With weather that was nothing short of ridiculous, the old heads of Des Moines Menace took down the kids, Sporting KC II, 2-1, in the First Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
“This is the most historical tournament that we have in North American sports,” Des Moines’ Sacha Kljestan said. “I’ve always loved the tournament and I am just fortunate and grateful that the Menace gave us an opportunity to live out our dreams one more time, now two more times.”
Over 40 mph gusts of wind and rain took over the pitch. The wind blew in one direction going north to south and it was key for both teams to take advantage with the wind at their back.
“This is crap. This is not soccer weather,” Des Moines midfielder Benny Felihaber said with a smile. “The worst weather is wind. Obviously there was a lot of wind.”
In the first half, SKC II enjoyed the wind, but they were unable to capitalize. Macielo Tschantret had one of the top chances in the opening minutes. He blasted a shot just over the crossbar.
SKC II did most of its damage in the final 15’ of the first half. Beckham Uderitz drilled a shot from outside the box which hit the bar and went out of play. The home side had 10 first-half corners.
Des Moines didn’t have the ball inside SKC II’s half until the 25’ mark. They had no clear cut chances in the first half as they tried to survive.
“That was the mentality of the group. As soon as we lost the coin toss, we were like, ‘crap, alright,’” Felihaber said. “It was a half of trying to keep it 0-0. We got some lucky hits off of the crossbar. We defended kind of for our lives in that first half.”
In the second half, the Menace earned two penalty kicks which were both calmly taken by Sacha Kljestan. The first penalty occurred in the 56’ with the Menace on the front foot. Felihaber attacked the goal mouth and was brought down by Jacob Bartlett.
“It was a penalty, but I draw it, though,” Felihaber said. “Bartlett said he touched the ball, but I don’t think he touched the ball. I could be wrong, but I don’t think he touched the ball at all.”
SKC II found a rhythm following their opponent’s goal. The MLS Next Pro team attacked against the wind against the former MLS star studded squad that featured players Bradley Wright-Phillips, Dax McCarty, Justin Meram and Matt Hedges.
The home team tied the match through Uderitz, who scored in the 65’. A Sporting KC II pass form the end line to the middle of the box saw Uderitz drill one with the inside of his foot into the back of the net.
In the 75’, Des Moines sent a through ball down the near sideline to Leroy Enzugusi. SKC II shouted for offsides as he ran onto the ball. Enzugusi was brought down in the box and the referee pointed to the spot for the second penalty of the game.
“He was , he was really offside,” SKC II head coach Istvan Urbanyi said.
Kljestan took a hold of the ball and buried the goal, giving Des Moines a 2-1 lead. He took a few steps and started to dance in celebration.
“Our coach said, if you score, you better celebrate. You never know when it’s going to be your last goal or your last game or all that stuff,” Kljestan said. “It’s a stupid dance from the Talking Heads, the punk band from the 80s. We’ve been messing around and doing that in the studio.”
Des Moines held on for the final 15 minutes to earn the win. SKC II had a few chances to equalize, but nothing clear cut as goalkeeper Enzo Carvalho made four saves in the game.
It was a homecoming game for Feilhaber as he coached SKC II for the previous three seasons. He was able to put some tackles on his former players while they repaid the favor in a game that only the US Open Cup could deliver.
“It’s all love, dude,” Felihaber said. “I’ve loved coaching these guys for the last three years. Not all of them have been here for all three years, but I have a lot of respect for these guys. It was a blast playing against them.”
The win sends Des Moines to the next round of play. Kljestan recruited former MLS friends to play in this game against SKC II. The current Apple TV announcer shared some big news on if anyone could join the Menace in the future.
“Stay tuned,” Kljestan said. “I can’t reveal too much, but we will see.”