The first round of the US Open Cup began with a bang as Dakota Fusion’s Miah Wills, playing his first game in over a season, poked a loose ball home after only 10 seconds. Having picked up a poor header and then capitalized on a rebound off the keeper, Dakota Fusion looked like they were ready to spoil Duluth’s night with ease.
Fusion bunkered in for a familiar counter-attack, but Duluth FC fired up their own engines and pressed forward before their own burst of finishing from the 18th minute onward - with 3 goals in 5 mins from Joe Watts, a debuting Ricardo Ramos, and Sean Morgan from a corner - to make the scoreline reflect the dominance they had in most aspects of play by that point.