After a week off from National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) play, the Duluth FC Bluegreens
returned to Walt Hunting Stadium-Marc Heikkinen Field for another second-half come-from-
behind victory, as they defeated Sioux Falls Thunder FC 4-2 behind four goals from forward
Joao Magalhaes.
The Thunder began with the first possession and a strong easterly wind at their backs, which
helped them control possession as the Bluegreens backline looked sluggish early on, turning
the ball over often.
That changed near the 21st minute when Duluth FC was awarded a free kick on the left
baseline taken by Joao Magalhaes. His kick was low and deflected away by a Siouxland
defender but came back to the Bluegreens. Akim Sulemana centered the ball into the box to
Jacob Wyle for a header attempt that came up short as the Sioux Falls goalkeeper Kohki
Takeichi wrapped it up, keeping the match scoreless.
The Bluegreens played aggressively on offense over the next few minutes with great ball work
between midfielder Gabriel Rossman and Magalhaes that eventually led to a shot by Sulemana
that went wide right in the 24th minute.
As the Bluegreens quickly got possession back, Sulemana found space in the open field before
a defender met him at the top of the box. After some swift dribbling moves, he was past the
defender, but his shot was saved by Takeichi.
Sioux Falls was able to reverse the field as Aiden Bennett made a run down the middle of the
field before colliding with three Bluegreen defenders, earning a penalty kick in the 27th minute,
which he sent to the top of the net just out of reach for Alex Parades, giving the Thunder the 1-0
lead.
In a very patient first half, the next scoring opportunity came in the 34th minute as Magalhaes
found Seth Davidson in good positioning, but Takeichi was there for another save.
A quick Sioux Falls turnover gave Duluth another great scoring opportunity when Matheus
Gomes centered a pass to Jake Cervantes, pulling Takeichi out of the net to meet it. The two
collided midair, and Cervantes was called for a foul.
The Bluegreens, inability to finish their opportunities showed again in the 42nd minute as
Gabriel Rossman’s run down the left side brought the ball within two yards of the net, pulling
Takeichi out for the deflection, but the ball ended up loose in front of the net as Davidson went
to follow it up. He tripped, leaving the score at 1-0 until halftime.
“Going into halftime losing 1 to nil was a tough moment for us,” said Magalhaes about the
team’s thoughts going into the second half. “Playing against the wind was a big factor today, but
we were just happy to go into the second half with another mentality and playing in favor of the
wind.”
To open the second half, Duluth FC came out firing, especially Magalhaes, who was first found
by Rossman, who left the ball for Magalhaes to finish at the top right end of the six-yard box for
the 1-1 equalizer goal in the 46th minute.
That was just the beginning; just a minute later, Magalhaes received a crossing header from
Davidson, which he was able to finish on the right side of Takeichi to give the Bluegreens their
first lead of the night.
Sioux Falls would make it 2-2 with a goal from Nick North off a free kick in the 52nd minute.
It didn’t take long for the Bluegreens to answer as they found Magalhaes again, giving him a hat
trick off the assist from Sulemana in the 57th minute to take back the one-goal lead.
Magalhaes added another goal onto the scoreboard for Duluth in the 61st minute as Davidson
hit him with a beautiful through pass across the entire box, which Magalhaes finished into the
right corner for his fourth goal in the half.
“Joao is a great finisher of the ball, he’s very composed,” said Duluth FC head coach Will
Maanstroem. “Everything comes from what we do to build into the goals, we run for each other.”
“The four goals are our team's goals,” Magalhaes said. “I just put them into the back of the net. The whole team is working together as a unit. I think we have a great group of lads…and I just
want to thank them.”
Sioux Falls began to fight back over the next ten minutes, which turned into a corner kick
opportunity in the 73rd minute that was played over the top of the box, finding Bob Denton,
whose shot missed wide right. Two minutes later, North made a run up the middle, but it turned
into another shot missed wide right.
For the final 17 minutes of play and extra time, Duluth backed out of their aggressive play with
long possessions that didn’t let either team see strong scoring opportunities. The Bluegreens
remain undefeated ahead of their road match with Siouxland United FC, the only other
unbeaten team in the North Conference on Friday, June 19.
