Des Moines United FC started the game pressuring the visitors, FC Milwaukee Torrent, and with less than one minute of the game, they could have opened the score with Lesego, who read well the play and picked up a pass back from the defender to the goalkeeper, but the Milwaukee Torrent’s goalie was on point to make the first save of the game.
Des Moines United was very proactive and on fire in the first 15 minutes of the game, but Milwaukee’s goalkeeper was just as inspired to make sure Des Moines United wouldn’t score. After the tension and holding up the home team, Milwaukee Torrent started to counterattack and be more present on the offensive third of the field, getting the Des Moines United defenders on their toes.
As time went on, Milwaukee Torrent was getting their plan on the field, defending well and countering with precision, and it paid off for them as they started the counterattack on the left side and a perfect ball was played to Lucas Nesthus, who finished the play and got Milwaukee Torrent up on the scoreboard. Des Moines United pressured and created more chances, but Milwaukee Torrent’s goalkeeper, Nick Chiappa, was very inspired and kept the visitor team 1-0 up in the first half of the game.
Des Moines United came back with a different attitude but kept being denied by Milwaukee’s goalie. With the time running out, the only option for Des Moines United was to get more speed up front and push up the lines to try to even out the game. It did pay off when Guilherme Cunha intercepted a pass, put the ball between the defender’s legs, and took a shot from 25 yards out, hitting the goal post. That was the momentum the home team needed to start pushing the lines and get the equalizer.
After a short corner kick, Guilherme Cunha got a perfect cross to Erich Legut, who headed the ball past the Milwaukee Torrent’s goalkeeper. With the equalizer goal, Des Moines United kept pushing and almost got the winning goal with Sora Noda, but again, Nick Chiappa was there to deny another clear chance for the home team.
After the game, Coach Fernandes said, "We created the chances tonight, but we were not able to finish our opportunities. We could have opened the score early in the game and made it better for our team; unfortunately for us, their goalkeeper was very inspired today and made big saves to keep Milwaukee in the game. Now is the time to correct what we did not do well because we already play them again next Wednesday at their home field in front of their fans. Let’s work on finishing and cleaning up our passes so we do not have the same mistakes we had tonight."
Des Moines United FC is still leading the conference with 10 points in 5 games played, and Milwaukee Torrent is right behind with 5 points in 3 games played. The game on Wednesday, June 7th, will be crucial for both teams, and it could be very important for either team to keep their dream of finishing the conference at the top.
