Rochester Thunder Lose First Game
Thunder lose first match to Des Moines Menace 2-1
The Rochester Thunder played the first match of their Inaugural Season at Valley Stadium on Saturday evening in front of a crowd of 3,444 who attended the Menace season opener. An outstanding attendance for a PDL game!
The Menace’s Jason Griffiths scored the game-winner in the 54th minute, putting a penalty kick in the back of the net. The Menace came on strong in the second half, outshooting the Thunder 10-4, after outshooting the visitors 6-5 in the first 45 minutes.
Des Moines took the lead in the 18th minute, when Ben Taylor scored off an assist from Tim Crone.
Rochester, playing its first-ever PDL game, quickly responded. Brian Pederson connected on a PK just three minutes later to knot the game.
In his fifth year as the Menace’s head coach, Casey Mann gave props to key substitutions who took charge in the second half. Drake teammates Michael Thaden and Hunter Kennedy each played the final 45 minutes, while Jonathan Koshko played 61 minutes off the bench, bolstering the Menace defense.
The match was the first of four U.S. Open Cup qualifying matches the teams will play to start the season.
Next up on the Rochester Thunder’s road trip is the St. Louis Lions at the Tony Galvin Soccer Complex in Cottleville, MO. Game time is 5:00 p.m. Sunday, May 10.
Summary:
DM: Taylor (Crone) 18
ROC: Pederson (penalty) 21
DM: Griffiths (penalty) 54
Cautions
ROC: Heath-Preston 86
DM: Griffiths 72
Referees: Dan Cataldi, Trent Payne, Tom McCullen, Dan Waskel
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