LITTLETON, Colo. – The Des Moines Menace and the Real Colorado Foxes battled to a scoreless draw tonight at Shea Stadium, one night after the Premier Development League Heartland Division’s top two teams tied 2-2.
Des Moines (4-1-2, 14 points) remains atop the divisional standings, despite playing a man down the entire second half tonight. Real Colorado (3-1-4, 13 points) keeps its spot in second place, one point ahead of St. Louis, which improved to 4-2-0 with a 2-1 win over Springfield today.
The Menace’s Sterling Copeland was ejected in the 43rd minute, when he slid in for a rough tackle. Due to some confusion on the part of the referee, Copeland was issued a red card immediately after his first infringement.
“Just a great performance – I’m really proud of them,” Menace head coach Laurie Calloway said after his team pulled together in the second half to get another point on the road.
Calloway made some key adjustments at halftime and was happy with how the team responded.
“We were able to get into the locker room and make some changes. I think for the first time they collectively followed the game plan, and they got the result,” Calloway said. “We controlled the game. We should have won it, actually. We’re just pleased with the outcome.”
The tie extends the Menace’s road unbeaten streak to 18 matches. Des Moines has not lost away from home since falling 2-0 at Colorado Rapids U23 on May 23, 2008.
The last two nights’ results also preserve unbeaten streaks for both sides. The Menace is undefeated in five straight, and the Foxes have gone 3-0-4 after opening the season with a loss.
These teams face each other on the Menace’s home turf a week from today (June 12), when the Foxes visit Valley Stadium one day after playing at Rochester – the club that has dealt the only loss to both of the Heartland Division’s standings leaders.
The teams combined for plenty of scoring chances tonight, but no one could find the net. Des Moines’ Jason Williams made three saves; Miguel Rosales had eight.
This is the first shutout for the Menace defense, whose Goals Against Average drops to an even 1.00 through seven matches. The franchise’s previous scoreless draw came nearly two years ago, against St. Louis on June 14, 2008.
COMING UP: Des Moines hosts Real Colorado on June 12. The 7:30 p.m. match is celebrated as the team’s World Cup kick-off and the annual Father’s Day Game, presented by Powerade and VitaminWater. Dads get in for $5 with a paid admission, and are encouraged to wear an ugly hat for the chance to win a grill at halftime.
The Menace travels to play the St. Louis Lions on June 13 and is back at Valley Stadium on June 15 to host pro team AC St. Louis (USSF Division II) in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – a 7:30 p.m. start.
Match: Menace at Real Colorado Foxes
Date: June 5, 2010
Competition: Premier Development League regular-season match
Venue: Shea Stadium, Littleton, Colo.
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. MDT
Weather: 80s, intermittent rain
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
MENACE 0 0 0
RC 0 0 0
Stats Summary: MENACE / RC
Shots: 11 / 12
Saves: 3 / 8
Corner Kicks: 4 / 9
Fouls: 12 / 13
Offside: 3 / 4
Misconduct Summary: RC Yellow Cards: Steven Estrada 65:00 MENACE Yellow Cards: Jubril Lawal 39:00 MENACE Red Card: Sterling Copeland 43:00
