The Menace is in the Elite Eight, and we’re hosting the Premier Development League’s quarterfinals and semifinals! Fans, here’s your guide to the Menace’s run in the 2009 playoffs. See you at Valley Stadium!

 

Updated July 28, 2009 

Game Times and Opponents

Friday, July 31 at 5 p.m.:
No. 2 seed Chicago Fire PDL vs. No. 3 Ocean City (N.J.) Barons

Friday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m.:
Top-seeded Des Moines Menace vs. No. 4 Cary (N.C.) Clarets

Saturday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m.:
Winners from Friday’s quarterfinals meet in a semifinal match.

What's Next?
The winners from the August 1 semifinal matches in West Des Moines and Laredo, Texas, will meet in the August 8 PDL championship match. The title game will be hosted by one of the two finalists and televised nationally by Fox Soccer Channel.

Click here  for the bracket of the 24-team tournament that determines the PDL champ.

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets are on sale and can be ordered online or at each match. 

 

You can save by ordering your Friday-Saturday playoff package online. Order online by Thursday, July 30, and you get three games for $10!

 

Prices for purchasing tickets at the stadium are below. Ticket window opens at 4 p.m. on Friday, July 31 and at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 1.

                              

Tickets for both games                                 Ticket for one game

       Adults: $15                                             Adults: $9

       Kids (ages 4-12): $12                           Kids (ages 4-12): $7

 
Merchandise

2009 Heartland Division Champion t-shirts and PDL Playoffs t-shirts are available during all postseason matches at Valley Stadium. Fine Designs is on site to take care of your custom-printed apparel.

Team Capsules

DES MOINES MENACE

The 2009 Heartland Division champions (37 points) have won nine of their last 10 matches. The Menace has outscored the opposition 20-5 at home, where it holds a 7-1-1 record.

Overall Record: 12-1-4

Division: Heartland Division, Central Conference

Goals Scored: 37

Goals Allowed: 14 (six shutouts)

Leading Scorers: Ben Taylor (13 points, four goals, five assists); Armin Mujdzic (12 points, five goals, two assists); Sterling Copeland (nine points, three goals, three assists)

Goalkeeper: Sean Molony (0.87 Goals against Average, 56 saves and 137 shots faced in 16 matches, including five shutouts)

Playoff History: This is the 10th playoff appearance and the second division title in the Menace’s 16-year history. Des Moines made it to the divisional semifinals in 1996, the conference semifinals in 2002 and 2003, the conference finals in 1997 and the PDL semifinals in 1995, 1998 and 2001 before being crowned the 2005 PDL champions. The last time the Menace made it to the playoffs was in 2006, when it lost a shootout to the Chicago Fire in the conference semis. 

2009 Playoffs: The Menace, the only first-place team to advance to this weekend’s action at Valley Stadium, reached the quarterfinals by defeating the Real Colorado Foxes, 2-1, on July 25. Cameron Jordan capitalized on a penalty kick in the 27th minute to tie the game at 1, after the Foxes’ Julian Donaldson scored on a PK in the 4th minute. Joe Salem put the game-winner in the back of net in the 38th minute, set up by Jack Pearson. 

Head Coach: Casey Mann (fifth season, 49-19-13 regular season, 5-1 playoffs)

General Manager: Todd Meiners

 

CARY CLARETS (Cary, N.C.)

Affiliated with the USL-1 Cary Railhawks, the Clarets finished in third place in the Mid Atlantic Division with 30 points. The Clarets have picked up six of their wins on the road.

Overall Record: 11-4-3

Division: Mid Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference

Goals Scored: 28

Goals Allowed: 16 (eight shutouts)

Leading Scorers: Ronnie Bouemboue (14 points, seven goals); Zack Schilawski (13 points, five goals, three assists); Conor O’Brien (7 points, two goals, three assists)

Goalkeeper: Akira Fitzgerald (0.53 GAA, 22 saves and 45 shots faced in nine matches, including two shutouts)

2009 Playoffs: The lowest seed heading into the Mid Atlantic Division playoffs, Cary defeated the Carolina Dynamo, a team that had beaten the Clarets, 1-0, just six days earlier. Cary pulled out a 3-1 upset on July 21, with Schilawski scoring twice in the second half and Petrasso sealing the win with a goal in the 90th minute. The Clarets continued their playoff run by knocking off the top-seeded Reading Rage – a team that had outscored its regular-season foes by a 58-17 margin. Reading’s season ended with an own goal in stoppage time of Cary’s 2-1 win on July 25. 

Head Coach: Dewan Bader (first season)

General Manager: Elise Caceres

 

CHICAGO FIRE

The Chicago Fire, affiliated with the Major League Soccer team of the same name, is on a nine-game undefeated streak that includes seven straight wins. Chicago is undefeated on the road and finished second in its division. 

Overall Record: 12-1-5

Division: Great Lakes Division, Central Conference                                                       

Goals Scored:  36                                      

Goals Allowed: 13 (eight shutouts)

Leading Scorers: Andre Akpan (16 points, seven goals, two assists); Chris Cutshaw (11 points, five goals, one assist); Freddie Braun (eight points, three goals, two assists)

Goalkeeper: James Maurer (0.64 GAA, 52 saves, 102 shots faced in 14 matches, including seven shutouts)

Playoff History: The Fire has made it to the playoffs each of the franchise’s nine seasons. The closest Chicago came to winning the PDL championship was in 2003 when it lost, 2-0, to Cape Cod in the championship game. The Fire handed the Menace its most recent playoff loss, in a 2006 conference semifinal shoot-out at Waukee Stadium The teams were tied at 3 going into the shoot-out, which the Fire won, 5-3.

2009 Playoffs: The Fire is entering the quarterfinals after defeating Forest City London, 1-0, on July 23 and outshooting the Kalamazoo Outrage, 10-1, in a 2-1 win on July 25.Cutshaw and Richard Edgar scored in the win that sent Chicago into this weekend.

Head Coach: Larry Sunderland (third season)

General Manager: Mark Boyle

 

OCEAN CITY BARONS (Ocean City, NJ)

The Ocean City Barons finished in third place in the Northeast Division with 30 points. The Barons have always been strong at home (they currently hold the longest home unbeaten streak of 28 games from June 2003 to July 2006) and only lost one home game while outscoring opponents 15-6 at Carey Stadium. 

Overall Record: 11-4-3

Division: Northeast Division, Eastern Conference                                                        
Goals Scored: 35                                    

Goals Allowed: 16 (eight shutouts)

Leading Scorers: Byron Carmichael (23 points, 11 goals, one assist); Ryan Richter (15 points, six goals, three assists); JT Noone (nine points, three goals, three assists)

Goalkeepers: Tunde Ogunbiyi (0.76 GAA, 42 saves, 72 shots faced in 11 matches, including five shutouts); Jordan Bar (1.69 GAA, 25 saves, 45 shots faced in five matches.

Playoff History: This is the sixth playoff appearance in the Baron’s 13-year history. Ocean City’s longest playoff run was in 2004, when it made it to the Eastern Conference finals. The Barons’ last playoff game was a 5-0 loss to Cape Cod in the 2007 conference semifinals.

2009 Playoffs: The Barons have been outshot 24-13 in its two playoff matches. Ocean City defeated Long Island 2-0 with goals from Carmichael (23rd minute) and Rory McCrea (73rd minute). Both goals were assisted by Noone.The Barons upset the previously unbeaten Ottawa Fury on July 25. Ocean City pulled out the overtime win against Ottawa, a team that beat up on its regular-season foes, 48-8. Noone tied the score at 1 in the 60th minute, and defender Tyler Bellamy became the hero when he scored his first goal of the season in the 98th minute.

Head Coach and General Manager: Neil Holloway (first season)

           
Menace Playoff History

This is the 10th time that the Des Moines Menace has qualified for the Premier Development League playoffs. The last time that the team advanced to the playoffs was in 2006, one year after winning the PDL Championship. The Menace’s only other division title came in 2002, when the team finished the regular season undefeated (15-0-3). 

All-Time Record in the Playoffs: 13-10

   Home Matches: 6-5

   Away Matches: 1-3

   Neutral Sites: 6-2

2009 Playoffs                                                                              

Record: 1-0 going into PDL quarterfinals                                                              

2006 Playoffs

Record: 0-1    Place: –                                                                

Central Conference Semifinals – Chicago 3 (5), Des Moines 3 (3)     

2005 Playoffs                                                                              

Record: 4-0    Place: PDL Champions                                                                                   

Central Conference Semifinals – Des Moines 3, Chicago 0            

Central Conference Finals – Des Moines 4, Michigan 1                  

PDL Semifinals – Des Moines 2, Orange County 1                        

PDL Finals – Des Moines 0 (6), El Paso 0 (5)                                                                                                

2003 Playoffs                                                                              

Record: 0-1    Place: –                                                                

Central Conference Semifinals – Mid Michigan 1, Des Moines 0     

2002 Playoffs                                                                              

Record: 0-1    Place: –                                                                

Central Conference Semifinals – Mid Michigan 3, Des Moines 1     

2001 Playoffs                                                                                

Record: 0-2    Place: 4th                                                  

PDL Semifinals – Calgary 2, Des Moines 1                                   

PDL Consolation – Sioux Falls 1, Des Moines 0

1998 Playoffs

Record: 4-1    Place: 3rd                                                  

Central Division Semifinals – Des Moines 2, Twin Cities 1 (OT)      

Central Division Finals – Des Moines 3, Kansas City 2 (OT)

PDL Quarterfinals – Des Moines 3, Cocoa 1

PDL Semifinals – San Gabriel 3, Des Moines 1

PDL Consolation – Des Moines 4, Kalamazoo 1

1997 Playoffs

Record: 2-1     Place: --

Central Division Semifinals – Des Moines 4, Lincoln 0

Central Division Finals – Des Moines 6, Omaha 0

Central Conference Finals – Mid Michigan 3, Des Moines 0 

1996 Playoffs

Record: 0-1     Place: –

Southern Division Semifinals – Austin 1, Des Moines 0 (OT)

1995 Playoffs   

Record: 2-2      Place: 4th

Central Division Semifinals – Des Moines 3, Austin 2 (OT)

Central Division Finals – Des Moines 1, Sioux Falls 0

Premier League Semifinals – Cocoa 3, Des Moines 1

Premier League Consolation – San Francisco 4, Des Moines 1