Three red cards and twelve yellow cards were handed out in Iowa as Saint Louis FC defeated Des Moines Menace in penalty kicks 3-1 after a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes. Two Menace players and one Saint Louis player were sent off leaving it 10-on-9 at the end of the match.
18-year-old goalkeeper and academy player Patrick Schulte saved three Des Moines penalties in the shootout to get the win. Saint Louis FC now advances to Round 3 where they will face Forward Madison, the last remaining USL League One team in the tournament on May 29.
For Saint Louis, it marks the fifth year in a row that they have advanced in their opening round game.
All three players sent off were either in stoppage time of the second half or in extra time. Koray Easterling of Des Moines was sent off for a second yellow late into regulation. In the 114th minute, it would become 10 v 10 though, as Saint Louis’ Albert Dikwa received two yellow cards for separate infractions in the span of a minute. After being carded during a scuffle before a Saint Louis corner kick, Dikwa would then commit a professional foul on a Menace player during the ensuing counter attack. Dikwa found himself sent off in less than two minutes. At the end of extra time, Gerber Chavez of the Menace also received his second yellow card. The game wasn’t played for long at 9 v 10 before the end of extra time.
Saint Louis got the scoring started early, in the 14th minute. Former Menace player Audi Jepson whipped in a corner kick which found the head of Kyle Grieg for his third goal of the season in all competitions. Saint Louis would continue to control the game but could not find more goals against Menace keeper Jordan Bell.
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STL will host @ForwardMSNFC May 29 at 7PM Central pic.twitter.com/QLrsKXpPnG— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) May 16, 2019
The Menace did find the equalizer in the first half, after a cross hit the outstretched arm of Sam Fink inside the penalty area. The penalty kick was converted by Nick Perea in the 39th minute, leveling the scoreline where it stayed for the rest of the match.
Saint Louis coach Anthony Pulis was not happy about the awarded penalty and felt “justice was served” at the end of the match.
Saint Louis started making subs in the second half, hoping to find that winning goal and avoid playing another 30 minutes against a scrappy and physical Menace team. They would get close especially into stoppage time after Easterling’s red card, but they could not find that second goal.
After a contentious extra time, Schulte stepped up for Saint Louis in the shootout. He saved three out of the four penalties the Menace took. Saint Louis would not miss a shot in the shootout and prevailed 3-1. It was a rare feat in this tournament as Schulte becomes just the 10th goalkeeper of the Modern Era (1995-present) to make three saves in a penalty kick shootout. For reference, there have been 124 PK shootouts during that span.
“I’m really proud of Patrick Schulte and his performance. He made three fantastic saves,” said Anthony Pulis. “We persevered against performed well against 15 players on the pitch.”