ST. PETERS, Mo. – Saturday, May 26, 2018 – A couple more goals by Kino Ryosuke, an early score by Marcel Berry, and a late penalty kick by Elvir Ibisevic added up to a 4-1 Des Moines Menace win over the St. Louis Lions today at Tony Glavin Soccer Complex.

The high-octane Menace claimed its second three-goal win of the Premier Development League season, less than 48 hours after opening with a 3-0 home victory over WSA Winnipeg.

Ryosuke has scored four times in his first two matches with the Menace. For his encore, he struck in first-half stoppage time (set up by Alejandro Covarrubias) and again in the 62nd minute (following an Audi Jespson corner kick).

Unlike Thursday’s slow start when Ryosuke started the scoring in the 51st minute, the Menace wasted little time getting on the board this evening. In the fourth minute, Marcel Berry sliced through the St. Louis defense and slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner.

“It felt great to get that goal right way,” Berry said. “That took a lot of pressure off of us, and it gave us some confidence to start the game. After that, it just opened up the flood gates.”

A controversial call against Des Moines goalie Keegan Meyer in the 64th minute set up a golden opportunity for St. Louis. Meyer, however, stopped the Lions’ PK attempt with a successful dive to his right.

With the game already settled, each team rounded out the scoring in the dying embers of this heated game waged on a hot day.

Troy Reeves broke the shutout in the 88th minute. And in the final minute of regulation, Ibisevic – a hometown hero back for his third Menace season – calmly converted his PK after beating a pair of defenders and drawing a foul inside the box.

“We grinded through as a team and got the ‘W’ – a great team win,” said Berry. “Team morale’s great; now we’ve just got to keep the momentum, keep the energy, and keep working hard as a team.”

UP NEXT: The road action continues next Friday and Saturday (June 1-2) for head coach Alen Marcina’s Menace. The weekend starts with the Menace’s first matchup against PDL newcomer Kaw Valley FC (in Lawrence, Kan.), then it’s back here for a rematch with St. Louis.

The Menace’s next home action comes June 15-16. Des Moines hosts Nebraska Bugeaters FC on Fireworks Friday and the arch-rival Chill the following night.

MAN of the MATCH: Kino Ryosuke, for the second time in three days. Ryosuke, from Japan, joins the Menace in the summer between schools. He’s transferring from Marshalltown Community College to Louisville.

FOOTNOTES

• The Menace is 18-6-10 all-time against the Lions (9-4-4 road).
• Des Moines is undefeated in 12 of its last 13 matches against St. Louis; the lone loss in this 10-1-2 stretch came May 27, 2017 (1-0) in a weather-delayed match that was moved from Tony Glavin Soccer Complex to Christian High School in O’Fallon, Mo.
• The Lions have hosted the Menace in five of the last six Memorial Day weekends.
• St. Louis opened the season with a 1-1 tie against Kaw Valley FC a week ago. The Lions’ first four 2018 PDL matches are at home, and its last five are on the road.
• The Menace and the Lions clash at Valley Stadium on July 13 in the teams’ regular-season finale.

 
Match: Des Moines Menace at St. Louis Lions

Date: Saturday, May 26, 2018
Competition: Premier Development League regular season
Venue: Tony Glavin Soccer Complex (grass field) in St. Peters, Mo.
Kickoff: 5 p.m CDT
Weather: 90s and sunny

Scoreline                    1    2     F
MENACE                      2   2   4
StL                               0   1     1