NPSLJoy AC dismantled Duluth FC 5–0 on the road in NPSL action on May 27, with R. Nozawa leading the charge with a hat trick. A. Soulemana and J. Cervantes also found the net as Joy AC ran riot in a dominant second-half display after taking an early lead.
Nozawa set the tone in the eighth minute, giving Joy AC a 1–0 advantage that held through the remainder of the first half. Duluth FC had no answer, and the floodgates opened after the break.
Soulemana doubled the lead in the 52nd minute, and Nozawa struck again just three minutes later to make it 3–0. By that point, the result was beyond doubt. Nozawa completed his hat trick in the 59th minute, four goals in a single game cementing a standout individual performance. Duluth FC's N. Kantorowicz picked up a yellow card in the 58th minute as frustration crept in for the hosts.
Cervantes added the fifth in the 65th minute to cap off the rout. Joy AC's J. Wilson was booked in the 81st minute, but it was a minor footnote in what had already become a comfortable evening for the visitors. Duluth FC offered little resistance across the 90 minutes, particularly after halftime, when they conceded four goals in the span of 13 minutes.
The emphatic victory gives Joy AC serious momentum heading deeper into the NPSL season and raises real questions about where Duluth FC go from here after such a lopsided home defeat.