Duluth FC vs. Joy Athletic
St. Louis Park, MN
June 24, 2023 | Matchday 10
Current 2023 Records (W-L-T):
Duluth: 9-0-0
Joy: 3-5-0
Duluth travels to the Twin Cities metro on Saturday, June 24, to play Joy Athletic in St. Louis Park in their third-to-last game of the NPSL North regular season. The game marked the second chapter in a three game road spell for Duluth, which started with a 1-0 win against the Sioux Falls Thunder on June 21.
If Duluth were to win this game, they would hit 30 points on the season, ensuring that they cannot be caught by the Dakota Fusion and will secure the first place spot on the NPSL North table.
It should be noted and clarified that, while many Duluth FC fans will be used to the North title simply going to the team in first place in the regular season, that is not the format for this season. The top four teams in the North will play in a playoff format at the end of the season, and a similar process will take place in the three other conferences in the NPSL’s midwest region. The winners of those four playoff brackets will face off in the regional tournament. Therefore, a win against Joy Athletic would not decide the title. Instead it would ensure Duluth the number one seed in that North playoff tournament.
Tyler Limmer currently leads Duluth’s 11 goal scorers this season with seven goals, spreading from Duluth’s first game of the season against the Minnesota TwinStars, to a goal earlier this week against the Sioux Falls Thunder. Those 11 scorers (Tyler Limmer, Kostya Domaratskyy, Stefan Roeb, Tom Akinola, Felipe Santos, Rory Doyle, Liam Pritchard, Conor Behan, Dylan Zavatini, Paul Bobai, and Andres Solares) have scored a total of 31 goals in nine games.
