[Sota Soccer Archives] Med City FC Win Inaugural Minnesota Super Cup
Originally published on Jul 31, 2023
The Med City squad celebrate with the inaugural Super Cup trophy following their victory. All photos courtesy of Dominic Jose Bisogno.
The night of Saturday, July 29 saw a moment in history made manifest as Med City FC and the Minnesota United U19’s met at Macalister College to take part in the inaugural Minnesota Super Cup final, having beaten Minneapolis City and Vlora FC in their respective semifinals.
It was, in many ways, the final that made the most since on paper. Med City had just recently won the NPSL North, but perhaps most importantly, both teams had won their groups. Med City topped a group with St. Croix Legends and Vlora with 6 points from two games, while Minnesota United topped their group with 4 points from two games with a win against Minneapolis City and a draw against Duluth FC.
The first half of this game was a tight contest by most metrics. Med City showed some attacking threat with an early shot into the left post and multiple corner kicks, but the threat to the MNUFC U19 goal was limited. The Young Loons, in turn, had chances but saw most of them squandered. Minnesota United earned multiple free kicks in the attacking third, but could not coordinate any shot with a real chance of outsmarting Iker González.
Both teams made the most of strong attacking performances on the right wing. Chris Vang, for example, did well to press the issue for the Loons at right back with runs down the sideline. That work created good chances for the likes of Leo Conneh. In the end, however, the first half was at most highlighted by a flurry of yellow cards for both teams.
If the Super Cup’s inaugural final started with a tense siege, its second half was a different matter. Med City looked reinvigorated. Med City Head Coach Neil Cassidy explained the changes behind this shift after the game.
“We changed quite a bit at halftime. We knew they were defending with five, so 4-3-2-1. Normally we would have a plus one, but we didn’t and they did a very good job of coming to press every time we got the ball into the midfield. So what we did was, we put our four and fives out wide and high. We put the two holding mids in place just to keep defensive structure. Then, we overloaded the outsides and the forwards were making two different runs that asked them to do and I think that started to open things up a little bit.”
Within two minutes, the Mayhem had a goal. Matthew Roberts was in the right position to make the most of a pass into the six yard box from Toby Millward following a free kick, making it 1-0 in the 47th minute. The MNUFC U19’s responded well with efforts to find an equalizer, but they could not fully adapt to Med City’s changes. This led to Lucas Hart earning a free kick right on the line on the left side of the box, a call which Med City felt should be a penalty. It turns out Hart didn’t need such a call, as he proceeded to curl the free kick into the far side of the net to make it 2-0 in the 62nd minute with his first (emphasis on first) goal of the night.
Gone was the Med City that struggled in the first half of the NPSL North 2023 season to produce goals. Instead, the pitch played host to the Med City that beat Minneapolis City 3-2 in the Super Cup semifinals and beat the Dakota Fusion 2-0 in the North semifinals. Despite the absence of Scott Neil, the Mayhem’s go-to this season, the attack looked lively and hungry for more.
Med City’s lead now felt genuine and strong, but it got extra help in that matter just minutes later when Lucas Hart made a clean run down the pitch with the ball, finding just enough space between himself and the defender marking him to let loose with a shot that found that same far side of the net to make it 3-0. After a tight 45 minutes, Med City suddenly dominated the scoreline with just 66 minutes played. All the while, Med City’s defense was looking more and more unbreakable thanks to big showings from starters like Jake Strachan and substitutes like Josh Balsiger.
In the 74th minute, a series of complex events took place that complicated this game to some degree. Amid a Med City attack, two MNUFC U19 players committed fouls on the Mayhem. The first player, Merrick Schaefer, was already on a yellow. The whistle was blown after the second foul and Med City were awarded a free kick. The first foul was deemed worth a yellow card and Schaefer was sent off.
The parallel nature of these decisions confused MNUFC’s players, coaches, and fans, resulting in a lot of complaints and negative reactions. Two MNUFC coaches were shown yellow cards for their comments after the call and one was expanded to a red card. It’s worth noting head coach Fanendo Adi was not one of the coaches and seemed to have done his best to keep the peace. All of this to say, Minnesota United found themselves with 15 minutes to play, down a man and losing 3-0.
The match, which had nine minutes added to it, finally ended on the note of a Lucas Hart penalty following a foul on Toby Millward. The goal secured a hat trick for Lucas Hart amid an MVP-level night for the forward. The whistle came soon after and Med City were free to celebrate their historic win of the first ever Minnesota Super Cup, expanding what has been a magical run for the club.
Med City now have the 2022 NPSL North conference title, the 2023 NPSL North conference title, and the 2023 Minnesota Super Cup to their name. It’s an extremely impressive haul. Med City’s run to this title was not easy. The Mayhem won every single Super Cup game they played, beating two USL League Two teams, one UPSL team, and one MLS NEXT side along the way. Neil Cassidy had this to say about the nature of the team’s run.
“I think it gives credit to the guys that we have, the belief they have in themselves. Everything we’ve asked of them this year, every little change we’ve made, they’ve been on board and I think it shows that, even if we go down, we’re not out… We didn’t start the season great, but the way the guys came together and were there for each other, that’s the most satisfying part I think.”
The Minnesota Super Cup is still a young project, one that is sure to have its share of growing pains in the coming years. It’s fair to say, however, that its debut year has been a special one full of twists and turns. Sota Soccer congratulates Med City on its win and every participating club in the 2023 campaign for being part of a unique chapter of lower league soccer history.