gantley
Despite being short on players and facing a largely unknown Joy Athletic roster Duluth FC and forward Blake Perry came out of the gate flying.
First Half Recap
Perry with 5 shots and 2 goals in the first 20 minutes had Joy Athletic athletic on their heels. The first goal came 9 minutes in after a gritty takeaway in the midfield by Felipe Oliveira. After winning the ball Oliviera threaded a lead pass to the breaking Perry who after making a few moves to evade the keeper neatly slotted the ball off the far post and in.
The next tally came in the 19th minute after an unrelenting onslaught of offense from Duluth. Newcomer Jessie Juarez received a pass outside the 18-yard box and delivered a beautiful cross to a streaking Perry who buried it for a two-nil lead. To close out the 1st half Ukrainian forward Kostyantyn Domaratskyy connected on a cross in the 6-yard box for a banger of a goal.
Second Half Recap
Despite some promising moments from Joy, Duluth kept up their suffocating offense. Just 3 minutes in… you guessed it… Blake Perry found Felipe Oliviera on top of the 6-yard box, and after a neat move to evade a defender and a well-placed shot, he had the blue-greens up 4-0.
Smelling blood in the water, Duluth continued to push and newcomers Cian Gantley and Rory Carlson scored their first goals as Blue-Greens to bring the score to a commanding 6-0.
The final 20 minutes featured some promising moments from Joy but they weren’t able to crack Duluth’s Defense due to a stellar performance from Martin Gryzwa and the backline.
Next weekend the Crows fly to town for a rivalry matchup between Duluth FC and Minneapolis City SC. Join us at Public Schools Stadium to see if the Blue-Greens continue their dominance.
By: Atle Rennan
