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Menace hits the road for two more

By Des Moines Menace, 06/01/18, 3:00PM CDT

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The Menace's road swing continues with back-to-back games at Kaw Valley FC and St. Louis the first two days of June.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Friday, June 1, 2018 – Looking to build on a 2-0-0 start to the Premier Development League season, the Des Moines Menace faces a first-time foe – Kaw Valley FC tonight – and a familiar one – the St. Louis Lions tomorrow.

Tonight’s 7:30 match on the Kansas University campus will pit the Menace against a 2-1-1 expansion club. Kaw Valley, a developmental partner of Sporting Kansas City, sits right behind the No. 3 Menace in this week’s PDL Central Conference Power Rankings.

Tomorrow’s 5 o’clock rematch with the Lions comes a week after the Menace left St. Louis with a 4-1 victory. This will be the Heartland Division rivals’ 35th meeting; Des Moines leads the all-time series, 18-6-10.

Menace striker Kino Ryosuke, the PDL Player of the Week, is a marked man after scoring four goals in his team’s first two matches. Biko Brennan and Wilfred Williams joined him on the TopDrawerSoccer PDL Central Conference Team of the Week.

Des Moines opened its 25th season with a 3-0 win over WSA Winnipeg on May 24. The team’s next home action comes June 15-16, when the team starts a stretch of five straight weekends at Valley Stadium.

 
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DES MOINES MENACE at KAW VALLEY FC
DATE and TIME: Friday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. CDT
VENUE: Rock Chalk Park (grass) in Lawrence, Kan.
COMPETITION: Premier Development League regular season
 
DES MOINES MENACE at ST. LOUIS LIONS
DATE and TIME: Saturday, June 2 at 5 p.m. CDT
VENUE: Tony Glavin Soccer Complex (grass) in St. Peters, Mo.
COMPETITION: Premier Development League regular season
 
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ABOUT THE MENACE
  • 2-0-0, with a pair of three-goal victories (one year after just one win by more than two goals).
  • This year’s goals have come from Kino Ryosuke (four), Wilfred Williams, Marcel Berry and Elvir Ibisevic.
  • First-year head coach Alen Marcina is assisted by Dario Pots and goalkeeping coach Devala Gorrick.
  • Entered the franchise’s 25th season with an all-time record of 267-154-37 (237-126-37 regular season; 16-16 PDL playoffs; 14-12 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup).
     
 ABOUT KAW VALLEY FC
  • 2-1-1 after sweeping WSA Winnipeg at home last weekend (2-1 on May 25 in Lawrenace and 4-1 on May 27 in Topeka).
  • First-year club and a developmental partner with Sporting KC.
  • Head coach Istvan Urbanyi played for the 2001 Menace team that reached the PDL Final Four. Urbanyi played in more than 400 pro matches, including time in the 1997 Major League Soccer season with the San Jose Clash (led by Laurie Calloway, who was the head coach of the 2001-02 and 2010-12 Menace).
  • Tucker Stephenson, who played for the 2017 Menace, leads the Cranes with three goals. In Kaw Valley’s 1-1 tie at St. Louis on May 19, he scored the first goal in franchise history.
  • Roster features Nic James and Lucas Bartlett, who were also part of the 2017 Menace.
     
 ALL-TIME SERIES: MENACE VS. KAW VALLEY FC
  • This is the teams’ first-ever meeting.
  • Kaw Valley visits Valley Stadium on June 23 and 29.
     
 ABOUT THE LIONS
  • 1-1-1, coming off a 5-0 home win over WSA Winnipeg on Tuesday.
  • Play their first four matches – and six of their first seven – at home.
  • Started the 2017 PDL season strong before losing their final five matches to settle for a 6-7-1 record and a fourth-place finish in the Heartland Division.
  • Appeared in the PDL Playoffs in 2007 and 2014.
  • Head coach Tony Glavin has led the Lions for all 13 of the franchise’s seasons.
     
 ALL-TIME SERIES: MENACE VS. LIONS
  • The Menace leads 18-6-10 (9-4-4 away) in a series that began in 2006.
  • The Menace returns to St. Louis one week after a 4-1 victory against the host Lions; St. Louis visits Des Moines on July 13 in the teams’ only other meeting this season.
  • The teams split in 2017, with each team protecting its home field – St. Louis won 1-0 on May 27 and Des Moines rallied for a 3-1 victory on July 8 in the PDL Game of the Week.
  • Des Moines has outscored St. Louis 70-38 (32-17 on the road).
     
 ABOUT THE PDL HEARTLAND DIVISION
  • The Menace (25th season), WSA Winnipeg (eighth season), the St. Louis Lions (13th season), the Thunder Bay Chill (19th season) and Chicago FC United (second season) are back in the division, joined by newcomer Kaw Valley FC (Kan.).
  • Des Moines or Thunder Bay has been the Heartland Division champ the last 11 seasons.
  • The 72-team PDL comprises 10 divisions and four conferences; the Heartland Division and the Great Lakes Division are in the Central Conference.
     
 
RECAPPING LAST WEEK: TWO WINS IN 48 HOURS
  • Des Moines opened the season with a 3-0 home win over WSA Winnipeg on May 24; Kino Ryosuke (two goals) and Wilfred Williams scored in the second half.
  • The Menace downed host St. Louis, 4-1, on May 26. Ryosuke (two more goals), Marcel Berry and Elvir Ibisevic scored for the visitors; the Lions’ goal came from Troy Reeves in the 88th minute.
     
 UP NEXT
  • The Menace’s road swing continues in Canada – June 8 in Thunder Bay and June 10 in Winnipeg.
  • Next home action is June 15 – a Fireworks Friday friendly with Nebraska Bugeaters FC.