The Duluth FC Bluegreens returned to Walt Hunting Stadium–Marv Heikkinen Field on Saturday night for a rematch of last season’s National Premier Soccer League North Conference Semifinal against Joy AC. This time, the Bluegreens held their own with a convincing 5-0 victory over the Goats.
From the opening whistle, the match was physical as Duluth immediately pushed forward with aggressive attacking pressure and nearly opened the scoring in the fourth minute when forward Seth Davidson broke free on a through ball from defenderJacob Wyles, forcing Joy AC goalkeeper Derik Stevens into an early test.
Duluth’s breakthrough came in the ninth minute as forward Roy Nazawa picked up possession on the left side of the attacking third, dribbled past a defender at the top of the box, and fired a crossing shot past Stevens into the far corner to give the Bluegreens their first goal of the season and an early 1-0 advantage.
Duluth continued to control possession throughout much of the first half, though Joy AC found opportunities on the counterattack. In the 18th minute, Goats’ forward Noah Kantorowicz sliced through the Bluegreens’ backline, forcing Duluth goalkeeper Alex Paredes off his line to make a crucial deflection and prevent the equalizer.
Joy AC appeared to level the match in the 36th minute after a long lead pass created an open chance for Joseph Mulindwa in front of goal, but the finish was ruled offside, allowing Duluth to maintain its lead.
The Goats continued to threaten moments later in the 37th minute with a dangerous sequence inside the penalty area. After working the ball across the box, Bennett Kouame fired a shot toward the left side of the goal, but Paredes reacted quickly with a diving save.
Duluth nearly doubled its lead before halftime in the 42nd minute when Nazawa created another scoring opportunity that was deflected away by the Joy AC defense. On the ensuing transition, Stevens lost control of the ball while surrounded by Akim Soulemana and Nazawa, leading to a dangerous Duluth set piece that eventually turned into a corner kick. Joy AC managed to survive the pressure, and the Bluegreens carried their 1-0 lead into halftime.
“I kind of got after them at halftime, just focusing on the right things we wanted to execute on in the second half, and then they (Bluegreens attackers) came out firing, and we got everybody on to have a good day,” said Head Coach William Maanstroem.
The Bluegreens struck quickly in the second half with quick passing, first it was Nazawa, who connected with Mateus Valsecchi in transition to set up Akim Soulemana for his first goal of the season, extending the lead to 2-0.
Just three minutes later, Duluth capitalized on another defensive breakdown by the goalkeeper, leaving the ball sitting loose in front of an open net, and Nazawa calmly finished for his second goal of the night and a commanding three-goal advantage.
The pressure continued immediately afterward as Joy AC attempted to respond with a header opportunity that was stopped by Paredes. The Duluth goalkeeper quickly launched the counterattack, finding Nazawa racing up the near sideline. Nazawa carried the ball into the penalty area before drawing contact from Stevens and a recovering defender, earning a penalty kick in the 59th minute.
Nazawa buried the attempt with a low strike to the left side of the goal, completing the hat trick in just the second game of the 2026 campaign for the Bluegreens and pushing Duluth’s lead to 4-0. Following the goal, Joy AC elected to make a change in net, bringing in Deven Leonard.
“He’s an electric player; he can create something out of nothing sometimes. I thought on the weekend we struggled to produce off of his production,” said Maanstroem about his lead goal scorer this season. “He came into it today and got some goals out of it.”
Duluth’s relentless attack produced one more goal in the 65th minute. Forward Seth Davidson battled through a defender inside the box before slipping a pass across the goal to teammate Raul Cedillo, who finished cleanly for the Bluegreens’ fifth goal of the night.
Joy AC earned a penalty kick opportunity of its own in the 68th minute, but Paredes once again came up with the answer, making the save and continuing to command the defensive end throughout the final 20 minutes, stepping off his line multiple times to disrupt attacking chances and secure the Bluegreens’ first clean sheet and first victory of the season.
With the 5-0 win, Duluth FC now has four points in the young campaign, moving to 1-0-1 on the season ahead of their first road matchup this Saturday against Joy AC.
