Duluth FC Defeats Steel City FC 3-2 to Earn Midwest Region Championship
Duluth survives late equalizer, red card to secure advancement to national semifinals
By Colton Coreschi/NPSL.com
On a gorgeous night at UPMC Graham Field, the packed crowd in attendance was treated to an equally gorgeous match of soccer in the NPSL Midwest Region Final, seeing Duluth FC defeat Steel City FC 3-2 in a tremendously exciting match worthy of the stage.
Duluth FC controlled the early action with patient possession, with Steel City FC remaining in their low block and seeking to counter. The first chance of the night would fall to Duluth, as a cut-back to the top of the 18-yard box resulted in a curled shot to the bottom-right corner. But Garret Watson in goal made a tremendous save to parry the on-target effort out for a Duluth corner.
Duluth wouldn’t have to wait long for a breakthrough, however, as the ensuing corner proved fruitful for the visitors. Taken long and headed on by a Steel City defender, the ball wound up centered back into the box from the left wing. After pinging around a few pairs of feet, it fell to Liam Pritchard near the penalty spot, whose shot took a deflection beyond the reach of Watson in net, finding the bottom-left corner and giving the visitors an early 1-0 advantage.
After being hit early, Steel City were forced to come a bit further out of their block and push forward more aggressively. With the balance of play shifting, the hosts nearly found an equalizer in the 17th minute. A near-side corner was taken by Anthony DiFalco, which sailed over the Duluth keeper’s reach and clanged off the crossbar directly, nearly going in for an Olimpico goal before being cleared away.
The hosts would nearly level the score again in the 21st minute, as a secondary ball towards the back post following a corner found a Steel City head, which re-directed the ball towards the far post. It would’ve nestled into the corner if not for a tremendous diving effort from Duluth goalkeeper Jamie Colville to keep Steel City off the scoreboard.
But ultimately, the Steel City pressure would pay dividends. A rapid forward progression to the feet of Mikey Sullivan saw him running right at the Duluth defense. After staving off some physical bump-and-run defending, Sullivan would uncork a rocket of an effort beyond the reach of Colville and into the top-right corner to equalize for the hosts in the 32nd minute.
Despite the remainder of the half being far too open for either manager’s comfort, neither was able to take the lead heading into half.
The second half began substantially slower than the first half ended. With Duluth nursing tired legs in their third game in seven days, the visitors tried to slow the pace down and maintain longer spells of careful possession – including some early subs just prior to the hour mark to freshen things up.
One of those subs, Tyler Limmer, would generate the first chance of the second half for the visitors. A through ball from deep midfield freed Limmer into a one-on-one chance with Watson, charging from the Steel City goal. Limmer’s outside-foot effort managed to beat Watson, but also beat the near post and went just wide – a big missed chance for Duluth to re-take the lead.
The two sides would exchange a smattering of light chances, with each seeming to feel the fatigue as the match progressed into the latter parts of the second half. With each making a series of subs, things started to pick up in the final 15 minutes as each looked to end the match in regulation.
With just under ten minutes left to play, Duluth would find a stunner to re-take the lead via one of those substitutes. A ball to the feet of Felipe Santos centrally, 20 yards from goal, saw the late addition to the match turn into open space. With no Steel City defenders stepping up to stop him, Santos ripped a curling right-footed effort beyond the reach of Watson and into the back of the net to hand the visitors a 2-1 advantage with very little time to try and equalize.
But to the delight of the hundreds in attendance at Graham Field, they’d find exactly that miracle of an equalizer. With all bodies forward, including the goalkeeper, a 93rd minute corner found a way to bounce around the box and some Steel City boot managed to slam it home into the back of the net, leveling us at 2-2 with nearly the final kick of the game.
With both sides scrambling following the stoppage time equalizer, Duluth pressed forward but lost possession in the attacking third. As DiMatteo approached to clear the ball for the Steel City defense, he was hacked down by a soaring, two-footed tackle from Duluth’s Rory Doyle. The referee wasted zero time in pulling out the red card, and Duluth was taken down to ten men just before the end of regulation, with half an hour of extra time to play.
Despite the man disadvantage, Duluth would generate the first chance of extra time. A late whistle on a fifty-fifty ball saw the visitors earn a dangerous free kick from the left side of goal. Pritchard, the opening goal-scorer, took a good effort on-target, but Watson was up to the challenge and held on in net.
Duluth would continue to play aggressively, and against all odds it would pay off for the visitors. Just before the 100-minute mark, Pritchard, who had been dangerous for the entire match, blazed down the right wing beyond every Steel City defender. His cut-back cross found Felipe Oliveira in the box, between three more Steel City defenders, and the forward fired it home to impossibly re-take the lead for Duluth, 3-2.
Steel City would respond with all bodies flying forward, desperately seeking another miracle equalizer. But despite several corners, several shots around goal, and every bit of effort, the Duluth defense remained rock solid and saw out their one-goal advantage, securing the 3-2 win.
As the final whistle blew, the exhausted Duluth players erupted in rapture. With an incredible display of tenacity after the late hammer-blow in regulation, the ten-men visitors battled back to seize the win and the NSPL Midwest Region title.
“Words can’t really describe it to be honest,” said head coach Sean Morgan after the win. “A lot of these guys have been here for two years, three years, some for four or five. To see them get over the line in something they’ve worked so hard for in that period of time is fantastic. And we’ve done it the hard way.”
“We very much believed in ourselves and our ability,” Morgan said of the extra time break, after surrendering the tying goal and going down to ten men during stoppage time. “One of the things that has been big for us over the years is that belief to keep going. We’re very much a club that has nicked wins at the death, and we had a feeling over the last week that it was going to go our way. So, it was just about believing in ourselves, our ability, and what we’ve done in training.”
Meanwhile, Steel City FC fell in their second consecutive regional finals appearance. The talented home squad continues to represent well an organization on the rise, and one likely to stick around for years to come and continue to grow. Head Coach Dan Brower was effusive about his group and the effort they displayed in the defeat.
“You said the word ‘special’, and it’s spot on,” Brower said of his squad. “This is a special group. Every year is unique. This year, I just hope we’ve helped the guys develop, number one, and number two, I hope that they’ve enjoyed their football. Those are the two things I take out of the summers, these great moments with this special group of special players. Have we developed them? Have we helped them grow? And have we helped them enjoy their football. I think they have, I know I have, and I’m humbled to work with these special players and can continue in some capacity to help them develop and enjoy the beautiful game.”
“It’s tough right now,” he continued. “But they were excellent again this season. Just one defeat and it’s a tough one to take. But we’re hoping we see our guys back next year, and hopefully have a Cup run, so can hopefully extend our season more and work with them more.”
Duluth FC advances into the NSPL National Semifinals and awaits their opponent in the next round, while Steel City FC conclude another remarkable campaign with the match representing a stunning effort from both clubs.
Photo Credit: Todhunter Productions/Steel City FC
