Med City FC Draws with 10-Man VSLT FC
Med City FC took on VSLT FC of St. Paul at RCTC in Rochester on Saturday night, and despite dominating possession and VSLT FC playing a man down for more than an hour of the game, the Mayhem couldn’t find a breakthrough on goal and ended up settling for a 0-0 draw.
Med City FC came out of the gates quickly and controlled play and possession early in the first half, as VSLT FC defended in numbers and worked to keep the Mayhem from their goal. As with their first meeting of the season, the game was a contentious affair with fouls flying in from both teams. Med City’s best chance of the first half came about midway through, as midfielder Alan Schembri Wismayer (Rochester, MN) chased a through ball in on goal. He got to it first, and the VSLT goalkeeper had to be brave to come out and meet the onrushing Schembri Wismayer and break up the play.
The game took an interesting turn in the 25th minute as VSLT FC’s Kapaw Htoo was shown a straight red card as his raised foot met the midsection of Mayhem midfielder Ignacio Garrido (Madrid, Spain), who had to receive treatment for a few minutes after the clash. Med City continued to work methodically to fashion chances on goal and they once again came close as Claudio Repetto (Genova, Italy) reached out for a cross and managed to get his foot to it, only for the ball to end up going over the net.
In the second half, the Mayhem again had chances, including a glorious opportunity from Francisco Neto (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in the box and another from Niklas Roessler (Stuttgart, Germany) from outside the box that whistled just wide of the VSLT FC post. VSLT continued to defend resolutely and took every opportunity to slow the game down.
Mayhem goalkeeper Nate Levy (Byron, MN) was never really troubled throughout the game, and the Med City FC defense recorded its second straight shutout and has now gone nearly 200 minutes without conceding a goal.
In the end, VSLT FC held out and left Rochester with a 0-0 draw that keeps them near the top of the conference table. Meanwhile, it was another evening of what could have been for the Mayhem as another dominant performance came up short on the scoreboard.
Med City FC will travel to LaCrosse, Wisconsin on Wednesday night to take on LC Aris FC, who earned their first point of the season, grabbing a 0-0 draw with league-leading Minneapolis City SC. Meanwhile, VSLT FC will visit Minneapolis City SC in a top-of-the-table clash the same night.
Contributor: Frank Spaeth/Med City FC
Photo Credit: Frank Spaeth/Med City FC
