Duluth FC vs. Des Moines Menace
Hosted in Des Moines, Iowa
5.8.19 | USOC Round #1
Current 2019 League 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
Lineup: Ben Tal, Diaz, Neto, Ciroi, Barberio, Junior, Fortune, Jacobs, Kowachek,
Mostajo, Proctor
Substitutes: James Westfield for Dana Kowachek, Aidan Hill for Dorian Barberio, Liam
Condone for Carlyle Junior, Jake Starling for Julio Neto
Goals:
‘9 – Ignacio Goya de Anca (DMM)
’35 – Carlyle Junior (DFC)
Duluth FC faced historied USL League Two club Des Moines Menace in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night, traveling to Iowa in hopes of kicking off another cup run after playing in two rounds in 2018. With a partially rotated squad from their weekend match against Sioux Falls and several new faces joining the squad, Duluth would proceed to play a tough match against the club renowned for knocking out professional sides.
Des Moines struck first in the ninth minute, with Ignacio Goya de Anca finding a floating ball in the Duluth box, hitting it midair and curving his shot just under the crossbar. The shot took Duluth by surprise, with Ciroi only having moments to attempt to get a hand on it.
The BlueGreens wouldn’t have to wait too long for an equalizer, however, as Dorian Barberio was taken down in the Menace 18-yard box in the 35th minute, leading the referee to award Duluth a penalty. Carlyle Junior, who scored on the weekend against Sioux Falls, stepped up and slotted his first ever U.S. Open Cup goal. Junior became the fourth Duluth FC player to ever score in the Open Cup.
The remainder of the match would consistent high levels of possession by Des Moines, with the Duluth back four and goalkeeper Alberto Ciroi making several key stops and saves. Duluth would make several chances on the counter, with James Westfield and Lucas Jacobs both getting chances to go 1 on 1 with the keeper. The Menace man between the sticks came out strong in both chances.
The match would eventually be decided by penalty kicks, which saw Lucas Jacobs strike a thunderous pen to start things off. Unfortunately, the following three Duluth PK takers would find their attempts saved or off target, with the opposition keeper coming up big and saving two. Ciroi would come lethally close to stopping the first effort by Des Moines, but in the end the Menace would cleanly earn their way into the second round.
Duluth FC will now move on to the next NPSL match this weekend, which will be a home match against the Minnesota TwinStars. We would like to thank all the supporters that joined us on at Dubh Linns for our watch party.
