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2022/23 Matchweek 7 Review
Four games in Matchweek 7 included three from the Men's Division and one in the Women's Division, with two cross-conference matchups and an NFPL Southwest debut for San Diego Voyagers.
Let's dig into how it all went down in the National Futsal Premier League in Matchweek 7.
Women's Division
Grand Rapids OLé 9-2 Futsal Indy
A top vs. bottom matchup in Grand Rapids in Matchweek 7 featured Futsal Indy Women visiting Grand Rapids OLé. With the ladies of Grand Rapids OLé fresh off a big win and Futsal Indy still looking for that elusive first win, it went down about as well as you could expect for the visitors.
OLé would jump out a 6-1 lead in the first half, with Margaret Periard drawing first blood with a quick give and go before scoring from distance with her left foot after about 4 minutes played. Credit to Futsal Indy, they kept it tight for a long time afterward, but the inevitable second goal came 8 minutes later.
Katie Schultz found Shelly Vargas for a finish through a sea of bodies from close range. Futsal Indy would respond and score their first goal of the night, with a Jade Westerfield long ball finding Sarah Carlisle striding into OLé territory before shielding, turning, and finishing well with her left foot into the bottom corner. The score was 2-1 with 7 minutes to play in the half and the game felt competitive.
An immediate OLé response came through a set piece after a timeout, typical of the Grand Rapids well-oiled machine. Divergent runs across the penalty area gave Khloe Koelling the opportunity to finish first-time into the bottom left corner.
It seemed like the floodgates opened after that - less than a minute later, good ball movement in the penalty area found Lesli Luna for a scrappy finish at the back post. To make it 5, Margaret Periard's bullet from 20 meters rifled into the far post for an instant Goal of the Month contender.
The 6th came just before halftime, a nice throw from Morgan Scholten found Schultz for her second of the night and opened up a five-goal cushion at the break.
After halftime, it took less than 10 seconds for the home side to continue piling on the abuse. Directly from the kickoff Citlali Luna found Periard alone at the back post for a tap-in: 7-1 to OLé. The 8th goal was just a minute later, with Lesli Luna finding sister Citlali Luna to finish from close range. An own goal made matters worse for the visitors to make the score 9-1.
Indy would find a consolation goal with 9 minutes to play, with Micah Hoffbauer finding Westerfield with a tidy first-time finish for her second of the night. However, the damage was done and Futsal Indy would head home still looking for their first win.
MEN'S DIVISION
GRAND RAPIDS OLÉ 8-1 FUTSAL INDY
Directly after the dismantling of their women's side, the Men of Grand Rapids OLé went through the same dance with the Futsal Indy Men's side.
Similar to the women's game, the men opened the scoring first, early, and often. Lito Esquivel found Chris Mendez less than a minute in and he did the rest, deleting his defender before slotting a cool-as-a-cucumber finish into the far post: 1-0. Mendez turned provider for the second, with Samuel Esquivel drilling a low shot that the Indy goalkeeper couldn't hang on to.
Alexis Mendez then scored an audacious goal from close range after a driving run and progressive pass from Yovany Duran and the two teams went into the break with a 3-goal difference.
After nearly 6 scoreless minutes in the second half, a quick restart from goalkeeper Miguel Cervantes found Adrian Diaz to beat his defender and finish low past the goalkeeper. Diaz found a second minutes later, an OLé set piece special as he buried a first-time shot from a Uriel Garcia corner kick.
Goal #6 came from a lovely bit of interplay between Cervantes, Alexis Mendez, and Duran, with Duran applying the finishing touch from close range.
Futsal Indy's lone goal came from a great run and finish from Jacob Sundo, assisted by Joao Couto with about 3:30 left to play. An instant response from OLé came from Duran's quick feet, with Mendez finding Mose Crawford to tuck home from close range. Lito Esquivel would get the last laugh for the home side, smashing past the goalkeeper with a toe poke from 10 meters.
All in all, a good night's work for Grand Rapids OLé, while the dreary season for Futsal Indy continues.
FC Tryzub 7-2 Ginga FS
Ginga Futsal made the trip from Cincinnati to take on the leaders of the Midwest Conference, Chicago-based FC Tryzub. FC Tryzub were defending their undefeated season, with Ginga looking to build on just a single point taken thus far.
Serhii Strakhovskyi opened the scoring for the home side after 5 minutes, with a beautiful heel flick from a tight angle assisted by Denis Reveachin. The second goal featured another heel flick, this time from close range by Taras Kobliuk and Reveachin's second assist.
With just a 2-0 lead going into the break, the game remained tight to open up the second half. However, it was FC Tryzub that maintained their aggressive attacking play, bombarding forward after an erroneous Ginga corner kick for Bohdan Ruchka to smash past the Ginga goalkeeper.
A Ginga response was necessary and it arrived, from none other than captain Erik Hegerty - an absolute bomb from 20 meters flew past the Tryzub goalkeeper who had no chance on this Goal of the Month contender. The goal would give the visitors life, but Tryzub snuffed it out shortly afterward.
A mess at the back presented Igor Bych with a chance from close range, and he converted expertly into the top corner. At 4-1, the game wasn't out of reach, but the next few minutes would effectively end the game.
First, Ruchka found Kobliuk with a fantastic long-range pass and he finished first-time. Then Bych cleaned up a rebound from close range to make the score 6-1 and out of reach for the visitors. A lightning-fast counterattack was finished by Gvozden Locovic alone at the back post to tap-in Bych's pass.
Jaie Pelletier would get a consolation goal for the visitors, but it was too little, too late and FC Tryzub would collect their 4th win from 4 game this season.
San Diego Voyagers 7-5 Colorado Futsal Academy
NFPL Southwest debutants San Diego Voyagers defended home court and took all 3 points against Colorado Futsal Academy in Matchweek 7.
The Voyagers went behind early to Colorado Futsal Academy, with Diego Galan scoring from close range to take an early 1-0 lead. However, the home side would come storming back with 3 unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead into the halftime break.
First it was Cristian Ramirez poking home from close range after good work down the sideline by Lee Mitchell. Josue Galvez followed up with two goals, leading the break on his own to finish through the keeper's legs before bodying two CFA defenders and scoring from close range for his second.
After the break, nearly 10 scoreless but chance-filled minutes passed before Voyagers extended their lead. Mitchell's lovely give-and-go with Galvez was finished sumptuously into the far corner. Just moments later, the score was 5-1, with Mitchell intercepting a pass as CFA flew the keeper and finishing from his own half! Brilliant stuff from the Voyagers fixo.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, the visitors didn't give up and turned what felt like a beatdown into a nailbiter. With under four minutes to play, a tough tackle resulted in a chance for Andres Delgado and he scored from directly in front of the net. A comical error at the back restored the four-goal cushion for Voyagers as Galvez collected his third of the night with under 3 to play.
The next few minutes were insane. Flying the keeper, CFA found a great goal from excellent combination play between Delgado and Jorge Castellanos. More Colorado pressure presented Diego Galan a chance to toe poke in from a tight angle after good ball movement from Delgado. That made it 6-4 with under two minutes to play.
Mitchell's dangerous ball in to the penalty area created a scrappy half-chance for Ranier Platinos, who displayed good strength to turn and bundle the ball into the net. However, Colorado would come right back down the court, with Castellanos' deflected shot finding the back of the net to make the score 7-5 with less under a minute to play.
The home side would see the game out and earn the first win of the NFPL Southwest.
A LOOK AT THE TABLE AFTER MATCHWEEK 8:
FC Tryzub extend their lead at the top of the Midwest. Futsal Factory Academy sink into the mire, while Ginga FS fail to capitalize on a home-and-home doubleheader. Brusa FC get their first win of their NFPL era and Cadence SFC pick up 3 huge points on the road.
THE NFPL RETURNS...
With 5 games on Saturday, February 19th, 2023 for Matchweek 9! Find the full schedule here.
Follow along and stay tuned here and on the National Futsal Premier League social platforms for coverage, previews, highlights, and more.