GRIMES, Iowa – Thursday, May 31, 2018 – Back-to-back matchups with the defending Women’s Premier Soccer League champions will give the Des Moines Menace a challenging beginning to the 2018 season.

Fire and Ice Soccer Club visits Grimes Sports Complex this Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. season opener. The rematch comes the following Saturday (June 9) in Belleville, Ill.

“We’re in for a tough match, and we just have to go out there and play to the best of our ability,” said fourth-year Menace head coach Justin Vorster. “I have a lot of respect for Fire & Ice because they’re national champions, but once we cross the white line and start the new season, it’s a new game.”

Vorster likes what he’s seen in preseason training, a year after a veteran-loaded roster finished 3-3-2.

“The team chemistry’s fantastic,” Vorster said. “We have a mixture of young and older players. Everyone gets along, and on the field we’re seeing high levels of trust and encouragement. Our players believe in each other.”

Included in the crop of younger homegrown players are Reilly Bertram (Urbandale; Dowling Catholic High School; Drake), Vivian Broderick (Des Moines; Dowling Catholic High School; Wisconsin), Rebecca Corbett (Waukee; Drake), Rachel Collins (West Des Moines; St. Bonaventure) and Morgan Seemuth (Clive; Waukee High School; Minnesota State).

Among the returners are seventh-year staple Jordan McMahon, Chelsea Cline, Haley Helverson and Kaylin Swart – a goalkeeper for the South Africa national team.

This Saturday’s match in Grimes is the Menace’s only home action until June 30. The team knocks out its road action in three straight weekends, travelling to the St. Louis area for a June 9-10 doubleheader and daytripping the following two Saturdays to the Kansas City area.

ABOUT THE MENACE

• Finished last season 3-3-2, third of five teams in the WPSL Heartland Region.
• Enters 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.

ABOUT FIRE & ICE

• Went 12-0-0 on the way to the 2017 WPSL title, outscoring opponents 44-5.
• Kelsey Dinges scored both of the team’s goals in a 2-1 WPSL championship victory over the Gulf Coast Texans last July in California.
• Head coach Lindsay Kennedy-Eversmeyer has led the team since 2013.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Fire & Ice SC holds a 4-1-0 lead in a series that began in the 2013 WPSL playoffs (a 2-0 win for Fire & Ice in Centerville, Ohio).
• This is the teams’ first matchup since Fire & Ice’s 1-0 win at Valley Stadium on July 11, 2015.
• The Menace’s lone win over Fire & Ice came July 12, 2014 (2-0 at Valley Stadium).

ABOUT THE WOMEN’S PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE

• 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 (Columbia, Ill.) and the St. Louis Lions.

UP NEXT

• The Menace visits St. Louis for games next Saturday and Sunday (June 9-10) – first a rematch with Fire & Ice SC, then a first-ever meeting with the St. Louis Lions.