Med City FC welcomed NPSL newcomers Joy St. Louis Park to Rochester on Friday night and in a very entertaining match, the Mayhem ran out 3-1 winners.
Med City FC opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, winning a free kick just outside the box that midfielder Lucas Hart served just into the area. The ball was met by the head of midfielder Jack Hilton-Jones and buried into the back of the net, giving the Mayhem a 1-0 lead. Both teams had chances throughout the first half, but the 1-0 scoreline would hold into halftime.
Med City FC would double their lead just seven minutes into the second half. A ball into the box from Hart would find a couple heads before being directed goalward by Toby Millward. His shot was blocked by Joy goalkeeper Dawson Fairchild, who was only able to parry it into the path of forward Mazeed Aro-Lambo. He calmly slotted home from two yards, to give the home team the 2-0 advantage.
Joy found new life after the second Mayhem goal, upping their tempo and pressure. Their work finally paid off as Emmanuel Iwe took a throw-in just inside the Joy half, took a few deft touches to evade two Mayhem defenders and slotted past goalkeeper AJ Jarvis to halve the deficit to 2-1.
The Mayhem would restore their two-goal cushion in the 79th minute, Hart sending a beautiful cross-field pass to Man of the Match Kolton Prater, who drove down the right side of the pitch, cut past a Joy defender, and slid a shot by Fairchild to make the score 3-1. That score would hold up and Med City FC would grab its third conference win in three attempts and move to nine points on the season. With the loss, Joy St. Louis Park drops to 1-2-1 and sits mid-table on four points.
Med City FC plays again at home on Wednesday, June 2 as they welcome LC Aris FC to Rochester. Gates open at 6:00 pm and kickoff is at 6:45 pm.
