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 The Madison 56ers had a split decision on the opening weekend of National Premier Soccer League Midwest Region play, falling to the defending champion St. Paul Twin Stars 2-0 on Saturday night in Minneapolis before bouncing back with a 5-0 rout of newcomer Eau Claire Aris FC on Sunday afternoon in Chippewa Falls.
The 56ers, formerly known as the Princeton-56ers, had their chances against the Twin Stars but couldn't convert and were done in by goals in the 35th and 71st minutes at Augsburg College. A shot by Pablo Delgado (UW) appeared headed for the back of the net, but slammed off the post. A little later, Trevor Banks (Madison Memorial) had the ball and an open net from 5 yards out, but stumbled over the ball.
“We had a real good long spell and they scored right after it,” Launder said. “We had some moments that were good. ... We could’ve snuck a win out of it. But it was about what I would expect from where we were at.” Goalkeeper Nick Powell (Madison Memorial/Butler) made four saves, all in the first half, for a Madison team that turned in what Launder called a "mediocre" performance.
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St. Paul Twin Stars — Name not available 35
St. Paul Twin Stars — Name not available 71 MADISON 56ERS — Nick Powell; Chris Brown, Cale Cooper, Taylor Waspi, Brian Bultman; Will Howell, Keith Dangarembwa; Tyrone Creech, Pablo Delgado, Trevor Banks; Henry Aiyenero. Substitutes (details not available): Eric Meyer, Austin Spohn, William Bagayoko, Bram Dorrestyn, Ilya Ksendi, Will Ziegahn. Substitute not used: Jon Szafranski.
ST. PAUL TWIN STARS — Not available.
Saves: M (Powell) 4; SP (Name not available) 4.
Shots: M 8, SP 8. Corner kicks: M 6, SP 4. Fouls: M 13, SP 14. Offsides: M 4, SP 3. Madison 56ers 5, Eau Claire Aris FC 0
A day later, it was a vastly different story. Five players scored, defender Brian Bultman (UW) had two assists and the 56ers allowed just one shot on goal to rout Aris FC at Dorais Field in Chippewa Falls in its NPSL debut. Ilya Ksenidi (West Allis Hale/UW-Green Bay) opened the scoring in the 15th minute, and Delgado converted a penalty kick in the 39th to give the 56ers (1-1-1 overall, 1-1 NPSL Midwest) a 2-0 halftime lead. Bultman, who assisted on Ksenidi's goal, then set up college teammate Austin Spohn in the 49th for the 56ers' third goal. Two former area prep standouts who came on as subs rounded out the scoring, with Eric Meyer (Madison Memorial/Yale) finding the net in the 63rd and Clayton Ramirez (DeForest) adding another in the 84th. Keeper Jon Szafranski (St. Mary's, Minn.) finished with one save for the clean sheet in his first NPSL appearance. The 56ers, who play their first four NPSL Midwest matches on the road before closing with four at home, are back in action June 9 against the Chicago Fire's NPSL team in Rockford, Ill. Madison 56ers
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Madison 56ers — Ilya Ksenidi (Brian Bultman) 15
Madison 56ers — Pablo Delgado 39 (penalty kick)
Madison 56ers — Austin Spohn (Brian Bultman) 49
Madison 56ers — Eric Meyer 63
Madison 56ers — Clayton Ramirez (Tyrone Creech) 84 MADISON 56ERS — Jon Szafranski; Chris Brown, Cale Cooper, Bram Dorrestyn, Brian Bultman; William Bagayoko, Pablo Delgado, Eric Meyer, Austin Spohn; Ilya Ksenidi, Will Ziegahn. Substitute information not available.
EAU CLAIRE ARIS FC — Not available.
Saves: M (Szafranski) 1; EC (Kolis) 8.
Shots: M 15, EC 5. Corner kicks: M 9, EC 0. Fouls: M 8, EC 10. Offsides: M 0, EC 1.
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