Saturday, July 7, 2012
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Needing a win to stay in contention for a place in the Premier Development League playoffs, the Des Moines Menace battled to a 1-1 draw with the Thunder Bay Chill on Saturday night at Valley Stadium.
The Menace’s playoff chances came to an end with news after the match that Real Colorado (8-4-4, 28 points) secured the Heartland Division’s second and final postseason spot with a 3-0 win at Kansas City.
There is a silver lining for Des Moines (7-5-3, 24 points) as the team enters the final weekend of the season – a home exhibition against Minnesota Stars FC on July 14 and a season-closing match at St. Louis the following day. If the Menace wins at St. Louis, the team would likely clinch a spot in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Spirits were high coming into the match after the Menace snatched a 2-1 victory on Friday night to stay in the playoff chase. Logan McDaniel scored in the opening minute and Kasy Kiarash netted the game-winner in stoppage time 90 minutes later.
The momentum spilled into the opening minutes of the rematch. The Menace took an early lead just 90 seconds in thanks to an own goal by Thunder Bay. Des Moines defender Jubril Lawal’s clearance looped off the head of the Chill’s Axel Sjoberg and over the head of goalkeeper Stephen Patterson.
The equalizer came in the 21st minute, when Juan Velez placed a penalty kick just out of Jhojan Obando’s reach.
Des Moines played with a man advantage for the last 24 minutes. Sicelo Buthelezi received his second yellow card in the 66th minute, and things were looking good for the home team. Lawal threatened to score a go-ahead goal in the 76th minute, but Patterson smothered his bicycle kick.
Despite outshooting Thunder Bay 16-5, Des Moines was not able to get the necessary victory.
“It’s frustrating all around,” Menace head coach Laurie Calloway said. “We had them on the ropes all night. We just gotta get the ball in the net. It’s been our problem all season long – not winning games that we’ve dominated.”
Thunder Bay (11-2-1) prepares for its sixth straight appearance in the PDL playoffs. The Chill have won the Heartland Division five of the last six years (Des Moines won in 2009).
Real Colorado is back in the postseason, after the Menace edged the Foxes on a tie-breaker a year ago. The Foxes turned a 5-0 loss at Kansas City yesterday into an eight-goal turnaround tonight. They gained the upper-hand on the Menace by getting a tie and a win at Valley Stadium to open the season.
Des Moines is undefeated (5-0-1) in its home PDL action since the May 4-5 series with Real Colorado.
MR. B MAN of the MATCH: Jubril Lawal, who created the opportunity that put the Menace up early tonight. The native of Lagos, Nigeria scored a huge goal on July 9, 2011 in a 2-0 home win over Thunder Bay that kept the Menace in the running for an eventual postseason berth.
UP NEXT: The team closes the home schedule with an exhibition on July 14 against pro side Minnesota Stars FC, with fireworks on Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Frito-Lay. Minnesota knocked the Menace out of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, winning 2-0 at Valley Stadium on May 22.
Des Moines wraps up the season the next day at St. Louis, playing at Tony Glavin Complex in St. Peters, Mo., at 5 p.m.