Duluth FC vs. Sioux Falls
O’Gorman High School – McEneaney Field
June 11th, 2022 | Game #7 Current 2022: Records (W-L-T):
Duluth:4-0-0; 2-1-0 at home/on the road
Sioux Falls : 0-3-2; 0-0-2 at home/on the road
Starting XI: Martin Grzywa, Peter Oyetunji, Blake Perry, Keegan Chastey, Felipe Arteaga, Kostyantyn Domaratskyy, Cian Gantley, Andres Solares, Santiago Erazo, Jessie Juarez, Brendan Dally
Your BlueGreens ventured all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota today to take on the Thunder in their first matchup of the season and boy was it a hot one. Despite the high heat, there was plenty of energy and the players on both sides came out swinging. This would mostly pertain to the defenses as both did their due diligence of clearing the ball almost immediately after it entered the zone. Duluth was able to settle the ball in the opposing zone a few times for a couple of crosses through the middle. However, the timing just wasn’t right, which led to turnovers and clears by the Thunder. Of the chances that Sioux Falls had in the first, which wasn’t a whole lot, defenders like Santiago Erazo were swift to jump in front of the attacker and prevent any good looks from developing. The first half settled at 0-0 and one could say that thus far, it was not one of our most physical games.
The second half started with a dominant possession by the BlueGreens as they were able to get the ball moving through their offense which would then spring Keegan Chastey open for a pass. He corralled the ball enough to slide it over to Peter Oyetunji for a good look and an even better goal to take the lead 1-0 at the 46th-minute mark. As the game went on things got a little more exciting because of the establishment of some physicality that the game was previously lacking. Not much longer after the Thunder were able to take advantage of an inbound pass that sailed perfectly on a line to Riley Aarbo’s forehead who knocked it past Dally and evened the score 1-1 at the 55th-minute mark.
Duluth really started to look like themselves again this second half as they ramped up the pace on offense and their passes were finally connecting consistently. This would lead to a lot more time in the Thunder zone and a handful of solid looks on the net. This time of possession helped create looks and opportunities for even defenders. Santiago Erazo was able to facilitate the ball in the offensive zone over to Kostyantyn Domaratskyy who would take care of the rest. He launched what seemed to be a 40-foot missile from outside the box and right out of the goalie’s reach to break the tie at the 64th-minute mark.
The next few minutes were filled with back and forth battles until Sioux Falls got a throw-in at the exact same spot they had the last time they scored. And wouldn’t you know it they do it again as Marcus Harwood throws a high lob pass right in front of the goal which bounces off Riley Arbo’s head and behind him. A little luck and it led straight for Ethan Glissendorf who also headed it in completing a double header, this also tied up the score at 2-2. The BlueGreens didn’t let that stand for long as two minutes after the fact, Paul Bobai was able to sneak one in off a rebound on a hard shot by Wynand Wessels at the 86th- minute mark. The rest of the match was a little more chippy and cards were given to both sides but none of them affected the outcome. Duluth would close out this road trip matchup with a big 3-2 win and get to go home with smiles all around.
Duluth’s next match will be held back at home next Saturday, June 18th against Dakota Fusion FC at the Public Schools Stadium at 7 PM.
By: Ryan Tigner
