NPSL Midwest Region Quarter-Final Round-Up
Cleveland and Duluth move on, joining Muskegon and Med City in the Semis.
#1 Muskegon Risers and #2 Med City FC have byes through this round.
The remaining match-ups were determined thus:
The higher seeds host. The two Eastern-most clubs will meet, and the two Western-most clubs will meet.
#3 Cleveland SC 2–1 #6 Pittsburgh Hotspurs
Cleveland won the Rust Belt conference comfortably, but did not qualify for a first round bye and therefore they faced the conference’s second placed team in the Quarter-Finals. It was scoreless in the first half, with Pittsburgh’s Garret Watson making a couple of flying saves and a borderline PK awarded as a free kick instead.
In the 57th minute, Vinny Bell belted the ball home to put the home team on top. Mohney Tate levelled for Pittsburgh ten minutes later. It was Dakota Jonke’s turn to hammer a shot, in stoppage time, to take the home team through to the Semi-Finals in Muskegon.
#4 Duluth FC 3–1 #5 FC Columbus
An 800 mile road trip north-west faced FC Columbus, in a match-up of the league’s most prolific offense in Duluth and its most accomplished individual striker in Damani Camara. It was the home team which got off to a flying start, with Kostya Domaratskyy taking only 30 seconds to open up the scoring. Domaratskyy set up the second goal in the 49th minute, with Blake Perry providing the finish. Michael Chilton halved the deficit in the 85th minute, converting from a corner but Duluth iced the game in stoppage time with a neat team move involving Sam Thornton and Aaron Pike to set up a tap-in by Keegan Chastey.
Upcoming Schedule:
Regional Semi-Finals, Friday— Oakridge’s Russell A. Erickson Stadium, Muskegon, MI
#1 Muskegon Risers v #4 Duluth FC
#2 Med City FC v #3 Cleveland SC
The Regional Final, Sunday — Oakridge’s Russell A. Erickson Stadium, Muskegon, MI
We will be back with coverage of those matches, here and on Twitter
