Des Moines Menace

2013 US Open Cup Second Round: Brandon Fricke leads Menace to upset, named Player of the Round

May 28, 2013 by Josh Hakala

PlayeroftheRound-2013-fricke — Des Moines Menace defender Brandon Fricke scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 upset of Minnesota United FC | Photo: RySiPhoto.com | Des Moines Menace

The Des Moines Menace, one of the best PDL teams over the years, traveled to Minnesota United FC of the NASL in the Second Round of the US Open Cup, playing the role of underdog. By the time the final whistle had sounded, the Menace had defeated their fifth professional team in club history 1-0, thanks to the heroics of defender Brandon Fricke.

Fricke’s defensive performance and his game-winning goal in the 86th minute were enough to be named TheCup.us Player of the Round.

The award is voted on by the staff at TheCup.us and a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters. Fricke edged out Reading United goalkeeper John McCarthy, while his Menace teammate, goalkeeper Scott Angevine, finished third in the voting.

Fricke’s game-winning goal came off a Jimmy Tulloch left-footed, in-swinging corner kick. Fricke made a run to the near post, and headed the ball in from close range, much to the surprise to the more than 1,000 fans in attendance. It was Des Moines’ first win over a professional team since the last time they traveled to St. Paul, Minn. In 2006 when they upset the Minnesota Thunder (USL First Division), also a Division I professional team, by a score of 1-0.

Fricke, who plays his college ball at Butler University in Indianapolis, is playing his fourth season with the Menace, his second as team captain. The Grimes, Iowa native will move on to face defending US Open Cup champion Sporting Kansas City in Round 3, a club he has played for as a youth, competing for the MLS club’s Under-16 and Under-18 teams.

Fricke is the first Des Moines Menace player to be named Player of the Round.

A little known fact is that Fricke’s head coach at Butler University, Paul Snape, has four US Open Cup goals on his resume when he played for the Michigan Bucks. Snape helped the Bucks upset three professional teams during his time with the club, highlighted by a road upsets of the Minnesota Thunder (A-League, Division II) in 1999 and the New England Revolution (MLS, Division I) in 2000.

2013 Player of the Round winners

Round 1: David Geno (Seattle Sounders U23s) [+]
Round 2: Brandon Fricke (Des Moines Menace)

Video highlights: Des Moines Menace 1:0 Minnesota United FC

2013 US Open Cup Second Round: Des Moines Menace prevail 1-0 at Minnesota in battle of giant killers

May 22, 2013 by Gerald Barnhart

Boasting a lengthy history of upsets against MLS opposition, fans in Minnesota relish the opportunity to take on the top flight clubs. But on Tuesday, the newly-branded Minnesota United club fell victim to a repeat ‘giant killer’ themselves as the visiting PDL Des Moines Menace claimed their fifth upset of a professional club with a 1-0 decision.

With a name that, to phrase nicely, is probably uttered often unintentionally as a replacement for a certain expletive, Brandon Fricke will no doubt find it intentional from this point forward in the Twin Cities after his dagger of a blow with four minutes remaining knocked the second division side out of the tournament.

The decisive tally was the result of a glancing header from a Fricke off a corner kick sent toward the penalty spot by Jimmy Tulloch.

Both teams had several opportunities throughout the contest. Des Moines’ Shadow Sebele and Albert Edward had excellent chances back-to-back from long range that forced fingertip saves from Matt Van Oekel.

Dramatic stops were not the sole propriety of VanOekel, however, as his counterpart Angevine made a fantastic save on an 18-yard effort from Pablo Campos and a Menace defender cleared a ball off the line amidst a scramble in the box that Minnesota’s Travis Wall got his foot to.

Wall missed another hanse wide in the 57th and Campos saw a difficult shot from a narrow angle in the 73rd go wide and weaved through several defenders before sending a 78th minute effort high.

Despite several misses, the Minnesota faithful thought they might have the equalizer in the final few minutes, however, but Campos’ header on a Michael Reed free kick rang off the crossbar.

Highlights

2013 US Open Cup First Round: Lone goal in lone game gives Des Moines Menace win over Madison 56ers

May 16, 2013 by Jeremy Reinert

Madison_130515_0694 — Jimmy Tulloch of the Des Moines Menace scores the game-winning goal against the Madison 56ers in the First Round of the 2013 US Open Cup in West Des Moines, IA. Photo: Pat Ward | Des Moines Menace

As the lone holdover from the scheduled night of the First Round, the Des Moines Menace and Madison 56ers had all the attention Wednesday evening. Set-up for a battle, the game did not disappoint and became the only first-round match with a 1-0 finish.

Earning the program’s first home-win in the 100-year old tournament since 2006, the Des Moines Menace (1-0-1), will move on to face Minnesota United FC (2-2-1 NASL) of the North American Soccer League in the Second Round next week. Opening its 2013 home-stand with a win, the Menace found the net just once out of its 10 shots on goal. One is all that was needed for first year head coach, Mike Jeffries squad.

“I’m happy and relieved,” commented Jeffries. “No matter what game it is, the first is always tough to get.”

Despite dominating the first half, taking five shots and earning eight corners, the score rested at 0-0. Coming out of the gates hot for the second 45, the Menace put it on the 56ers and didn’t stop until the final whistle was blown.

Just six minutes into the second stanza, Jimmy Tulloch notched his first goal in a Menace uniform; a header from the corner of the six-yard box that was just out of the reach of Madison goalkeeper Ryan Onwukwe’s hands.

“It feels great to score for this club,” said Tulloch. “Great victory. There is a lot of pride here and I’m happy to score.”

While the Menace look forward to competing against professional foes, the 56ers return to the NPSL with a chance to reclaim its title as the Midwest Region Champions. Holding a record of 17-6 in the 2012 season, the club remains a force to reckon with.

Preparing for the Second Round of the tournament, coach Jeffries is excited to get his team out there and compete without the pressure as the favorite.

“We go in to the next game a little bit of an underdog,” said Jeffries. “Most of the guys want to play professionally, this is the chance for them to showcase their abilities.”

Minnesota United FC has the host for the matchup on Tuesday, May 21.

Meet the 16 Premier Development League teams entering the 2013 US Open Cup

March 5, 2013 by Josh Hakala

Michigan Bucks vs. Chicago Fire - 2012 Third Round — The Michigan Bucks upset their second Major League Soccer team last year, knocking off the Chicago Fire 3-2 in extra time. Will we see another PDL team claim an MLS victim this year? Photo: Dave McCauley | Michigan Bucks

Shortly after the United States Soccer Federation announced the format for the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the United Soccer Leagues confirmed which Premier Development League teams would enter the competition. As reported by TheCup.us in January, the PDL will have 16 entries into the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the second consecutive year.

Last year the US Soccer Federation expanded the Open Cup field to include all US-based Major League Soccer teams and increased the number of amateur teams to a Modern Pro Era-record 32. The upcoming tournament, the 100th consecutive running of the Open Cup, follows a similar format, and will include two addition amateur clubs, bringing the total to 34.

With the date of the 2013 tournament moved earlier in the month of May for the second year in a row, the PDL has decided to base their entries on the previous season’s results once again. The Central, Southern and Western conferences will each submit the top two American-based clubs from each division, while the Eastern Conference, which is made up of three divisions, will be represented by four teams. The Ocean City Nor’easters, who finished with the conference’s best record (13-3-0), the team with the second best record in Ocean City’s division, Reading United, the South-Atlantic Division champion Carolina Dynamo, and the GPS Portland Phoenix who finished one point behind the Canadian-based Ottawa fury in the Northeast Division.

A dozen clubs are making a return appearance in the event, including 10 that were in the tournament this past year. Four sides will be making their US Open Cup debuts in 2013. The foursome is comprised of the River City Rovers, Ocala Stampede, FC Tucson and Seattle Sounders U-23s.

All of the PDL teams will begin play in Round 1 on May 14, and the amateur team (PDL, NPSL, USASA, USCS, USSSA) that advances the furthest this year will receive $15,000 (up from $10,000 last year).

Here are the teams that will be taking part in the 2013 US Open Cup (read about the changes to the 2013 tournament here):

Central Conference

Michigan Bucks
1st place in Great Lakes Division (13-1-2)
Record 10th appearance, 2nd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 12-8-1 (0-1 in PKs)
Last appearance: 2012

The Bucks will make their record 10th appearance in the US Open Cup and are the league’s most successful team in the tournament. With a record 12 Open Cup wins, 9 of them against professional opponents, they bring the strongest resume of any amateur team in the country. Last year, they bolstered their reputation as giant killers with their second win in franchise history over a Major League Soccer team, defeating the Chicago Fire 3-2 in extra time. Combined with their 1-0 road win over the New England Revolution in 2000, they are the only amateur team to defeat multiple MLS teams.

Bucks vs. NE Revs - 2000 — As you can see, not very many people were on hand to see the Michigan Bucks upset the New England Revolution in Foxboro back in 2000. Photo: Tony Biscaia | RevsNet

Last year, they crushed Jersey Shore Boca (USASA) 6-0, before upsetting the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL Pro) 1-0 on the road in Round 2. In the Third Round they defeated the Chicago Fire at home in just the fourth Open Cup game in history to be played indoors. In Round 4, their Cinderella story came to an end in front of their home fans (this time outdoors at Oakland University) by another unlikely team, the USL Pro’s Dayton Dutch Lions who converted a penalty kick in extra time to win the game 2-1.

River City Rovers
3rd place in the Great Lakes Division (7-7-2)
1st appearance in the US Open Cup

The Louisville, Kentucky-based River City Rovers have qualified for the tournament for the first time, benefiting from the fact that Forest City London, the team who finished in second place in the division, are Canadian and are not eligible for the Open Cup. Forest City finished with a 7-5-4 record, two points ahead of River City, and made an improbably run through the PDL playoffs to win the championship. River City had a chance to overtake Forest City for the last playoff spot, but they lost their season finale to the Michigan Bucks 4-0.

River City becomes the first Kentucky-based club since 1993 to qualify for the Open Cup. That year, the Louisville Alliance reached the Regional Semifinals before falling to Milwaukee’s Bavarian SC, 2-0.

Real Colorado Foxes
2nd place in the Heartland Division (8-4-4)
3rd appearance in the US Open Cup, 3rd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 1-2-0
Last appearance: 2012

The Real Colorado Foxes (no relationship with the Colorado Foxes who took part in the 1995 US Open Cup), have qualified for the third year in a row as the second place team in the Heartland Division (Division champion Thunder Bay Chill are from Canada). The Foxes won their first-ever tournament game in 2011 when they defeated USASA’s DV8 Defenders from San Jose, Calif. 5-0. Then after being eliminated by fellow PDL side Kitsap Pumas the next round, they suffered another defeat at the hands of an amateur team, losing 3-1 to the KC Athletics (USASA) at home.

Des Moines Menace
3rd place in the Heartland Division (8-5-3)
7th appearance in the US Open Cup , 2nd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 7-6-1 (1-0 in PKs)
Last appearance: 2012

The Des Moines Menace are back in the competition for the second year in a row, making their seventh all-time appearance. Only the Michigan Bucks (10) have qualified for the Open Cup more times among PDL teams. They enter the tournament as a 3rd place team because the Heartland Division champion, Thunder Bay Chill, are based in Canada.

Aside from their consistent success in the league, the Menace are best known for their back-to-back cup runs in 2005 and 2006 when they four professional teams in two years, only to fall to the Kansas City Wizards (Sporting Kansas City) both years on the road. Last year, they picked up their first Open Cup victory since 2006 with a 3-1 extra time road win over the NPSL’s Milwaukee Bavarians, only to fall to the NASL’s (2nd Division) Minnesota Stars 2-0 in Round 2. The Menace are tied with the Ocean City Nor’easters for second place among PDL teams with 4 professional team upsets (Michigan Bucks have 9). According to TheCup.us records, the Menace are the only Iowa-based team (aside from the Iowa Menace who qualified out of the USASA in 2011) to qualify for the US Open Cup in the Modern Professional Era, and even before that, there are no records of any Iowa team qualifying (records incomplete).

Eastern Conference

Ocean City Nor’easters
1st place in the Mid-Atlantic Division (13-3-0)
6th appearance in the US Open Cup (5th as PDL)
All-time Open Cup record: 7-5-0 (6-4-0 as PDL)
Last appearance: 2009

kevin-curran-vs-boyzz-kuhmalo-dcu-barons — The Ocean City Nor'easters (shown here as the Ocean City Barons in 2009 against DC United) have upset four professional teams in their club history. Only the Michigan Bucks have more with nine. | Photo: Bill Pellegrino, Ocean City FC

Ocean City ranks right near the top along with the Menace and the Bucks as one of the best teams in the PDL, and are back in the Open Cup thanks to last season’s division title, their first since 2004. Despite only winning two division titles since they joined the league back in 2003, they are 87-40-37, which is the sixth best record during that span. The Nor’easters qualified as the team in the Eastern Conference with the best record (13-3-0).

Reading United AC
2nd place in the Mid-Atlantic Division (11-2-3)
7th appearance in the US Open Cup (5th as PDL), record 5th straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 1-6-0 (1-4-0 as PDL)
Last appearance: 2012

web-Reading-NYGAA-GlennRiegel — Reading United are back in the US Open Cup for a fifth straight year, a Modern Pro Era record for an amateur team. Photo: Glenn Riegel / Reading United AC

For the first time in the Modern Professional Era, an amateur team will be making their fifth straight appearance in the US Open Cup. Reading United will attempt to put the past behind them, as the tournament has not been kind to United. Last year’s 2-1 home win over four-time Open Cup champion New York Greek American Atlas, was their first tournament win in franchise history. They would lose in the next round, 2-1 to the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium. Reading has their friendly rivals, Ocean City, to thank for keeping their streak alive. The Nor’easters, by virtue of finishing with the Eastern Conference’s best record, earned a berth, leaving the second place team, Reading, as the Mid-Atlantic’s representative.

GPS Portland Phoenix
2nd place in Northeast Division (10-4-2)
2nd appearance in the US Open Cup, 2nd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 0-1-0
Last appearance: 2012

In just their fourth season in the PDL, GPS Portland Phoenix will make their second straight appearance in the US Open Cup, finishing behind the Canadian-based Ottawa Fury in the Northeast Division. The Phoenix had a chance to win the division, but they finished scoreless against Seacoast United when they needed a win to overtake the Fury. Last year, Portland lost their first-ever Open Cup game 3-2 to the Brooklyn Italians of the USASA. They found themselves behind 3-0 until Blaike Woodruff scored a pair of late goals but it wasn’t enough as the they fell to the two-time tournament champions.

Carolina Dynamo
1st place in the South Atlantic Division (11-1-4)
10th appearance in the US Open Cup (5th as PDL), 3rd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 10-9-0 (5-4-0 as PDL)
Last appearance: 2012

The Carolina Dynamo with their rich history dating back to 1993, will make their 10th appearance in the tournament this year, and their 5th as a PDL side. This is the third year in a row for the Dynamo as they will attempt to avoid their third straight one-and-done. Last year, they were eliminated by the Aegean Hawks from the DC-area 3-1. It was an impressive year for the Dynamo in the league as they only lost one game (11-1-4), and made a playoff run that took them all the way to the championship game, where they lost 2-1 to Forest City London. They will try to re-live their glory days this year, with their greatest moment coming in 2006 when they upset the Richmond Kickers (Div. 3) and the Seattle Sounders (Div. 2) to become the third PDL team (now there have been four) to advance beyond the Third Round. They would eventually fall in the ‘Battle of the Dynamo’, losing 4-2 to Houston of MLS in Round 4.

Laredo Heat
1st place in the Mid South Division (10-3-3)
3rd appearance in the US Open Cup, 2nd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 1-1-1 (0-1 in PKs)
Last appearance: 2012

web-SA-LAR2-RobinJerstad — The Laredo Heat advanced to the Second Round of the 2012 US Open Cup, but lost to the San Antonio Scorpions, 2-0. Photo: Robin Jerstad | San Antonio Scorpions

The Laredo Heat are back in the Open Cup for a second straight year, and just the third time in franchise history. Three trips to the tournament in a decade is a surprising number for one of the best teams in the PDL. The 2007 league champion, and a three-time runner-up, the Heat qualified for the Open Cup for the first time back in 2006 when they nearly eliminated Dallas Roma FC in the first round before Roma began their historic run to the Fourth Round. Last year, the Heat returned, winning their first-ever Open Cup game, 4-2 over fellow Texas amateur club ASC New Stars (USASA) in extra time. They hit the road in Round 2 and lost 2-0 to the NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions. This is a PDL team that has qualified for the league playoffs nine years in a row, and have only failed to qualify once, during their inaugural season in 2004. Single-elimination tournaments are nothing new to them, so this tournament could suit them well.

Austin Aztex
2nd place in the Mid South Division (9-5-2)
2nd appearance in the US Open Cup
All-time Open Cup record: 0-0-1 (0-1 in PKs)
Last appearance: 2008

After starting as a PDL franchise in 2008 (and qualifying for the US Open Cup), the Austin Aztex launched a professional team the following year and made two more Open Cup appearances. The franchise was moved to Orlando to form Orlando City SC, but in 2012, the Aztex franchise was revived in Austin as a PDL franchise. Their first season back was a successful one, finishing in second place behind the Laredo Heat. The only Open Cup game the Aztex PDL team played was in 2008 when they took the Atlanta Silverbacks (Div. 2) to penalty kicks, but lost the shootout 5-4.

Ocala Stampede
1st place in the Southeast Division (11-3-2)
1st appearance in the US Open Cup
All-time Open Cup record: N/A
Last appearance: N/A

The Stampede are one of four clubs who are taking part in their first Open Cup as they were an overwhelming success in their inaugural season in the PDL. Ocala, which is located in Central Florida, just northwest of Orlando, won the Southeast Division title with an 11-3-2 record, which was the best record in the conference. They will join the nearby Orlando City U-23s in the tournament.

Orlando City U-23s
2nd place in the Southeast Division (8-3-5)
6th appearance in the US Open Cup, 4th straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 0-5-0
Last appearance: 2012

Orlando City U-23s are back for their fourth straight Open Cup appearance and their sixth overall berth. In 2013, they will attempt to do something the previous five teams editions of the club have failed to do: win a game. Last year was the first year under the current team name. Prior to that, they were known as the Central Florida Kraze and made four trips to the competition before the team was bought by Orlando City after the 2011 season. Last year, they fell to Jacksonville United 2-1 after letting a 1-0 lead in the second half slip away. Jacksonville was awarded an 82nd minute penalty kick and then scored the game-winner in the 89th minute to seal Orlando’s doom.

Seattle Sounders U-23s
1st place in the Northwest Division (11-2-3)
1st appearance in the US Open Cup
All-time Open Cup record: N/A
Last appearance: N/A

No matter what they are called, the Seattle Sounders U-23s are making their first Open Cup appearance in franchise history. The club was originally known as Tacoma FC, but never qualified from 2006-2011. Last year, the team re-branded as the Seattle Sounders U-23s and enjoyed immediate success. They won the Northwest Division championship and reached the final four in the PDL playoffs.

Portland Timbers U-23s
2nd place in the Northwest Division (10-4-2)
2nd appearance in the US Open Cup, 2nd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 0-1-0
Last appearance: 2012

After enjoying success in their first three years as a PDL franchise, including the 2010 league championship, the Portland Timbers U-23s qualified for the US Open Cup for the first time last year. They lost their first game to a USASA side, PSA Elite, 3-1 in front of their home fans, but they will have a chance to redeem themselves with their second straight berth in 2013.

Ventura County Fusion
1st place in the Southwest Division (12-2-2)
4th appearance in the US Open Cup (4th straight)
All-time Open Cup record: 3-2-1 (0-1 in PKs)
Last appearance: 2012

The Ventura County Fusion qualified for the Open Cup for the first time back in 2010 and were one-and-done to the USASA’s Arizona Sahuaros. Each year after that, they have improved on the previous year’s performance. In 2011, they won a single game before being eliminated by the Los Angeles Blues (USL Pro). Last year, they won two games, including a revenge win over the Blues in Round 2. They nearly knocked off an MLS team, but were unable to overcome an early goal by Chivas USA, and lost 1-0. If the pattern continues, will the Fusion reach Round 4 this year?

FC Tucson
2nd place in the Southwest Division (9-3-4)
1st appearance in the US Open Cup
All-time Open Cup record: N/A
Last appearance: N/A

FC Tucson became another first-year team to punch their ticket to the Open Cup after a successful inaugural season. They edged out the Fresno Fuego for second place and will be the first Arizona-based club to reach the tournament since the Arizona Sahuaros took part in 2010.

2012 US Open Cup Second Round: Minnesota Stars FC lock down Des Moines Menace 2-0

May 23, 2012 by Brian Quarstad

Bracalello-USOC-5-22-12 — Minnesota Stars forward Simone Bracalello hits the ball full volley for the game winner. | Photo: Jeremy Olson - www.digitalgopher.net

The Minnesota Stars of the NASL (D2) defeated the Des Moines Menace USL PDL team (D4) on Tuesday evening by a score of 2-0 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, Iowa, to advance to the Third Round of the 2012 US Open Cup.

Absent on the bench for Minnesota was head coach Manny Lagos who was serving the last of a 3-game suspension from an incident in 2009 when he was the President of the Thunder. Lagos was not allowed to be in the stadium so he didn’t even travel for the game. Instead, assistant coach Carl Craig took the reins for the night in what may have been his most important game he had ever coached. A win meant that Craig and his Stars would book a date next Tuesday with Real Salt Lake.

The Menace were also looking for that same Real Salt Lake date and came out of the gates quickly as the Stars tried to figure out a fast turf field against a young and physical opponent. Several times in the early going Minnesota allowed the Menace to attack through the middle with little to no pressure from the Stars. After the third long rang shot from Menace, Stars goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel had enough and gave his teammates an earful.

After some extended pressure by the Stars in the 19th minute, midfielder Miguel Ibarra latched onto a ball on the right side of the field. The rookie outside midfielder sent a looping cross into the box that found the foot of a leaping Simone Bracalello who was unmarked on the left side. He tapped the ball full volley from 10 yards out and past Menace goalkeeper Jhojan Obando to put the Stars up 1-0.

The Menace were able to apply some pressure on Minnesota near the half hour mark after some Stars miscues, but the Menace were never able to unlock the Stars defense to get a shot on goal.

In the the 40th minute Menace forward Renan Ramos charged Stars defender Cristiano Diaz with a high studs up challange. The normally calm Diaz lashed out and kicked at Ramos. The Stars were awarded a free kick for the foul and Diaz was shown a straight red for violent conduct.

With the sending off, coach Craig substituted target forward Armani Walker for player coach Kevin Friedland. The Stars saw out the first half with some additional pressure from the Menace after dropping to 10.

Minnesota played with 9 behind the ball most of the 2nd half with occasional flurries of possession and attack.

The Menace tried to find a way through the 10 man defensive unit of the Stars but found as other NASL teams have this season that when faced with adversity by being short handed, Minnesota is difficult to break down.

Each team had a hand full of chances but it would be the Stars’ Ibarra who finished the scoring on the night in the 84th minute. After some quick one touch passes from Minnesota midfielders Neal Hlavaty and Kevin Venegas, Ibarra was fed with a one-two and dribbled around his defender from the center of the field and 18 yards out. He unleashed while on the run and slotted the ball into the left side of the net to give the Stars a 2-0 win.

“They (Menace) are a hard working team,” said Ibarra who had one assist and one goal on the evening. “When we got the red card we didn’t let down. We just kept going for another one and we just wouldn’t give up.”

“It was a tough game, they came at us hard,” said the game winning goal scorer Bracalello. “They are big and they use their size to play. But we had to play for 50 minutes a man down. It was a hard game, a very hard game. But now we get to play Real Salt Lake. So I’m happy, very happy with the result.”

“I think our guys deserve a lot of credit for playing them tight,” said Menace veteran coach Laurie Calloway. “For most of them it’s the first time they’ve ever played against a pro team. But I think we started nervous and even when they went down to 10 we didn’t get a grip on the game. We did have a few chances we should have done better. But Minnesota is a good team. They are unbeaten this season and won the league last year. They were very well organized and they are not top of the league for no reason.”

While the Stars will look forward to facing Real Salt Lake next Tuesday, Calloway says he has much more realistic goals. “Overall I’m disappointed but now we can concentrate on winning our league and get back to our winning ways. At the end of the day, that’s a much more realistic target for us anyway. Let’s face it; it’s pretty impossible for a PDL team to win the Open Cup.”

“We got caught up in them being younger, more physical and being the underdog and we forgot what we were supposed to do,” said a happy but frustrated coach Craig. “But we won and now we get to play Real Salt Lake. That’s nice! That’s the main thing.”

2012 US Open Cup First Round: Des Moines Menace defeat Milwaukee Bavarians in game that didn’t want to end

May 16, 2012 by Nicole Haase

Des Moines Menace won a physical battle with the Milwaukee Bavarians en route to a 3-1 win. Photo: Nicole Haase

Playing most of the game two men down due to ejections proved too much for the younger Milwaukee Bavarians team as they fell to the Des Moines Menace in the First Round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The game was delayed in starting by 45 minutes due to inclement weather and delayed again at halftime for more rain and lightning. It also went into overtime and was delayed when the sprinklers came on before the OT period could begin. But the Menace didn’t let more than four hours at the fields deter them from their goal of advancing in the Open Cup.

For the Menace, it was their first win in the Open Cup since 2006, when they won three games in one of the more impressive tournament runs by an amateur club. It was also a rematch of sorts as the Menace lost their opening round game in 2003 to the Bavarians’ USASA club, 3-2 in extra time.

The Bavarians scored first on a brilliant cross from Chris Madsen that Cyril Simmons headed home in the 25th minute. Simmons might not score a goal that pretty again all season. It was textbook.

From there, the Bavarians fell into a more defensive stance and the Menace couldn’t quite seem to put it together.

Bavarians’ goalie Josh Rhode was shaky to start the game. He had trouble with his punts and goal kicks and misplayed a ball played back to him, almost leading to a Menace goal. But give credit to the Bavarians defense, who backed him up and never let Rhode’s unsteadiness shake their play.

Defense is a strength of this Bavarians team. Des Moines failed to put together a credible threat throughout the first sixty minutes of the ball game because the Milwaukee defense stopped them cold before they could get close to the net. The Menace came out of the back or midfield multiple times with threatening-looking plays that would fizzle before they became dangerous. Credit a steady, stout Bavarians defense for that.

The tenor of the game changed just before half. In an already physical game, there was pushing and shoving on the far touchline that ended up with an upset scorer’s table. No foul was called and the Bavarians had a shot on goal. The resulting corner kick was a scramble in front of the net and when the melee cleared, a Menace player was on the ground and Andrew Stone was booked with a red card for elbowing him in the face. Chris Madsen was booked shortly thereafter with a yellow card, presumably for dissent.

And that’s how the half ended.

Madsen had a change just a few minutes into the first half that Bavarian coach Andreas Davi said he thought would have completely changed the game. Madsen came in off the right side and ended up one on one with the keeper, but his shot went wide.

For Davi, making it a 2-0 game would have all-but guaranteed his team a win and he put the missed shot down to his team’s youth and inexperience. As the Bavarian team is made up entirely of college players, they have not spent a lot of time together yet – they had one player still taking final exams today.

“If Madsen makes it 2-0, we don’t even go into OT. This is where the kids have to learn. He has to ask the keeper ‘left, right or nutmeg’ and you put that ball in the corner. And then you play with nine guys in the back and you win that game.”

After the second rain delay, the Menace came out with a new look, moving players around to better maximize the effectiveness of Lebogang Moloto. Moloto’s pace was apparent early in the game, but the Bavarians were able to contain him. Now that Milwaukee was down a man and up a goal, Des Moines coach Laurie Calloway made some adjustments.

“We made a couple of changes strategically with (Lebogang) Moloto and took out (Philip) Da Silva and brought in Luis Piffer who I thought added something to us and sort of a combination of some of those things. At half time I wasn’t really happy with the performance and let them know that and it was just a couple of changes that led us to dominate in the game a little bit more.”

Des Moines received a penalty kick in the 57th minute when Luis Piffer went down in the box, but Logan McDaniel’s shot hit the post. The missed opportunity, however, seemed to drive the Menace. A beautiful cross was headed into the crossbar just a few minutes later. In all, Des Moines’ shots hit the post or crossbar four times in the second half and overtime.

Bavarians David Caban received his second yellow of the game and was sent off in the 66th minute. Down two men, fatigue started to become a factor for the Bavarians as they had more field to cover and the pace of Moloto was becoming more and more apparent in the re-vamped front for Des Moines.

Husref Jubic scored on a cross from Luis Piffer and coach Calloway’s change in strategy paid off just 20 minutes into the second half.
Offensive chances became few and far between for the Bavarians, as they struggled to cover the whole field. Even if a player got the ball in the offensive zone, he didn’t have anyone to support him or to pass to. The Menace defenders swarmed and the threat was over.

The Bavarians did muster one final offensive push and appeared to score in the 72nd minute. Kelmend Islami carried the ball through the midfield, beat his defenders and ended up one on one with the Menace keeper. A perfectly-placed half volley into the net seemed to give the Bavarians the lead, but it was called back for offside

The Bavarians seemed to deflate even more after the goal was waived off and they failed to put together any more credible offensive threats in regulation.

Where Rhode was shaky early in, he kept his team in the game as the second half wore on. He made more than one remarkable save, including one in the final minutes that looked to be a sure Menace goal.

The ball was pinballing around the six-yard box and Rhode made a save near the far post. As the ball fell to the Menace on the near post, Rhode came diving across to make the save on the goal line. The play was so close that some Menace players were calling that the ball had gone in.

The half ended much like the first, as Des Moines Jubril Lawal was sent off with a red card for a dirty slide tackle. More yelling and pushing and shoving ensued, but the game headed to overtime tied at one.

The start of the overtime period was delayed about eight minutes as the automatic sprinklers made an appearance on the field and the Bavarians’ grounds crew had to figure out how to turn them off and have the sprinkler heads retreat back into the ground.

It was probably only a matter of time before the pace of Moloto became too much for the fatigued Bavarian defense. That breakthrough came in the 102nd minute when Moloto just out-ran the tired Bavarians back line, taking it one-on-one to the box and beating Rhode. The Menace were up 2-1 with about 18 minutes left of overtime play.

Des Moines put the game away for good with another Moloto goal in the 108th minute, this time on a pass from McDaniel. Moloto was unmarked in front of the net and McDaniel placed a cross perfectly at his feet.

Up next for Des Moines is more league play, that Calloway stressed as important as his team had stumbled early in the season. They will then face the Minnesota Stars of the North American Soccer League in the Second Round of the US Open Cup next Tuesday.

Davi said that while a victory would have been nice, a game like this one will do a lot to bond his team together as they start their NPSL league play this weekend. He also stressed that this was likely the biggest game any of his players had ever played in. And while they’re thankful for the chance to play in the Open Cup, they’re an NPSL team and they earned their place in the Cup because they won the Midwest Region – and that’s their goal again.

2012 US Open Cup First Round
Des Moines Menace (PDL) 3:1 Milwaukee Bavarians (NPSL)
May 15, 2012 – Bavarian Soccer Club, Glendale, WI

Scoring Summary
MKE – Cyril Simmons (Chris Madsen) – 25th min.
DSM – Husref Jupic (Luis Piffer) – 70th min.
DSM– Lebogang Moloto (Brent Kallman) – 102nd min.
DSM– Lebogang Moloto (Logan McDaniel) – 108th min.

Booking Summary
MKE – David Caban (Yellow) – 18th min.
MKE – Andrew Stone (Red) – 45th min.
MKE – Chris Madsen (Yellow) – 45th min.
MKE – David Caban (2nd Yellow=Red) – 66th min.
MKE – Kelmend Islami (Yellow) – 73rd min.
DSM – Taylor Diem (Yellow) – 80th min.
DSM – Jubril Lawal (Red) – 90th min.

Des Moines lineup: Brian Billings (GK), Risto Laetti, Javier Lopez, Taylor Diem, Jubril Lawal, Lebogang Moloto, Logan McDaniel, Brandon Fricke, Benito Armaral, Husref Jupic, Philip Da Silva
Subs: Brent Kallman, Luis Piffer, Carlos McCrary

Milwaukee lineup: Josh Rhode (GK), Andrew Stone, Luke Goodnetter, Sam Krenzien, Ryan Whitehead, Charlie Hoover, Kelmend Islami, Amilcar Herrera, Chris Madsen, David Caban, Cyril Simmons
Subs: Robbie Boyd, James Weber, Dustin Page

Source: 2013 US Open Cup to feature 16 Premier Development League teams

January 14, 2012 by Josh Hakala

This was confirmed this yAccording to sources at the United Soccer Leagues’ annual general meeting in Tampa, Fla., the Premier Development League will have 16 entries into the 2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup for the second consecutive year.

Last year the US Soccer Federation expanded the Open Cup field to include all US-based Major League Soccer teams and increased the number of amateur teams to a Modern Pro Era-record 32. The upcoming tournament, the 100th consecutive running of the Open Cup, appears to be following a similar format, but the official announcement is yet to be made.

With the date of the 2013 tournament expected to be earlier for the second year in a row, the PDL has decided to base their entries on the previous season’s results once again. The official announcement came nearly a year ago exactly with two berths, with one exception, going to each division.

According to sources, here are the teams that will be taking part in the 2013 US Open Cup (we will be updating with brief summaries of each team’s tournament history):

Bucks-Fire 2012 3rd Round — Last year, the Michigan Bucks upset Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire 3-2 in extra time indoors at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Mich.

Des Moines Menace
3rd place in the Heartland Division (8-5-3)
7th appearance in the US Open Cup , 2nd straight appearance
All-time Open Cup record: 7-6-1 (1-0 in PKs)
Last appearance: 2012The Des Moines Menace are back in the competition for the second year in a row, making their seventh all-time appearance. Only the Michigan Bucks (10) have qualified for the Open Cup more times among PDL teams. They enter the tournament as a 3rd place team because the Heartland Division champion, Thunder Bay Chill, are based in Canada.

Eastern Conference

Ocean City Nor’easters
1st place in the Mid-Atlantic Division (13-3-0)
6th appearance in the US Open Cup (5th as PDL)
All-time Open Cup record: 7-5-0 (6-4-0 as PDL)
Last appearance: 2009

The Nor’easters are back in the tournament as another PDL team with a giant killer reputation. This is their first appearance since 2009, when they defeated two Division 3 professional teams to reach the Third Round where they lost a close 2-0 decision to Major League Soccer’s DC United on the road. Only the Michigan Bucks (12) and the Des Moines Menace (7) have more Open Cup wins as a PDL team than the Nor’easters (6), who were known as the Barons the last time they entered the competition. The Bucks are also the only team with more professional team upsets in the tournament (9) than the Nor’easters (4). Ocean City ranks right near the top along with the Menace and the Bucks as one of the best teams in the PDL, and are back in the Open Cup thanks to last season’s division title, their first since 2004. Despite only winning two division titles since they joined the league back in 2003, they are 87-40-37, which is the sixth best record during that span. The Nor’easters qualified as the team in the Eastern Conference with the best record (13-3-0).