Duluth FC vs. Des Moines Menace
Cownie Soccer Park | Des Moines, Iowa
5.8.19 | USOC Round #1
Current 2019 Records (W-T-L):
Duluth (NPSL): 1-0-0; 0-0-0 at home/on the road
Menace (USL L2): 0-0-0; 0-0-0 at home/on the road
Fresh off of a 2-0 home win in their first match of the 2019 NPSL season, Duluth FC will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face the Des Moines Menace in the U.S. Open Cup. This will be Duluth’s third ever appearance in the U.S. Open Cup.
The BlueGreens will face a Menace side that dominated their 2018 PDL season, ending with a 13-1-0 record. They also made it to the conference finals of the PDL before losing to Chicago United in a tight 1-0 match.
Des Moines have a reputation of beating clubs above their level, including MLS and USL clubs. The club’s last major upset was a 2-0 win against the Tulsa Roughnecks, who play in the USL. Des Moines did not take part in the 2018 U.S. Open Cup.
Both teams will have a match on the 11th, three days after their meeting, but only Duluth will have played a league match prior to the game. Des Moines’ match following the USOC will be against the Green Bay Voyageurs and will be an away match, while Duluth’s will be a home match against the Minnesota TwinStars.
With some time on the ball finally registered, Duluth’s squad of club veterans and new faces will look to upset the historically successful Des Moines Menace. The two cities are roughly 400 miles apart and neither club has played the other previously. The winner will go on to face Saint Louis FC, who Duluth played last year in a 2-0 home defeat, in the second round.
