Duluth FC vs. Muskegon
Oakridge Highschool | Muskegon, MI
July 19th, 2022 | Game #15 Current 2022: Records (W-L-T):
Duluth: 8-0-1; 4-2-0 at home/on the road
Columbus: 4-1-1; 4-2-1 at home/on the road
Starting XI: Sam Thornton, Blake Perry, Wynand Wessels, Andres Solares, Cian Gantley, Kostyantyn Domaratskyy, Felipe Arteaga, Martin Grzywa, Jake Starling, Jessi Juarez, Brendan Dally.
1’ – Kostyantyn Domaratskyy (DFC)
50’ – Blake Perry (DFC)
86’ – Michael Chilton (FCC)
90’ – Keegan Chastey (DFC)
Playoffs are finally here and no one was more excited about it than your Duluth Bluegreens. They got the tournament kicked off with a first-round face-off against a strong FC Columbus squad. A squad that has the most impressive record we have faced all season apart from Med City. The adrenaline was flowing and the boys battled hard on their home turf to put up a solid performance especially on the defensive end limiting their shot attempts to single digits. The effort was very effective and they came out victorious with a 3-1 win and will continue their quest for the cup.
The game started out with a bang and it came in the first minute of the match no less. The fellas were able to get a nice-looking offensive possession of the kick-off. Sam Thornton and Kostyantyn Domaratskyy have some nifty back-and-forth passing that ended in a real slick shot and goal by Domaratskyy. This would be the boost Duluth gained and used to keep things going their way throughout the entirety of the match. The goal would also amp up the intensity as players from there on out. The intensity also provided a huge stalemate of goals as it became apparently more difficult to get an offense set up let alone get a decent shot on the net. Duluth was able to generate a couple and for the most part, take lead in this matchup but it was not a Duluth offense accustomed to seeing. The defense was however astounding as didn’t let up a good-looking shot all half.
Duluth started off the second half more ferocious than before, getting alot more shots this time around. The shots eventually seemed to overwhelm the Columbus defense. You could see defenders being out of position. Kostyantyn Domaratskyy would take advantage of this with a beautiful nutmeg right to a cutting Blake Perry who sends it home and puts the Bluegreens up 2-0. The boys were on cloud nine and were still playing like it was their game to lose. The defense was still solid but there was a hiccup. Columbus was able to take advantage of a corner kick that hit awkwardly off the head of Wynand Wessels and leaked out to Michael Chilton to have an easy tap-back goal to make it 2-1 in the 86th minute of the game. The Bluegreens took this goal personally and decided to add another of their own before time ran out. A curving leak-out pass to a subbed-in Aaron Pike who finds a lane and crossed it over to Chastey who found the back of the net to secure the 3-1 win.
Your Bluegreens will be squaring off against the Muskegon Risers this Friday. Kick-off will begin at 7:30.
By: Ryan Tigner
