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Menace soccer: Forward makes good in his debut

Marco Cherisma needed less than a minute to make a good first impression on the pitch Saturday with his flashy yellow shoes.

The Des Moines Menace forward from Drury University scored unassisted in the opening minute of a Premier Development League exhibition against Imperio.

He racked up two goals and one assist less than 20 minutes into his Menace debut.

The Menace went on to beat the 2007 Des Moines Latino International League champion Imperio 6-1 in the friendly at Valley Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 2,038.

Cherisma, a Saint Marc, Haiti, native, arrived in Des Moines on Friday night and will return to Drury in Springfield, Mo., today to finish up his finals next week.

"I love it," Cherisma said of his first Menace experience. "I can't wait to play next week. The next game will be much better. … I'm mad at myself I only got two goals."

The Menace open the PDL regular season at 2 p.m. Saturday against the St. Louis Lions at Valley Stadium. The match will be the lone afternoon home match for the Menace this season.

Most of the Menace's 2008 roster will arrive in the next couple of weeks as players finish up their college commitments and final exams, but the Menace squad that played Saturday still put on an offensive show for fans.

The Menace compiled a 4-0 lead in the 18th minute.

"I was able to see quite a few players for the first time and now have an idea of what we'll bring next week," Menace coach Casey Mann said. "Scoring those goals, Marco is definitely going to be a big spark for us."

Cherisma led all players with eight shots on goal.

Menace returners Ross Moffat, Tomas Boltnar, Joe Klosterman, Tucker Sindlinger and Tanner Krause started Saturday.

Boltnar, who led the Menace with 25 points last season, had one goal and one assist against Imperio.

Eduardo Escobedo scored for Imperio in stoppage time, assisted by Jaime Perez to end Menace goalkeeper Dan Williams' shutout.

The match marked the Menace's first at Valley Stadium, the team's fourth home field since 1994.

The team played the last three seasons at Waukee Stadium.

Imperio 0 1 — 1

Des Moines Menace 4 2 — 6

First half — D-Cherisma (unassisted) 1:00; D-Klosterman (Boltnar) 3:00; D-Sindlinger (Cherisma) 8:00; D-Cherisma (unassisted) 18:00.

Second half — D-Boltnar (unassisted) 50:00; D-Hasnabegovic (Noonan) 71:00; I-Escobedo (Jaime Perez) 90:00.