ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was a wild affair at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, host of the 2018 NPSL Midwest Region final between Duluth FC and AFC Ann Arbor. The action-packed, win-or-go-home match proved yet again how cruel the sport of soccer can be, as Duluth solidified their victory in penalty kicks for the second time this postseason.

The first half was back and forth with Duluth striking first courtesy of Ryan Tyrer in the 13th minute off a corner kick. Ten minutes later, Stanley Okumu served fellow Kenyan native Chris Odhiambo a beautiful ball, who came through with the header from the run of play to tie the game up at one apiece. Seconds later however, Duluth struck back on a weird deflection goal that beat Ann Arbor ‘keeper Nick Barry near post. It was a bewildering goal and many of the fans in attendance did not even see it, for they were still celebrating Odhiambo’s and Okumu’s moments of brilliance.

In the 40th minute, a sloppy giveaway from the Ann Arbor backline resulted in a simple finish for Duluth’s Kyle Farrar to give the BlueGreens a 3-1 lead. But Ann Arbor proved their resilience and toughness after their embarrassing mishap, as Alec Lasinky served captain Jack Cawley a fantastic ball from a free kick, who headed it home past Duluth’s ‘keeper to pull within a goal of the lead. This strike gave The Mighty Oak some much-needed confidence and momentum heading to the half.

The second half of this match was much different from the first, as Ann Arbor really started to dominate in possession and consistently created quality scoring chances in the final third. Duluth looked tired, and rightfully so. Just the previous day they played an intense semifinal match vs. Minneapolis City SC which went into extra time, forcing the BlueGreens to play a total of 120 minutes. On such short rest, their heavy legs became noticeable as they really started to drop back and “park the bus” so to speak.

Ann Arbor’s game awareness was terrific. They had a clear sense of urgency to equalize and played with a lot of heart and passion. Unfortunately for the Mighty Oak, they were wildly unlucky as they hit the post a total of three times in the second half. This didn’t deter Ann Arbor as they continued their excellent buildup play to create more and more chances. In the final seconds of the match in stoppage time, Ann Arbor was finally rewarded for their second-half dominance. A long, last-ditch effort throw-in into the box was flicked on by Jack Cawley and buried into the back of the net by Azaad Liadi, sending the roughly 1,000 fans at Huron High School into pandemonium. The game was headed to extra time.

Unlike the first 90 minutes of the match, extra time was not quite as exciting — nor did it have as high quality of play — in my opinion. This is likely large in part due to the tired legs I mentioned earlier. Not only did Duluth play 120 minutes the day before, but Ann Arbor had their semifinal the previous day as well. After playing another 90 minutes plus extra time, both teams were exhausted. Ann Arbor certainly still was the better team as they maintained most of the possession; however, Duluth continued to be pesky and weathered the storm well with their terrific defending.

I found it surprising how few quality chances the Mighty Oak were able to produce considering their second-half dominance and the load of momentum they had after scoring that last-minute equalizer. They had a couple of opportunities and looked dangerous at the very end of extra time but were unable to score, keeping Duluth alive. Penalties were needed to decide this contest.

Right at the very end of extra time, Duluth FC subbed out their goalkeeper on the field, Jan Hoffelner, for a new ‘keeper, Alberto Ciroi. They got this substitution off just in time for penalties, and the decision proved to be a valuable one as Ciroi would go on to make two spectacular saves in the shootout, proving to be the difference in the contest. Liam Moore would clinch the final PK for the BlueGreens as his shot beat goalkeeper Nick Barry to win the NPSL Midwest Region.

Despite being outplayed in my opinion, Duluth worked tremendously hard on defense to preserve their three first-half goals and were able to hold on and squeak out a win in Ann Arbor, which is not a small feat. The loss for Ann Arbor had to have really stung considering they lost in this exact game last year as well. The two fluky goals they conceded in the first half really turned out to be the death of them, despite their terrific response and fight displayed in the second half. Regardless, it was a great match and another memorable evening of NPSL soccer.

Duluth FC is king of the Midwest and will head to Miami to take on Miami FC 2 in the national semifinal on July 28.

Follow Jack on Twitter: @JackRenwick22.

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