Doubleheader weekend for Menace women
UPDATED time and venue for the WPSL match on Sunday, July 1: 5:30 PM at Valley Stadium - Free admission for this Sunday match.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Friday, June 29, 2018 – The Des Moines Menace has picked up points on the road the last two weekends, and the team’s at home the next two weekends to close the Women’s Premier Soccer League season.
UPDATED: Please note the new time (5:30 PM) and new venue (Valley Stadium) for the WPSL match on Sunday, July 1.
The Menace wraps up its June schedule tomorrow against the Kansas City Courage at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. The team opens July with a Sunday match against the St. Louis Lions. UPDATED: This Sunday match has been moved to Valley Stadium, and it will start at 5:30. Due to heavy rains on Saturday night, Prairie Ridge Sports Complex in Ankeny is not available for this game, as planned.
After opening the season with three straight losses, the Menace has rebounded with a win and a tie the last two Saturdays in Kansas City. On June 16, Des Moines downed the Courage (tomorrow’s opponent), 4-0; the team followed this with a scoreless draw against the Athletics.
“The rest of the season is looking very promising,” Menace head coach Justin Vorster said. “The squad’s cohesion and chemistry this week has been fantastic. The players have been responding well to our playing style and philosophy. Our goal is to finish strong and earn second place in our conference.”
Des Moines (1-3-1, four points) sits in fourth place in the five-team Heartland Conference – five points behind the Lions (2-3-1), who defeated the Menace 2-0 on June 10. Fire & Ice SC (4-0-1) and the Kansas City Athletics (3-1-2) lead the group; the last-place Courage is 0-5-1.
KANSAS CITY COURAGE at DES MOINES MENACE
- 1-3-1.
- Roster includes veterans Jordan McMahon, Haley Helverson, Chelsea Cline, Rachel McCloskey and Kaylin Swart.
- Entered its seventh season with an all-time record of 32-17-5.
- Led by fourth-year head coach Justin Vorster, who is assisted by Alex Fonseca and Hugo Macedo.
- 0-5-1.
- Finishes its season July 7 at home against defending WPSL champ Fire & Ice SC.
- Katie LaGorge is in her first year as the Courage’s head coach; Wendy Louque serves as an assistant coach after four years leading the team.
- The Menace holds a 6-0-3 lead in a series that began in 2014.
- This is the teams’ second meeting this season, and it comes two weeks after Des Moines’ 4-0 win.
- 2-3-1 in their inaugural WPSL season.
- Coming off a 5-0 home win over the KC Courage last Sunday. Christina Rodriguez and Mackenzie Rief each scored a couple goals in that victory.
- Sunday marks the end of the Lions’ season; they host Fire & Ice this evening (Friday).
- Geoff Loremier is the Lions’ head coach.
- The Lions took the teams’ first meeting, 2-0 on June 10.
- On the men’s side, these clubs have a Premier Development League rivalry that began in 2006; the Menace has a 19-6-10 lead in the all-time series against the Lions’ PDL side.
- Formed in 1998, the WPSL has over 100 teams across the United States.
- Its main focus is on the development of highly competitive premier women’s soccer teams.
- Des Moines plays in the Heartland Conference (part of the WPSL Central Region) along with the Kansas City Courage, the Kansas City Athletics, Fire & Ice SC (Belleville, Ill.) and the St. Louis Lions.
- The Menace earned a scoreless draw on the Kansas City Athletics’ home turf.
- Woman of the Match Kaylin Swart got the shutout.
- Amber Matthews’ late header off a corner came close to gifting the Menace a win, but the Athletics cleared it off the line and preserved the tie.
- The team closes the schedule next Saturday against the Kansas City Athletics at Valley Stadium.
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