Med City FC Defeats Minneapolis City SC 5-1
By Med City FC
Med City FC traveled to the Twin Cities on Saturday night to take on perennial foe Minneapolis City SC for the second time during the 2022 season. The first meeting in Rochester yielded a 3-1 victory for the Mayhem, who was hoping to “do the double” over the Crows for the first time in club history.
It took Med City FC some time to settle into the match at Augsburg University, as the two teams worked to unlock one another in a tight contest early on. The Mayhem finally made the breakthrough in the 26th minute, as winger Narcis Bou was taken down in the penalty box. Bou stepped up and dispatched the penalty kick with a cheeky chip over the Crows keeper for a 1-0 lead.
Just two minutes later, midfielder Scott Neil would score a great goal from open play to double the lead. And in the 32nd minute Med City FC would extend the lead to 3-0, as their leading scorer, forward Andres Garcia, struck his sixth goal of the season, easing it past the Crows keeper and into the back of the net. Med City would take that 3-0 scoreline into the locker room at halftime.
The Mayhem continued to control play in the second half, but the Crows struck from a free kick in the 70th minute with Matthew Murakami directing a ball past Mayhem keeper Iker Gonzales to cut the lead to 3-1.
That was as close as the Crows would get, however, and in the 75th minute the Mayhem were awarded another penalty kick for a handball in the Crows’ box. Lucas Hart stepped up this time to put the penalty kick into the back of the net.
And Neil finished off a man of the match performance with his second goal of the game in the 87th minute, after making a brilliant, mazy run through a few defenders and sending the ball into the far corner of the net. The game would end 5-1, the most comprehensive victory for the Mayhem over Minneapolis City SC in the history of the rivalry.
The win keeps Med City FC undefeated on the season, with the only blemish on their record an early season 1-1 draw with Sioux Falls Thunder FC. Next up for the Mayhem is Dakota Fusion FC, who travels down to Rochester from Fargo-Moorhead on Wednesday for a 7:00 pm kickoff. Then next Saturday, Duluth FC visits Rochester for a top-of-the-table clash that will give one of the teams the upper hand in their battle for the conference title.
Photos Courtesy of Med City FC
