Des Moines Menace

In Des Moines, a city of grain elevators and thunderstorms, the Des Moines Menace have carved out a space that feels larger than its population would suggest. They play at Mediacom Stadium on the Drake University campus, a venue that seats nearly 15,000 people for games that rarely need them all. Before moving there, they shared Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, but the university ground gave them a permanence they had not known since their founding. They wear red, white, and black, and the nickname Red Army speaks to a discipline that has served them well in a league defined by turnover.

Success for the club has not been a smooth climb. They snatched the first PDL National Championship in 2005, defeating the El Paso Patriots on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. That win proved they could go toe-to-toe with established outfits from more populated states. But it took another decade before they secured the same prize, this time as the USL League Two champions in 2021. The final against North Carolina Fusion U23 was played in front of a record crowd of 7,342 fans, a number that shows the local appetite for the sport when the stakes are high. They also took regular season titles in 2002, 2018, 2019, and 2021, proving consistency is possible even when the roster changes annually.

Beyond the silverware, the club has functioned as a pipeline. Over 175 former players have signed professional contracts, with more than 30 reaching Major League Soccer. That output is significant for a team that operates in a mid-major market, yet it comes with a caveat. For a side that got over the line in 2021, the memory of the penalty shootout loss still lingers. They might fancy their chances again, but the gap between a semifinal appearance and a championship is wider than the distance between Des Moines and the coast.