THUNDER BAY – An early season home loss against their archrival seems to be a tradition of late for the Thunder Bay Chill.
For the third straight year, the Des Moines Menace travelled north and spoiled the Chill’s regular season home opener as a trio of second half goals broke open a previously scoreless affair en route to a 3-0 victory at Fort William Stadium on Friday night.
Already starting the match without regulars Sullivan Silva, Mitchell Osmond and Sergio Campano, first half injuries – including one to homegrown product Devan Hoier – forced early substitutions and challenged the home side’s depth.
“The first half I thought we were doing very well. The team was compact. We were attacking, we were defending and felt good,” veteran midfielder Pedro Adan said. “Then all of the sudden, just like any sport, injuries started to happen. Credit to the guys who came in. We put in the work but unfortunately we couldn’t see the back of the net.”
Neither side was able to secure an advantage through the initial 45 minutes of the first contest of the campaign between last year’s two Heartland Division playoff squads, who each entered undefeated, as both teams were able to generate quality scoring chances but mostly seemed content to try to control possession.
Des Moines quickly drew first blood out of the halftime recess in the 48th minute when Brandon Fricke was able to get his head on a Nicolas Clasen corner kick, finding the back of the net.
Insurance was added 20 minutes later when dynamic Menace striker Austin Jepson, who in the first half had found the woodwork on one attempt and later sailed an open shot wide, was rewarded for those earlier efforts as a low burner eluded Chill keeper Matthew Mozynski.
Thunder Bay nearly got on the board in the 73rd minute when a Menace defender headed a ball backwards towards their undefended goal, only for it to roll just wide of the post.
Of the eight shots taken by the Chill, only two had to be handled by Des Moines keeper Keegan Meyer as he picked up the clean sheet.
“They defended well. We created the problem we wanted to create but not with enough intensity. We attacked the space we needed to attack but not with enough intensity and of course without enough quality,” Chill head coach Giovanni Petraglia said.
The Des Moines lead was increased on the last play before the final whistle, capitalizing on a Chill own goal as the ball found its way into the net off the foot of defender Kieran Ezzard.
“We didn’t have the energy and quality enough to beat them and we have to accept the loss,” Petraglia said. “3-0 is maybe too much. We could have avoided the last goal but I believe 2-0 is a fair result for the outcome of the game.”
Trying to recover from an early home loss to Des Moines has become familiar territory for the Chill, which last year rebounded from that defeat to march all the way to the league final.
There’s no reason why that can’t happen again, Adan insisted.
“It’s absolutely devastating to lose, especially a big rivalry game like this. We look forward to it all week,” Adan said.
“To go down the way we did, it’s dreadful but we do have to remind ourselves that last year it was the same outcome and we were actually in the final. All is not lost as long as we keep our heads right and continue to work hard.”
The Chill will host Chicago on Saturday night with opening kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Fort William Stadium.
