Matchweek 7 Review: BRUSA Sweep, FFA Dominance, and Late Drama Across the League

Matchweek 7 Review: BRUSA Sweep, FFA Dominance, and Late Drama Across the League

Matchweek 7 delivered one of the most eventful weekends of the NFPL season so far, with dramatic division clashes, statement wins from title contenders, and multiple games decided in the final minutes. Reigning champions BRUSA FC closed out a perfect weekend against New Mexico Flagship, Futsal Factory Academy continued their relentless march at the top of the Midwest, and several tightly contested matches showcased the league’s growing depth and competitiveness across all regions.

Midwest Division

Futsal Factory Academy 11 – 0 Capital Futsal

Futsal Factory Academy continued their extraordinary run of form, delivering another dominant performance in a top-of-the-division clash with Capital Futsal.

FFA wasted no time asserting control. Just 3:30 into the match, Andrew Schwartz opened the scoring, smashing a powerful finish in at the near post from a tight angle to beat Darwin Bostick. Three minutes later, a costly turnover was punished on the counter, Abdisa Kabeto releasing Thomas Dono, who slipped his finish between Bostick’s legs for 2–0.

The pressure only intensified. Unejs Ramaxhiku collected an errant pass and unleashed a thunderous strike into the top corner to make it 3–0, before Schwartz combined calmly with Philip Leucht in the 11th minute to add a fourth from close range. FFA capped the first half with another well-worked goal, Ben Pritchard winning a heavy tackle at midcourt and starting the break that ended with Lucas Yessayan tapping in at the back post from Graham Unsworth’s perfectly weighted pass.

Any hopes of a Capital response were quickly extinguished after the restart. Three minutes into the second half, Dono found Pritchard, who squared across goal for Drew Ducker to tap in. Moments later, Ducker intercepted a careless pass in the middle of the court and toe-poked home past an out-of-position goalkeeper.

With eleven minutes remaining, another corner routine paid dividends. The ball was played long to Ducker, whose clever pass found Dono, allowing him to wrong-foot the defense and finish from close range. As Capital turned to flying the goalkeeper late, FFA ruthlessly capitalized. Schwartz converted into an empty net after another interception, before Kabeto deflected a dangerous cross across goal into the net just seconds later.

The scoring was completed with 1:15 remaining, Lucas Yessayan finishing into the empty net to seal an emphatic 11–0 victory.

The result reinforced FFA’s status as the division’s benchmark, as they once again controlled every phase of play and punished mistakes with precision.

Inter Detroit 7 – 5 MitWest Futsal Club

MitWest Futsal Club made a blistering start, but Inter Detroit showed resilience, quality, and late-game composure to come away with an impressive 8–5 victory.

MWFC struck first just five minutes in, Leonardo Dourado capitalizing on an Inter error and finishing from close range to open the scoring. Five minutes later, the lead was doubled in spectacular fashion when Daiki Nielsen collected a cross-court pass from Juan Perez and hammered an unstoppable strike into the top corner.

The pressure continued, and just three minutes later Sam Almutamwa made it 3–0, finishing a breakaway after sharp combination play between Dourado and Michael Rodriguez. At that point, MitWest looked firmly in control.

Inter Detroit finally halted the momentum a minute later, pulling one back through Andres Chavez, who redirected a close-range effort that may have originated from a Luan Bressy shot. Momentum quickly swung further in Inter’s favor, as Chavez struck again just a minute later, unleashing a rocket into the top right corner after Silas Rustin won possession and launched the counterattack.

Inter completed the comeback three minutes later, Rustin poking home after Bressy’s one-on-one footwork forced the MitWest defense to collapse. With the match suddenly level, MWFC responded late in the half. With just 1:30 remaining, Dourado grabbed his second of the night, finishing a 2-v-1 break assisted by Nielsen to restore MitWest’s lead.

But Inter had the final word before halftime. A corner kick from Nate Boos found Liam Holloway, whose first-time finish flew just beneath the bar into the top left corner, sending the teams into the break tied in a breathless first half.

The second half was tense and physical, with both sides trading chances but neither able to break through until the final stretch. With 7:30 remaining, Boos once again led by example, combining neatly with Gabe Baylon in a give-and-go before finishing clinically past the MitWest goalkeeper.

Inter extended their advantage with 3:30 left in the match through an unfortunate own goal for MitWest, as Anis Midoun attempted to stop what would have been a back-post tap-in. Dourado briefly reignited hope for MWFC with 2:20 to play, finishing after being played through by Rodriguez to complete his hat trick.

Any chance of a late comeback was extinguished in the closing seconds. With just 15 seconds remaining, Baylon won the ball physically but cleanly and smashed home from close range to seal a big win for Inter Detroit.

After a dramatic opening half and a hard-fought second period, Inter Detroit’s late execution proved decisive in a thrilling 7–5 victory.

Southwest Division

BRUSA Futsal Club 10 – 5 New Mexico Flagship Futsal Academy

The Matchweek 7 headliner lived up to its billing, as reigning champions BRUSA Futsal Club pulled away late to secure a 10–5 victory over New Mexico Flagship Futsal Academy in a match that was far closer than the final score suggests.

BRUSA burst out of the gates, taking a 3–0 lead inside the opening 14 minutes. Eduardo Medina was at the heart of everything early, assisting all three goals. The opener came via Diego Vargas, who smashed a first-time finish into the roof of the net. Moments later, Yan Brandão crept in at the back post on a corner to double the lead, before captain Kaue Martins added his fifth goal of the season with a close-range poacher’s finish.

New Mexico Flagship responded in emphatic fashion. Goalkeeper Juan Ruiz sparked the comeback, rolling the ball long to Luis González, who used a clever sole roll to release Christopher Santos for a well-worked team goal. Ruiz then provided one of the goals of the night, launching a full-court throw that González met with an extraordinary volley. Minutes later, the duo combined again, Santos assisting González for a clinical half-volley to level the match at 3–3 heading into halftime.

BRUSA regained control early in the second half. Medina once again turned provider, finding Patrick Ruiz, who volleyed home from close range. Christian Lima extended the advantage with a powerful first-time strike through traffic, before Brandão added his second of the night—this time blasting a first-time finish into the top-corner side netting from a corner routine to make it 6–3.

Flagship refused to fold. A well-struck free kick was saved by Jared Wilson, but quick reactions allowed Jesús Guillén to score on the rebound. With under three minutes remaining, González capped another outstanding performance by finishing first-time from Sebastián Contreras’ perfectly weighted pass, pulling NMFS within one at 6–5.

From there, the scoreline shifted dramatically as Flagship pushed numbers forward in search of an equalizer. With just over a minute remaining, Kaue Martins capitalized on an empty net, striking from near halfway to restore a two-goal cushion. Moments later, Martins completed his four-goal night, tapping in from close range after Wilson found Brandão with a long throw and Brandão squared across the face of goal.

With four seconds remaining, Eduardo Medina capped a dominant all-around performance by finally getting on the scoresheet himself, tapping into an empty net after a cross-court pass from Micah Vasey to seal the 10–5 win.

While the final margin was decisive, the match itself was anything but one-sided for long stretches. BRUSA’s composure and ruthlessness in the closing minutes ultimately separated the two sides, reinforcing why the reigning champions remain the standard in the Southwest Division.

BRUSA Futsal Club 7 – 6 New Mexico Flagship Futsal Academy

The second meeting of the weekend between BRUSA Futsal Club and New Mexico Flagship Futsal Academy delivered another dramatic, end-to-end contest, with BRUSA once again finding a late winner to complete a weekend sweep of their Southwest rivals.

New Mexico Flagship struck first just five minutes in. Christopher Santos intercepted an errant pass in his own half, surged forward, and unleashed a low, driven strike from distance that beat Jared Wilson at the bottom right corner — an outstanding individual finish to open the scoring.

BRUSA responded three minutes later when Yan Brandão reacted quickest to a rebound, striking precisely into the lower left side netting. The champions then took the lead from a corner, as Kaue Martins met Eduardo Medina’s delivery with a first-time finish into the same corner.

The momentum continued to swing. With under seven minutes remaining in the first half, Jesús Guillén converted a direct free kick to level the match at 2–2. Just one minute later, Flagship moved ahead when Medina’s misplaced pass fell to Axel Esparza, who smashed a powerful finish into the top corner.

BRUSA answered again with five minutes left in the half, Patrick Ruiz producing a remarkable finish from an impossible angle after his corner rebounded back to him. But Flagship would have the final say before the break, Guillén forcing a turnover with strong defensive work and toe-poking the ball home to give NMFS a 4–3 halftime lead.

The second half picked up right where the first left off. Less than a minute after the restart, Brandão struck again from a direct free kick, tucking his effort into the bottom right corner to make it 4–4. Two minutes later, an unfortunate own goal from Martins restored Flagship’s advantage, pushing NMFS ahead 5–4.

BRUSA refused to let the match slip. Christian Lima leveled the score just a minute later, finishing from close range after another smart pass from Patrick Ruiz. Flagship regained the lead once more when Sebastián Contreras reacted to a rebound and tapped in from close range with twelve minutes remaining.

As tension built late, Micah Vasey brought BRUSA level with under five minutes to play, scoring from close range after a corner routine broke down inside the area. With the match appearing destined for a draw, BRUSA delivered the decisive blow.

With under two minutes remaining, a corner routine again caused confusion in the Flagship defense. Ruiz laid the ball back to Eduardo Medina at the top of the penalty area, and his low, driven strike slipped past Juan Ruiz in goal to seal a 7–6 victory.

The result capped a remarkable weekend for BRUSA, who claimed two hard-fought wins over their closest divisional rivals, while New Mexico Flagship once again demonstrated their ability to push the champions to the limit.

California Division

Bay Area Footy PD win by forfeit over Anthem Futsal

The Matchweek 7 fixture between Bay Area Footy PD and Anthem Futsal was ultimately decided off the court, as Anthem Futsal forfeited due to an insufficient number of available players.

As a result, Bay Area Footy PD are awarded the win. The match will be recorded as a forfeit victory in the standings.

HBK 6 – 6 ThreeSixty Sala

HBK and ThreeSixty Sala played out an entertaining 6–6 draw in a fast-paced, back-and-forth contest that showcased attacking quality from both sides.

HBK struck first inside the opening three minutes, Gabriel Silveira finishing early to give the home side the lead. ThreeSixty responded quickly, Jeremy Alonso leveling the score just over four minutes in. HBK regained control midway through the half, goals from Nelson Santana and Emir Hernandez pushing them out to a 3–1 advantage.

ThreeSixty showed resilience before the break, scoring twice in the space of 30 seconds to pull level heading into halftime. Manuel Gaitan finished one move after being set up by Edwin Munoz, before Alexander Labrador converted from a pass by Alonso to make it 3–3 at the interval.

The second half followed a similar script. Silveira again made an immediate impact, scoring just over a minute after the restart, and Christian Saray added another soon after to give HBK a two-goal cushion. Once more, ThreeSixty responded, Manuel Gaitan taking center stage with two goals in quick succession to complete his hat trick and bring the match back to level.

The final fifteen minutes were played at a relentless pace, with both teams pushing for a winner. Goalkeepers were called into action repeatedly as chances flowed at both ends. With just 1:37 remaining, ThreeSixty looked to have found the decisive moment, Edwin Munoz finishing from a pass by Gaitan to give the visitors the lead.

HBK were not done. Just under thirty seconds later, Gabriel Silveira struck again, scoring his third of the night to rescue a point and cap a thrilling 6–6 draw.

It was a fitting result for a match defined by momentum swings, quick responses, and attacking intent from start to finish.