On Saturday, May 21, the Mayhem made its longest trip of the season, traveling to Fargo-Moorhead to take on Dakota Fusion FC. And a win up North made the trip home a happy one!
It was a chilly, blustery evening but the Mayhem didn’t let the cold weather stop them from achieving their goal of victory over the Fusion. Playing disciplined, well-organized soccer, the Mayhem would score the first goal of the evening in just the 14th minute, as Narcis Bou found Scott Neil flying toward goal and sent a pass that Neil deposited beyond Fusion keeper Valentin Kliebe for an early 1-0 lead.
Med City FC would double the lead later in the second half, as Matthew Roberts stole a pass in the Fusion’s defensive third and powered toward goal, firing past Kliebe again. The Mayhem would take that 2-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Mayhem found more possession and rhythm to their game in the second half but couldn’t expand their lead despite having several good chances. The Fusion made things interesting late in the game, as substitute Kazuma Ishizuka intercepted a pass and found the far corner of the Med City net to cut the lead to 2-1. That was as close as Dakota would come, however, as the Mayhem comfortably saw out the final few minutes of the match.
The win takes Med City FC to 2-0-1 with seven points, while Dakota Fusion is still waiting for it’s first win, with a record of 0-2-1 and one point from their first three games. The Mayhem are in action at home twice this week, first welcoming Minneapolis City SC to Rochester on Wednesday, May 25, and then taking on Minnesota TwinStars FC on Saturday, May 28. Both games are at Rochester Regional Stadium at RCTC. Gates open at 6:15 PM and kickoff is at 7:00 PM.
Wednesday night is the first of three scheduled “Toyota Tailgate” nights, while Saturday night is our Mental Health Awareness Month game, with NAMI of Southeast Minnesota the night’s special guests.