MED CITY FC FALLS 3-0 TO DAKOTA FUSION

Med City FC suffered its first loss of the season in a cold and rainy game against Dakota Fusion in Fargo, North Dakota. The final scoreline was 3-0.

Med City got off to a quick start, maintaining the majority of possession in the Fusion half, and coming close to an opening goal after Midhat Mujic beat his defender, but shot the ball wide of the goal. Fusion were able to capitalize in the 13th minute on one of the few chances they had in the Med City half. After drawing a foul, Osman Mberwa chipped a free kick into the box and midfielder Zuheer Al Abase slipped his defender to knock the ball past keeper Nate Levy (Byron, MN).

Med City continued to pressure Fusion in and around their 18-yard box, generating a corner kick that found the head of Med City defender Jared Wolt (Farmington, MN), only to be cleared off the line by a Fusion defender. Once again, a defensive breakdown by Med City resulted in a breakaway for Fusion striker Jade Johnson, who calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the goal in the 26th minute. Before the half ended, the teams traded scoring opportunities, but no one was able to beat the respective keepers. The halftime score was 2-0 for Dakota Fusion.

Halftime was also a welcome relief for both teams as the players were able to head into the locker room to dry off and warm up. Game time temperature hovered around 42 degrees Fahrenheit, with the rain and winds making it feel even colder. It was the type of weather that made stylish soccer a challenge.

The second half started similarly to the first, with Med City controlling possession, but unable to beat Fusion keeper Stephen Harris. Déjà vu struck again as a Med City defensive breakdown lead to another breakaway by Jade Johnson, who was able to notch his second goal of the game in the 64th minute., making the score 3-0 for Fusion.

By this point, Med City was desperate to score and pushed most of their players up the field in hopes of finding a crucial goal. They saw multiple shots blocked by Fusion defenders, or cleared off the line once again. A goal in the 65th minute by Med City defender Javier Gomez (Madrid, Spain) was disallowed after it was ruled that he was in an offside position. Fusion took advantage of the Med City press to generate multiple scoring opportunities in the final few minutes, but could not capitalize. Goalkeeper Nate Levy made some fantastic saves to keep the score 3-0.

The final whistle blew after four minutes of stoppage time and Dakota Fusion walked away with a hard-fought 3-0 win to improve their record to 2-0-0 for the season. That puts them into first place in the NPSL North Conference. Med City falls to 1-1-0 after their opening day win over LC Aris FC.