2022/23 Matchweek 8 Review

by NFPL

Matchweek 8 had everything in the NFPL! A scintillating comeback in Cincinnati, a demolition outside Detroit, a nailbiter in Columbus, and more. Get all the details and goal highlights below from Matchweek 8.

Men's Division

COLUMBUS FUTSAL 8-6 CADENCE SFC

On paper, this had a smooth-sailing Columbus victory written all over it. In person, there was much more to the story. The young guns of Cadence SFC came to play and Columbus Futsal were tested to their limits in what was a brilliant game of futsal played at Westwood Fieldhouse - the Columbus fans were in full voice and brought the drums, contributing to what has become a fortress for Columbus this season.

Cadence would open the scoring after 5 minutes, with Gio Nicolas poking in from close range after an uncharacteristic giveaway from the Columbus captain. Columbus would even the score 3 minutes later, with Gui Karaoglan playing an excellent ball in behind for Tiago Ramos to score his 6th goal of the season after flicking over the defender and finishing for an instant Goal of the Month contender. 

With under 9 to go, it was Cadence taking the lead once more through Josue Pfrommer. Kyle Harms played a nice ball through and while Cañizalez did well to save the first attempt, Pfrommer was there to capitalize on the rebound. They would double their lead before halftime: a miscued corner kick gave Edrick Padilla the opportunity to run the floor before squaring to Pfrommer for a tap-in. 

Cadence weren't satisfied or finished. They would take a shock 4-1 lead into the halftime break. A throw from the goalkeeper beat the entire Columbus defense, and with two quick passes, German Mendrivel was able to finish cleanly into the corner.

Similar to their Matchweek 6 tie with Ginga FS, the Columbus performance began in the second half. It began with the captain, Marcelo Matos, nonchalantly chipping the goalkeeper from his own half off the kickoff - a brilliant way to start the half and build momentum for the home team. Matos then became the provider, intercepting a loose pass and squaring to Dener Marques to tap home from close range for his first goal for Columbus Futsal. 

Columbus would tie it up at 4-4 a few minutes later - a free kick passed to Juliano Castilhos saw his shot slide through a sea of legs to nestle in the back of the net. 

The goal to take the lead was incredible - captain Matos trapping with his chest, turning and volleying into the corner in one balletic movement. Definitely a Goal of the Month contender. Columbus extended the lead a few minutes later to 6-4 in favor of the home side, with Matos showing off some slick foot skills to make a shot for Karaoglan, who dutifully finished into the corner. 

Cadence SFC would, finally, find their feet in the second half and go from 6-4 to 6-6 within half a minute of play. First, it was Padilla intercepting a pass and finding the perfect low cross across the goal for a tap-in at the back post for Mendrivel. Then it was Padilla again, collecting in the middle and beating his defender before coolly finishing into the far post with his left foot. Tie game with 9 minutes to play.

The home side would take the lead for good with about 7:30 to play - a tackle from Jimmy Galvan gave Castilhos the ball, and a deft pass into space allowed Jesus Alcanter the chance to toe-poke the ball into the net through the goalkeeper's legs for his first goal for the club! 

Tempers flared between the two teams with less than a minute to play and a final goal on an empty net with under 5 seconds from Castilhos would seal the deal for Columbus. 

All in all, a fantastic game of high-level futsal between two teams in Columbus. Cadence SFC really acquitted themselves well and that performance would carry on through the weekend. 

Ginga fS 9-3 Futsal Indy

With both teams desperate for a win and a history of high-scoring matches between the two, Ginga FS squared off against Futsal Indy in Cincinnati over the Matchweek 8 weekend. 

Futsal Indy would take a shocking 3-0 lead into the half, and it looked like they might be able to deliver a devastating result for the home side in addition to taking their first win of the season back to Indianapolis. 

Early in the second half, Joao Couto received a pass with his back to the goal, turned his man, and sent a thunderous strike into the corner past the Ginga FS goalkeeper. A Ginga FS corner kick backfired and resulted in a 3-on-none counterattack, ending in Ujasiri Sikabwescoring from close range with the goalkeeper stranded. Their two-goal lead became three, with a shot from a corner being deflected and allowing Samsoni Sikabwe the chance to score a close rebound. 

Credit to Futsal Indy - this was the best stretch of play they've shown this season, and they are improving every week. Despite the positives, it was Ginga FS that stormed back and score 9 unanswered goals to take all 3 points at home. The comeback started with Moses Lian, collecting a rebound to stab home from close range after a nice turn from TJ Manning.

With under a minute to play, Hegerty then fed Manu Krac on the counterattack to score the second of the night for Ginga FS from close range. Just before the halftime break, Manu Krac pressured the Indy defense and won the ball before finding Sydney Musoni open in front of the goal to tie the game. The game was tied going into the halftime break. 

After 5 scoreless second-half minutes, the lead came through a Hegerty free-kick special: a calmly placed finish off the frame of the goal left the goalkeeper no chance for this Goal of the Month contender. Futsal Indy didn't let their heads go down and continued to grind in a close game for the next several minutes. However, not learning from Hegerty's display of excellence on his previous free kick didn't help, as Ginga FS won another free kick that was dispatched at the near post by the captain to take a 5-3 lead with 9 minutes to play.

TJ Manning would get on the scoreboard to give the home team a 6-3 lead, a clean first-time finish off a corner kick. Manning's second of the night came two minutes later, as Moses Lian was found open from a long goalkeeper throw. His beautiful outside-of-the-foot cross was volleyed home by Manning.

Shortly afterward, Musoni grabbed his second of the night, making the Indy defenders dance before finishing powerfully into the bottom left corner. Their 9th and final goal would come from an unlikely source, Barry "Abu" Boubacar scoring after Jorge Guinovart found him open in front of the net with about 3 minutes left in the game.

So, Ginga FS would take the first of their weekend doubleheader and Futsal Indy will rue the chance to get off the mark this season as they jumped out to a big early lead. 

Futsal Factory 1-11 FC Tryzub

Futsal Factory welcomed the league's hottest team to Michigan in Matchweek 8, with FC Tryzub making the trip from Chicago to ruin the home side's evening. 

The early moments of the game were characterized mostly by FC Tryzub possession in Futsal Factory's territory. Futsal Factory looked dangerous on the counter and, if not for some wayward final passes, could have taken an early lead. However, the first goal came from an embarrassing moment from the home side. With the goalkeeper away from his posts and seeking a fifth man in possession, the pass from the fixo was directly into Bohdan Ruchka's path, and his deflection sent the ball dribbling meekly into the net from about half-court for a 1-0 lead. 

Taras Dydych scored the second for the visitors, winning the ball on the sideline before displaying quick feet to make space to shoot beneath Damron into the net from close range. The two-goal lead wouldn't last long, with Drew Ducker excellently placing a toe poke into the corner after Miki Djerisilo found him open from a corner kick. Unfortunately, that would do it for Futsal Factory. 

Before the end of the half, a nicely-scooped pass from Mikhailo Ryabui found Dmytro Zbuzhovyy behind the defense. His instant control gave him a step on his defense before he calmly chipped Damron into the far corner for a 3-1 lead. 

A 3-1 lead isn't exactly a mountain to climb, but just a few minutes into the second half it ballooned to a 5-1 lead for the visitors. A corner kick chipped to the far side was volleyed back towards the penalty area, and a deflection resulted in an own goal for the home side. FC Tryzub's fifth was lovely: quick passing stretched the FFA defense and ended in Kobliuk finding Andrew Sadovskyy to finish into the roof of the net. 

Futsal Factory continued to work hard, but the end product wasn't there and the next two quick goals killed them off. A corner kick gave Tryzub a shot on goal, well-saved by Damron, but they were first to the rebound with Ruchka finishing high past the keeper. Another great team goal dissected the FFA defense, with Ryabui's pass in behind allowing Zbuzhovvy to play a quick give-and-go with Dydych and score from close range. 

The silly mistakes would haunt Futsal Factory this game: poor passes, poor tracking, poor marking. Igor Bych would score from close range after Dydych's second assist of the match to make it 8-1. The 9th came on an open net after flying the keeper, with Zbuzhovyy collecting his hat trick after simply passing in from half-court. Then the FC Tryzub goalkeeper Dmytro Fedyk was able to punt a goal from his own area to get double digits on the scoreline. 

The final goal was cleanly executed by Bych for his second of the night - a nice save from Fedyck allowed FC Tryzub to counterattack and a composed finish under Damron brought the final score to 11-1 and capped off a great night for the visitors.

For Futsal Factory, the result is a grim one. They now sit in last place in the Great Lakes Conference and are on a 3-game losing streak, conceding 20 goals and scoring just 2 in their last two matches against the league's top two teams in FC Tryzub and Grand Rapids OLé. They'll need a monumental turnaround to fight for a playoff spot this season. 

Brusa FC 11-6 New Mexico Flagship FC

In the Southwest Conference, Brusa FC had their home debut against the visiting New Mexico Flagship FC. With the 11-6 victory, they take sole possession of first place in the Southwest Conference.

The visitors would take the lead after just two minutes, with Julian Bustamante hammering home into the bottom corner after a dazzling back-heel assist from captain Isai Rivas and scoring the historic first goal for New Mexico Flagship FC in the NFPL. 

However, the lead was short-lived: Brusa FC would strike back through Zachariah Alhajjaji, capitalizing on a poor giveaway at the back to poke home from a few yards out. 

Around the 10-minute mark, NMFS regained the lead. Nestor Ramirez intercepted a pass and led the break himself, unleashing a shot low and hard past the goalkeeper. Five minutes later, it was Bustamante again with classic pivo work: shielding, turning and finishing in the same spot as he had earlier in the half. 

Less than a minute later, a Christian Lima penalty was expertly buried into the corner for Brusa FC to make the score 3-2. WIth two minutes to play in the half, NMFS restored their two-goal advantage. Jesus Araque's excellent, eye-of-the-needle pass across the face of goal was finished by Alexander Romero to take a 4-2 lead into the halftime break.

After the halftime adjustments, Brusa FC took over the game. Half a minute in, a giveaway at the back put Jonathan Segura in on goal for Alhajjaji to get his second of the night, a lethal finish off the bottom of the bar that cut the Flagship lead in half. Minutes later, Segura was on the scoresheet himself, catching the goalkeeper off guard and scoring unassisted from distance to tie the game at 4-4.

Brusa FC would take their first lead of the night with Lima assisting Alhajjaji for his hat trick on a 2-on-none counterattack - and Alhajjaji wasn't finished there. Left alone at the back post, Segura found him and his first-time finish once more crashed off the bottom of the bar and in for his fourth goal of the night! That made it four goals unanswered for the home side. 

They would make it five unanswered through Joey Fuller, galloping forward to catch up with a Kazu Otani on a breakaway and bundling home the rebound. NMFS would take advantage of their own counterattack a few minutes later to make the score 7-5, with Romero there at the back post to scoop the ball into the net after Rivas's assist.

 Down 2 goals and having to chase the game with under 6 minutes to play, another New Mexico Flagship giveaway was punished devastatingly by Brusa FC. Alhajjaji grabbed his fifth goal of the night, open on the left wing where he wreaked havoc all night after Lima found him with his third assist of the night. 

With just under 5 minutes to play, a free kick routine from the training ground broke Flagship's back, with Lima smashing it into the near post to take a 9-5 lead. Another penalty a minute later for Lima was once more finished expertly into the top corner for Brusa FC. He would score his third penalty of the night a minute after that, sending the ball under the goalkeeper for an 11-5 lead. 

Although NMFS would get the final goal, it was too little, too late as Rivas smashed one into the corner on a quick counterattack. The visitors leave their NFPL debut with no points to show for it, while Brusa FC would leap to the top of the NFPL Southwest. New Mexico Flagship FC will enjoy their own home debut against the Voyagers this coming weekend. 

Ginga FS 2-3 Cadence SFC

Coming into the weekend, Ginga FS looked like the favorites to get two wins from the two teams at the bottom of the Great Lakes Conference. However, Cadence SFC came into their second match of the weekend with confidence from a quality performance in Columbus and secured a big 3 points on the road in Cincinnati. 

Cadence would manage the majority of the possession in the first half, although chances on goal were spread evenly between the two teams. The visitors took a 2-0 lead into the half, scoring twice in the last minute of play through Ignacio Ciotta - he first scored from close range after Edrick Padilla found him at the back post, and then slotted into the far post from another Padilla assist on the counter.

Ginga FS would rue their profligacy in front of goal and their disappointing end of the half. However, a lot of credit must be given to Cadence. They came to a road game and played confidently, with a great deal of composure in possession, and truly controlled the game. After a sustained spell of possession, their passes moved around the Ginga FS defense and allowed Nicolas Espinosa to round the goalkeeper and finish calmly. 

The Cadence defense continued to stymie the Ginga FS offense until late in the game - TJ Manning's ball across the goal found Sydney Musoni to calmly step in front of his defender to finish and make the score 3-1. Shortly afterward, Erik Hegerty put away the second of the night for Ginga FS, displaying incredibly quick feet to beat his defender and the goalkeeper and finish from close range.

Despite Ginga FS huffing and puffing, they couldn't find the tying goal and Cadence SFC were able to hold them off in the final minutes of the game. 

Ginga FS will be disappointed in not taking advantage of their home court, while Cadence can be proud of their road weekend, taking 3 points from two quality performances. 

Women's Division

Futsal Factory Academy 18-1 Futsal Indy

A lopsided affair in Michigan as Futsal Indy traveled light to a match with Futsal Factory Academy, the league leaders of the Women's Division. 

The NFPL was unable to obtain video of the match, but suffice it to say that the game was not close, especially after a visiting Futsal Indy player went down with an unfortunate injury and was not able to complete the match. For the home side, Nicole Grimaldo led all players in points with 3 goals and 3 assists, followed closely by MacKenzie Dollison (2 goals, 3 assists) and Laci Jernigan (4 goals, 1 assist).

For the visitors, Micah Hoffbauer continues to stand out in every Futsal Indy match, taking credit for the assist on Indy's lone goal, which came through Cendy Meija. 

A LOOK AT THE TABLE AFTER MATCHWEEK 8:

Two beatdowns in Michigan, a new leader of the Southwest Division, and some excellent goals and games characterize Matchweek 8 in the NFPL. 

THE NFPL RETURNS...

With 6 games on for Matchweek 8! Find the full schedule here. 

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