Turn-based Soccer? A Football: Tactics and Glory Dynasty

[larrymcg421]

Offseason activities...

*I go with SlideX as the new sponsor. They'll pay $5,040 for each match and $19,500 for each home victory.

*I get CD Tellez as my Youth Pull. I needed a CD, but still disappointing that he's only lvl 21 when I have a lvl 20-30 range.

*I sell Grubbs for $528,000. He's 31 yrs old and will cost too much to renew. I bought him for $21,600 and renewed him for $28,229.

*I extend Pennington for 1 yr, $96,772. He's 32 yrs old, so this will give me the chance to decide if he stays with us to 36 or gets sold.

*I renew Arroyo for 3 yrs, $128,295.

*I renew backup MF Lynn for 3 yrs, $1,155.

*I buy Amateur Midfielder Stump for $24,613 and 3 glory. Good, young backup who can move into starting spot when Qualls has to leave.

*Tellez isn't ready yet, so I buy CD Betts, who has 68 defense and a lvl 2 Layoff skill.

*I waste $130,000 on the global list, which leaves me with just a couple backup Midfielders.

*I'm left with $79,984.

[larrymcg421]

Your 2026-27 Des Moines Menace...

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (0-0-0) at Tampa Bay Rowdies (0-0-0)

We have two excellent chances to score in this game. One of them was when Pennington found good position, but was denied by the keeper. The other was when Cannon was in position for a Rainbow Feint, but couldn't successfully execute it. The good news is we hold Tampa Bay to only 1 shot in the entire match.

Final: Des Moines 0, Tampa Bay 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Arroyo, Shepard, Still

Stump - lvl 25

[larrymcg421]

Phoenix Rising FC (0-0-1, 13th) at Des Moines Menace (0-1-0, 8th)

The first half is a comical series of blowing great opportunities. Pennington misses two one on one opportunities and is denied on a penalty kick. However, we finally break through in the 2nd half when Pennington finds a good angle and nails a good shot. Phoenix gets one shot on goal, which is easily swatted away.

Final: Des Moines 1, Phoenix 0
Goal: Pennington
Top Three: Pennington, Shepard, Still

Reese - lvl 47
Carrier - lvl 32

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (1-1-0, 7th) at FC Montreal (1-0-1, 8th)

After a first half where we don't get any shots on goal, Pennington comes out strong in the 2nd half, nailing two difficult shots. Montreal doesn't have a prayer against our defense. We had a good chance to make it 3-0, but Shepard's pass was intercepted.

Final: Des Moines 2, Montreal 0
Goals: Pennington 2
Top Three: Pennington, Betts, Arroyo

Pressley - lvl 38
Betts - lvl 32
Cannon - lvl 26

[larrymcg421]

Charlotte Independence (3-0-0, 1st) at Des Moines Menace (2-1-0, 2nd)

We lose every possible roll in this one (including Pennington missing on a lvl 2 Cannon shot and Pressley rolling a 4). They score on on early shot that should've easily been stopped, then add to the lead late in the 2nd half on a header. We miss our best chances and can't come back.

Final: Charlotte 2, Des Moines 0
Goals:
Top Three: Shepard, Arroyo, Still

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (2-1-1, 5th) at Saint Louis FC (2-0-2, 10th)

Late in the 1st half, our long range passing teamwork gets the ball to Pennington right in front of the keeper. He uses Cannon Shot to score the goal. We're unable to add anything else to the lead, but St. Louis doesn't have a strong enough attack to threaten us and we coast to victory.

Final: Des Moines 1, Saint Louis 0
Goals: Pennington
Top Three: Betts, Shepard, Pennington

Betts - lvl 33
Carrier - lvl 33
Shepard - lvl 29

[larrymcg421]

Ottawa Fury (2-0-3, 8th) at Des Moines Menace (3-1-1, 4th)

Shepard takes a day off to rest up and this impacts our offense. We struggle to get anyone in scoring position and the first half is a scoreless tie. However, I find an opportunity to make use of Cannon's Rainbow Feint ability (they don't have CD's next to each other) and get a one on one opportunity in front of the keeper. Somehow he beats the keeper with a power shot. Our defense easily holds them for the victory.

Final: Des Moines 1, Ottawa 0
Goals: Cannon
Top Three: Cannon, Arroyo, Qualls

Guy - lvl 53
Reese - lvl 48

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (4-1-1, 4th) at Richmond Kickers (2-0-4, 12th)

Multiple attacks by Richmond leave a gap in my defense and they take advantage with a long range Cannon shot that beats Pressley. Pennington comes right back and nails a difficult shot from the side of the field. In these hot days, players tire very quickly and it was hard to get an attack going with so many people hunched over. Still, we had a chance to win when Cannon got the ball in front of the Keeper, but his Rainbow Feint was denied.

Final: Des Moines 1, Richmond 1
Goals: Pennington
Top Three: Betts, Shepard, Pennington

Still - lvl 53
Betts - lvl 34

[larrymcg421]

Miami FC (3-0-4, 8th) at Des Moines Menace (4-2-1, 4th)

Miami has a really poor defensive structure, which allows for Pennington to get in really close and convert an easy shot 4 minutes into the game. We ave to survive a barrage late in the first half, when Miami manages two one on one opportunities, but Pressley denies them both times. Betts' lvl 2 Layoff Pass ability makes him an amazing counterattack weapon, and we use this late in the match to get Pennington in close for another easy goal.

Final: Des Moines 2, Miami 0
Goals: Pennington 2
Top Three: Pennington, Stump, Carrier

Carrier - lvl 34

[larrymcg421]

I wasn't aware that names could be changed. Because of this, if anyone wants to be included in this dynasty, let me know and I can make you the next Youth Pull.

Just give me the name you want and any restrictions (Position, Level, Skills, etc.)

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (5-2-1, 3rd) at San Francisco Deltas (6-0-2, 2nd)

Twice in the first half, we're able to get the ball to Pennington behind the defense in a one on one situation, and he misses both times. He can't even win a corner. However, he then opens the 2nd half of a scoreless tie by nailing a shot that was more difficult. We manage to hold this lead, but it gets very dicey at the end when our defenseive line gets out of place due to repeated San Fran attacks. They manage to find a gap and get a chance to tie the game in the 88th minute, but Pressley comes up with a huge save.

Final: Des Moines 1, San Francisco 0
Goal: Pennington
Top Three: Shepard, Pennington, Pressley

Arroyo - lvl 37
Cannon - lvl 27
Qualls - lvl 22

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (6-2-1, 2nd) at K-W United FC (2-3-4, 12th)

K-W United was with us in the Amateur League way back in our first season. They've always seemed to have our number. In this match, we are clearly the superior team and manage to get three really good shots on goal, but none of them go in. Their keeper makes a terrific save on the last turn of the game to preserve the draw.

Final: Des Moines 0, K-W United 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Arroyo, Pennington, Betts

Betts - lvl 35

[larrymcg421]

New York Cosmos (7-2-1, 1st) at Des Moines Menace (6-3-1, 3rd)

Our biggest match of the season. NY goes up early after they get position on a corner and beat Pressley with a Cannon Shot. Pennington gets the ball in one on one situations no fewer than 4 times in this match, and still can only convert 1 of them. He has a chance to win it on the last turn of the game, but the keeper denies him.

Final: Des Moines 1, New York 1
Goal: Pennington
Top Three: Shepard, Reese, Pennington

Reese - lvl 54 (Gained 1 lvl + 5 more as a group bonus). Now has 109 defense.

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (7-3-1, 4th) at Orange County Blues

This is a team that seems to have my number. They absolutely thrashed me last season during my slump. They did it with heading, so I adjust my defense to defend against that. The problem is it allows them to get a guy in the middle of the box and receive a long pass. He proceeds to beat Pressley with a Rainbow Feint. Without Shepard, we struggle to get good shots for either of our Forwards and they badly miss all 5 that they take.

Final: Orange County 1, Des Moines 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Pressley, Stump, Betts

Carrier - lvl 35
Stump - lvl 26

[larrymcg421]

Prestige Cup: Round of 32 - Leg 1

Reno 1868 FC at Des Moines Menace

We finally get a good draw for the Prestige Cup - a Third League team with a terrible keeper. I sub out Pennington and take it easy with Shepard (not using his Long Pass skill), and so the only goal we can get is 4 minutes in when Cannon easily beats their keeper from range. It would've been better to get some more goals for the aggregate, but I'm not worried about Reno's ability to score on us when we're fully rested for the 2nd leg.

Final: Des Moines 1, Reno 0
Goal: Cannon
Top Three: Reese, Betts, Cannon

Guy - lvl 54
Still - lvl 54
Lynn - lvl 14

[larrymcg421]

Colorado Springs (5-4-3, 5th) at Des Moines Menace (6-4-2, 4th)

We close the season with a solid win as Pennington is able to strip a defender of the ball use his Cannon Shot ability to give us the lead at the 40 minute mark. Colorado's two shots have no chance of going in thanks to our stacked DF defense (one time they rolled against a 191!). Cannon almost gets a goal himself, but his Rainbow Feint is denied.

Final: Des Moines 1, Reno 0
Goal: Pennington
Top Three: Pennington, Reese, Shepard

Shepard - lvl 30

[larrymcg421]

Prestige Cup: Round of 32 - Leg 2

Des Moines Menace at Reno 1868 FC

We take advantage of their terrible keeper again as Cannon notches two goals that the Keeper had no chance of stopping. Arroyo intercepted almost any pass that they tried to get by him, resulting in only 1 shot on goal for Reno. We finally advance to the round of 16 for only the 2nd time.

Final: Des Moines 2, Reno 0
Goal: Cannon 2
Top Three: Cannon, Arroyo, Shepard

[larrymcg421]

Prestige Cup: Round of 16 - Leg 1

Charlotte Independence at Des Moines Menace

This match probably couldn't have gone worse for us. We get two really good chances to score, first when Pennington has a one on one with the keeper and is denied on two rolls. Then when they make a dirty tackle, Pennington is hurt and has to leave the game. We get a penalty, but Cannon misses it. Then at the 70 minute mark, they initiate a counterattack and take the lead on a Rainbow Feint. Then Shepard desperately tries to win the ball back at midfield and picks up a Red Card. He'll miss the next three matches.

Final: Charlotte 1, Des Moines 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Arroyo, Reese, Carrier

Reese - lvl 55

[larrymcg421]

Prestige Cup: Round of 16 - Leg 2

Des Moines Menace at Charlotte Independence

Both teams only manage 1 shot in the 1st half, due to a fierce back and forth battle in the midfield. Without Shepard, our offense has trouble getting Pennington or Cannon in good range and they're forced to take low percentage shots. We can't convert them and exit the tournament based on aggregate goals.

Final: Charlotte 0 (1), Des Moines 0 (0)
Goal: None
Top Three: Arroyo, Still, Stump

[larrymcg421]

Winter Break


*Another crappy youth pull. Edmondson is a 19 yr old Forward who has 27 Accuracy (not even good enough for Amateur League) and is only lvl 22.

*I spend 133 Glory to upgrade the transfer list to 11 names.

*Still is 36 and I can't renew him. He will finish this season out and retire with the Des Moines Menace.

*It is time to say goodbye to Pennington. He's 32 yrs old and I need to get some value for him before he goes. I sell him for $583,000. He's had his ups and downs, but his 59 goals is a Des Moines record (I still have to update the 2nd post).

*I use this money to buy Hoffman, a Central Forward who only has 51 Accuracy, but has 84(!) Control. He's 29 yrs old, so I basically traded Pennington for someone 3 yrs younger who is a much worse shot, but will be able to dribble right through the defense.

*I extend Betts for 3 yrs, $150,969. A no brainer considering how useful he has been in counter attacks.

*I extend backup MF Stump for 3 yrs, $18,557. He will learn Long Pass in 7 months, which will make him and Shepard a deadly combo.

*I extend my most recent crappy youth pull Tellez for 3 yrs, $4,771. He's still young and will level up quickly if I need a quick CD replacement.

*I buy Midfielder Dewitt to be a backup. He has the Layoff Pass skill, which will be useful when he has to play.

*I sell Qualls for $96,500. He was useful for us as a backup MF and scored a few goals for us last season with Rainbow Feint, but his value far outweighs his usefulness to the current squad.

*This leaves me with a healthy $281,379. I have everyone but DF Still locked up for 19 months or more. I will need to replace him, but can always use Stout and just retrain him to be a DF.

[larrymcg421]

[larrymcg421]

Current roster...

[larrymcg421]

Tampa Bay Rowdies (7-1-5, 5th) at Des Moines Menace (7-4-2, 4th)

Not a great start to the post-Pennington era. We only get 1 shot on goal and it's when Hoffman tried to dribble past the keeper, which narrowly failed. Tampa Bay had 69% possession, mainly because they won a series of corners in a row, all of which we were able to defend, but it prevented us from having any time to launch an attack of our own.

Final: Des Moines 0, Tampa Bay 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Guy, Betts, Arroyo

Lynn - lvl 15

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (7-5-2, 4th) at Pheonix Rising FC (0-1-13, 14th)

Shades of the 2nd half of last season. That red card for Shepard a few matches ago really hurt. Without him, we just have no ability to create offensive opportunities. Pennington or no Pennington, there's not much we can do when we only get 1 shot on goal against the worst team in the league.

Final: Des Moines 0, Phoenix 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Pressley, Arroyo, Dewitt

Betts - lvl 38
Carrier - lvl 37

[larrymcg421]

FC Montreal (2-4-9, 12th) at Des Moines Menace (7-6-2, 4th)

After a scoreless first half, Hoffman finally notches his first Des Moines goal by dribbling right by the keeper. Just a few minutes later, Shepard gets the ball to Cannon right by the keeper and he uses Rainbow Feint to double the lead. They take 4 shots against us, but none have a prayer of going in.

Final: Des Moines 2, Montreal 0
Goal: Hoffman, Cannon
Top Three: Arroyo, Hoffman, Cannon

Still - lvl 55
Guy - lvl 55
Arroyo - lvl 38

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (8-6-2, 4th) at Charlotte Independence (10-1-5, 3rd)

They have a lvl 3 Rainbow Feint guy, my least favorite type of player to face. So we go up in the 26th minute on a Hoffman dribble, but they storm right back in the 2nd half with two long passes that lead to Rainbow Feints. Hoffman misses his chance to equalize.

Final: Charlotte 2, Des Moines 1
Goal: Hoffman
Top Three: Shepard, Hoffman, Guy

Dewitt - lvl 14

[larrymcg421]

St. Louis FC (4-2-11, 11th) at Des Moines Menace (8-6-3, 5th)

Our old friend Pennington is now with Saint Louis. Late in the 1st half, he gets a shot on goal, but his old teammates easily swat it away. In the 2nd half, we're able to take advantage of a tired defense and a terrible keeper to gift Cannon with two easy shots. The bad news is on a brutal tackle attempt, our longtime DF Still is injured and will be out for 2 months. That's almost the rest of his career. We will have to throw in our Sweeper Stout.

Final: Des Moines 2, Saint Louis 0
Goal: Cannon 2
Top Three: Cannon, Shepard, Betts

Hoffman - lvl 50
Betts - lvl 39
Carrier - lvl 38
Shepard - lvl 31

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (9-6-3, 4th) at Ottawa Fury (7-2-9, 10th)

Hoffman gets denied twice on attempts to dribble by the keeper and a winded Shepard is unable to provide much long range support for our strikers in the 2nd half. We're able to easily shut down their attacks, but this is the type of game we need to win if we want to promote.

Final: Des Moines 0, Ottawa 0
Goal:
Top Three: Arroyo, Shepard, Stout

Cannon - lvl 29
Stout - lvl 26

[larrymcg421]

Richmond Kickers (10-4-5, 4th) at Des Moines Menace (9-7-3, 3rd)

In our biggest match of the season, we get zero shots on goal. Zero. Shepard's passes get intercepted three times. Arroyo has a heroic game, with multiple interceptions of his own. At least we held ground with the team chasing us for the final promotion spot.

Final: Des Moines 0, Ottawa 0
Goal:
Top Three: Arroyo, Guy, Shepard

Reese - lvl 56

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (9-8-3, 3rd) at Miami FC (10-3-7, 7th)

The race for promotion is ridiculously close. We're in 3rd with 35 points and Miami is 4 spots back with 33 points. Thankfully, Shepard finally gets a Long Pass through the defense and Cannon scores on a Rainbow Feint. Miami piles on the pressure and gets 7 shots on goal, but Pressley and the defense easily secure each of them.

Final: Des Moines 1, Miami 0
Goal: Cannon
Top Three: Pressley, Carrier, Cannon

Carrier - lvl 39
Stout - lvl 27
Dewitt - lvl 15


Promotion race with 5 to go...

Charlotte - 40
Des Moines - 38
-----------------
Tampa Bay - 37
Colorado - 36
Richmond - 36
San Francisco - 34
Miami - 33
Orange County - 33

[larrymcg421]

San Francisco Deltas (11-1-9, 7th) at Des Moines Menace (10-8-3, 3rd)

Another big game for our promotion chances. And Hoffman is up to the task. He makes the keeper look foolish twice in the first 56 minutes, building a 2-0 lead by dribbling right by him. We get a little sloppy with our lead and give one back when we leave a gap in our defense. But that would be their only shot on goal and we go on to win another big one.

Final: Des Moines 2, San Francisco 1
Goal: Hoffman 2
Top Three: Hoffman, Stump, Betts

Guy - lvl 56
Betts - lvl 40

Despite this, we still don't gain much cushion. With 4 matches remaining...

Des Moines - 41
Charlotte - 41
-----------------
Tampa Bay - 38
Colorado - 39
Richmond - 39
Miami - 36

[larrymcg421]

K-W United FC (4-5-13, 10th) at Des Moines Menace (11-8-3, 2nd)

In typical Des Moines fashion, after a string of wins against great teams, we put up a stinker against a bad team. We only manage 1 shot on goal, which their keeper easily grabbed. Then late in the match, they hit a ridiculous long range loft pass that puts them in position for a Rainbow Feint for the victory.

Final: K-W United 1, Des Moines 0
Goal:
Top Three: Carrier, Shepard, Arroyo

Stout - lvl 28

Promotion race with 3 matches...


Charlotte - 44
Tampa Bay - 41
-----------------
Des Moines - 41
Colorado - 40
Richmond - 40
Miami - 36

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (11-8-4, 4th) at NY Cosmos (15-5-3, 1st)

And my schizo squad manages to put together a beauty on the road against the best team in the league after blowing one at home against a bunch of bums. Go figure. Cannon succeeds twice on Rainbow Feints and the Cosmos have no hope getting past Arroyo or my defensive line.

Final: Des Moines 2, NY Cosmos 0
Goal: Cannon 2
Top Three: Cannon, Guy, Arroyo

Dewitt - lvl 16

We move back into promotion land with 2 matches to go...

Tampa Bay - 44
Des Moines - 44
-----------------
Charlotte - 44
Colorado - 43
Richmond - 40
Miami - 39

[larrymcg421]

Orange County Blues (9-8-7, 9th) at Des Moines Menace (12-8-4, 3rd)

Cannon gets us off to a great start with a Rainbow Feint 32 minutes in. Not long after that, I substitute liberally because I have winded guys who I will need for the final match of the season. This works out fine until the 72nd minute, when I fail to notice a hole in my offside trap and they manage to get a man behind the defense. The Rainbow Feint equalizes. We're unable to find the winner in the remaining time.

Final: Des Moines 1, Orange County 1
Goal: Cannon
Top Three: Cannon, Carrier, Shepard

Carrier - lvl 40
Cannon - lvl 30

Promotion race with 1 match to go...

Tampa Bay - 45 (+12 GD, 30 GF)
Des Moines - 45 (+12 GD, 22 GF)
-----------------
Charlotte - 44 (+7 GD, 29 GF)
Colorado - 43 (+16 GD 34 GF)

A win guarantees promotion., We can still get in with a draw, depending on what Tampa Bay and Charlotte do.

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (12-9-4, 3rd) at Colorado Springs (12-7-6, 5th)

Screaming. Screaming. That's what I'm doing. Late in a match that was a scoreless tie, Hoffman has two one on one chances to beat the keeper and send us to the First League. He fails both times. We manage a draw, which eliminates Colorado, but now we have to wait and see what Tampa Bay and Charlotte do.

Final: Des Moines 0, Orange County 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Shepard, Betts, Arroyo

Betts - lvl 41
Pressley - lvl 40
Stout - lvl 29

Charlotte beat Saint Louis 1-0 to clinch 2nd place, but Miami beat Tampa Bay to gice us 3rd place. We're going to the First League!!

[larrymcg421]

Final Standings...



*Shepard finished 1st in the league with 9 assists.

*Arroyo finished 3rd with 48 tackles.

*Pressley finished 5th with 16 saves.

Goals Scored...

Cannon - 11
Pennington - 10 (then got 7 more with St. Louis)
Hoffman - 4

[larrymcg421]

Offseason activities...

*My new youth pull is a lvl 27, which is the highest yet. The problem is the distribution of attributes. Willoughby us a right winger, but has a wasted 38 in Accuracy and Rainbow Feint skill, neither of which make much sense for that position.

*Now that I've fully maxed out my defensive coaching, I buy the first upgrade for the Midfield.

*I renew Betts for 3 yrs, $150,969

*I renew MF Stump for 3 yrs, $18,557. In 2 months, he will learn Long Pass, which will help immensely for matches where Shepard has to sit.

*I renew 20 yr old backup CD Tellez for 3 yrs, $4,731,

*I renew backup MF Dewitt for 3 yrs, $1,436.

*I renew Hoffman for 1 yr, $114, 292. He's 30 yrs old, so will probably be sold at the end of that.

*Still will be gone in 2 months. I haven't found another DF to replace him, so I decide to retrain Stout as a wingback, where his 34 control and slide tackle will be useful.

*I don't find anyone on the global lists. We have pretty decent depth for a change.

*I'm left with $333,758. My goal this season is to stay up and make money.

[larrymcg421]

2028-29 Des Moines Menace

[larrymcg421]

San Jose Earthquakes (0-0-0) at Des Moines Menace (0-0-0)

This match ended in a typical 0-0 tie for us, but this is a promising result for us. San Jose was just recently relegated from the Premier League and we were able to hang with them. Pressley had to make a couple difficult saves, but so did San Jose's keeper, who denied a Hoffman dribble on the final turn of the game.

Final: Des Moines 0, San Jose 0
Goal: None
Top Three: Arroyo, Pressley, Shepard

[larrymcg421]

Sporting Kansas City (0-0-1, 15th) at Des Moines Menace (0-1-0, 9th)

Our whole team is not at First League level, but our defense certainly is. Kansas City's 3 shots have no prayer of going in and we look headed to another scoreless tie.However, we find a way to counter attack and get the ball to Cannon behind the defense. His Rainbow Feint is successful and we have our first victory of the season!

Final: Des Moines 1, Kansas City 0
Goal: Cannon
Top Three: Arroyo, Guy, Cannon

Reese - lvl 57
Guy - lvl 57
Carrier - lvl 41
Arroyo - lvl 39
Shepard - lvl 32

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (1-1-0, 5th) at Charlotte Independence (1-0-1, 7th

And so we get sloppy in this one. I make an ill-advised attempt to have Shepard do an Aggressive Tackle and he'll now be out 3 matches due to a Red Card. With a man down, their wing forward take the opportunity to penetrate our defense and beat Pressley one on one.

Final: Charlotte 1, Des Moines 0
Goal:
Top Three: Betts, Stump, Cannon

Betts - lvl 42

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (1-1-1, 10th) at Rio Grande Valley (3-0-0, 1st)

Well, this one sucked in a big way. Not only do we get thrashed on two power shots that get by really poor efforts from Pressley, but Hoffman was injured late and will miss 5 months of action.

Final: Rio Grande 2, Des Moines 0
Goal:
Top Three: Stump, Reese, Still

[larrymcg421]

Philadelphia Union (3-0-1, 2nd) at Des Moines Menace (1-1-2, 12th)

Another ugly match. Without Hoffman or Shepard, we are completely lost offensively. Also, our defense is giving up goals they haven't given up before. Philadelphia just nails a simple shot from in front of the defensive line which we let in like an Amateur League team. Then they get behind the defense and earn a penalty, which they convert. Our attempts to score are laughable.

Final: Philadelphia 2, Des Moines 0
Goal:
Top Three: Dewitt, Still, Betts

Still - lvl 56

[larrymcg421]

Atlanta United (1-2-2, 12th) at Des Moines Menace (1-1-3, 14th)

The last three matches underscore Shepard's importance to the team. Without his skill, we can't get the ball in position for our strikers to get good shots. In this one, Cannon gets a decent shot off, but the keeper blocks it. On the ensuing corner, our pass is intercepted. Atlanta only gets 1 shot of their own, which we easily deal with.

Final: Atlanta 0, Des Moines 0
Goal:
Top Three: Carrier, Betts, Stump

Carrier - lvl 42

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (1-2-3, 14th) at NY Cosmos (3-0-3, 7th)

The Cosmos have a really good wing Forward named Qi (119 Accuracy) who gives us fits. In the 1st half, he hits a power shot that goes by another poor effort from Pressley. Then after we manage to equalize when the Shepard to Cannon combo strikes again, Qi gets behind our defense and earns a penalty. This time, Pressley is able to come up with the save to preserve the draw.

Final: Des Moines 1, NY 1
Goal: Cannon
Top Three: Shepard, Cannon, Betts

Betts - lvl 43
Shepard - lvl 37 (hit his group bonus and now has 33 control)
Cannon - lvl 31

*This was Still's last match for us. He played 10 seasons and was a solid defender on the wings.

[larrymcg421]

National Cup: Qualification Round - Leg 1

Des Moines Menace at NY Cosmos

We score early on a Rainbow Feint from Cannon. Things look great until late in the game when that same wing Forward Qi strips our defender of the ball and notches an equalizer on the last turn of the match. It's great to get an away goal, but this was a blown opportunity.

Final: Des Moines 1, NY 1
Goal: Cannon
Top Three: Reese, Betts, Cannon

[larrymcg421]

Des Moines Menace (1-3-3, 14th) at Real Salt Lake (4-2-1, 3rd)

This is a ridiculously talented team we should have no chance against. Impressively, we're able to hold them to a scoreless draw in the 1st half and keep the pressureonin the 2nd half. We don't have much hope of scoring, because their Keeper has a skill that prevents Rainbow Feint and that's our only way to score with Hoffman out. Still, it's a huge achievement to hold a squad this good to a draw.

Final: Des Moines 0, Salt Lake 0
Goal:
Top Three: Betts, Arroyo, Shepard

[Brian Swartz]

This is excellent! Looks like you are making steady progress over the years. If it wasn't stupid-busy with other things I'd play this … hopefully I'll be able to get to it eventually.

[larrymcg421]

Charleston Battery (2-3-3, 13th) at Des Moines Menace (1-4-3, 14th)

Another team with the ability to prevent Rainbow Feint. I run with three strikers so I can use the heading ability of Whittington and Edmondson. Stump hits two really good crosses, but the keeper manages to grab both headers. Charleston only gets 1 shot on goal.

Final: Des Moines 0, Charleston 0
Goal:
Top Three: Reese, Shepard, Stout

Guy - lvl 58
Stout - lvl 31
Whittington - lvl 23