The Des Moines Menace needed a scoring outburst in the second half to advance past the Kansas City Athletics 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) Region II Open Cup qualifying tournament.
The Menace, who compete in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League, began fielding a separate team in the USASA’s Open Cup qualifying tournament back in 2007 in an attempt to give their club two chances at reaching the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. This year, they are back in the Region II tournament after a two-year layoff.
Menace forward Rodrigo Espriu netted the game winner and added an insurance goal in a span of three minutes early in the second half to push the USASA Menace past the Athletics in the teams’ third all-time meeting. In 2010, Kansas City edged Des Moines in a penalty kick shootout, but the Menace got their revenge the following year, clinching their first-ever US Open Cup berth by beating the shorthanded Athletics 7-1.
“I knew the chance would come,” said Espriu of his tie-breaking score. “I had the goal in front of me and knew I had to put it in.”
It was the Athletics who looked potent early, pushing Des Moines into a defensive stance with play along the sidelines. The pressure was rewarded when Michael Ferguson collected a pass in the middle of the field, split a pair of defenders and launched a laser past Menace goalkeeper Darren Marcello from 30 yards out.
But Des Moines responded with pressure of its own. After securing a corner kick off a turnover deep in Kansas City territory, Sean Hoek volleyed Ben Taylor’s cross into the top of the net to bring the teams level at one goal apiece.
“We just had to take the opportunities when we got them,” Hoek said after the game.
But the momentum heading into the second stanza belonged to the visitors after a stoppage time cross by Kansas City’s Josh Westberg got caught in the wind and found the upper corner of the net.
Looking for revenge after their one-sided defeat in 2011, Kansas City was unable to hold its 2-1 lead for long. Just five minutes into the second half, the Menace’s Mike Noonan collected a long pass and deked past Athletics goalkeeper Boris Pardo, a former Major League Soccer pool player, to even the match.
It didn’t take much longer for Espriu to break the game open. Capitalizing on defensive mistakes by Kansas City, the forward slotted two goals past Pardo within five minutes of Noonan’s equalizer.
With a two-goal lead, Des Moines shut out Kansas City in the second half to put themselves one win away from a berth in the 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
“I thought the game was well-contested. Kansas City did a good job, testing us with their shape and their movements,” said Menace coach Mike Jeffries. “But we made the little adjustments we needed in the second half.”
After entering as the state of Iowa’s only entry from 2007-2011, the Menace didn’t submit a team the last two years. They qualified for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2011, falling in the opening round to the Chicago Fire’s PDL team, 1-0. If the tournament’s format remains the same as last year and the Menace PDL team qualifies, as expected, and the USASA club beats Chicago’s RWB Adria in the semifinals, then both will join the tournament. The challenge of that scenario is the Menace will have to submit two separate rosters, one for each team.
Des Moines will face RWB Adria on Nov. 23 with the winner moving on to the Region II final. The winner of that game and the other semifinal between Illinois clubs Schwaben AC and AAC Eagles are expected to clinch a spot in the 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, assuming the tournament format remains the same as last year.
“They’re a very tough team,” said Jeffries of the Menace’s next opponent. “They’re one of the top men’s league teams not only in the region, but in the nation.”
2013 USASA Region II Quarterfinals
Des Moines Menace (IA) 4:2 KC Athletics (KS)
RWB Adria (IL) 4:1 Bavarian SC (WI)
Schwaben AC (IL) 2:1 FC Indiana (IN)
AAC Eagles (IL) 3:1 Croatian Eagles (WI)
Semifinals (“Win & You’re In”)
RWB Adria (IL) at Des Moines Menace (IA) – 7 p.m. CT
AAC Eagles (IL) vs. Schwaben AC (IL)
Winners expected to qualify for 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
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Kansas City Athletics at Des Moines Menace
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Valley Stadium (turf field) in West Des Moines, Iowa
Kickoff: 2 p.m. CDT
Weather: 50s, overcast
Scoring Summary:
MENACE: Sean Hoek (Ben Taylor) 41:00; Mike Noonan (Jack Pearson) 50:00; Rodrigo Espriu 53:00; Espriu 55:00
KC – Michael Ferguson 18:00; Josh Westberg 45:00
Stats Summary: MENACE / KC
Shots on Goal: 5 / 6
Saves: 4 / 1
Corner Kicks: 5 / 7
Fouls: 8 / 3
Offside: 5 / 2
Misconduct Summary: MENACE cautions: Ben Taylor 49:00 KC cautions: Garrett Webb 58:00