Raptors Back in Outdoor Action

Your Raptors made their home debut last weekend in both National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and Midwest Premier League (MWPL) action.

The MWPL Raptors notched their first win of the season, 2-0, over Missouri's AFC Columbia, while the NPSL side fell 4-1 against Des Moines United amid a flurry of late penalties. United struck first, with Jayce Berger scoring ten minutes into regulation on a free kick. The Raptors stuck back with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half, on a nice header from Jordan Webb off a pass from Zachary Reget.

After the intermission, however, the tide turned swiftly in Des Moines’ favor, aided by some indiscipline from both sides. Lincoln Borges scored in the fifteenth minute of play, off a corner kick from Guilherme Cunha, then tallied an unassisted goal on a free kick. Following a red card on Iowa’s Stefan Mijatovic, the Raptors were forced to play a man down for the final minutes of the second half. A goal from Lesego Maloma as time wound down closed off any hopes of a Cedar Rapids comeback.

There were some bright spots for the Raptors. Keaton Woods played with tremendous intensity, creating havoc around the net and barely missing two scoring chances. Webb had another goal denied on a great diving save by Des Moines keeper Rayane El Mehdi. Reget showed good vision in the middle of the field, and Jonah Dancer played strong on the wings. Sergei Wawrzyniak and Kolby Godbolt were standouts on defense, as was Mijatovic prior to his ejection.