The Des Moines Menace tabbed another coach with MLS coaching experience to lead the team heading into its 24th season.
On Thursday morning, the Menace announced John Pascarella as the successor to a team coming off three straight division titles and eight straight Lamar Hunt US Open Cup appearances.
“That’s the thing I’m looking forward to, is leading my own squad,” Pascarella said. “I’ve missed that in my life. I missed being the leader of the group and having players get behind a philosophy.”
Pascarella spent the last eight years in Kansas City, serving as the goalkeeping and fitness coach in 2009 and 2010 before being promoted to assistant coach in 2011 under Peter Vermes. During his time with Kansas City, Pascarella played a part in two US Open Cup titles (2012, 2015) and winning the Eastern Conference and MLS Cup titles in 2013.
This is not Pascarella’s first stint in the PDL, having led the Northern Virginia Royals in his last stop before the MLS. Under Pascarella, the Royals finished seventh in 2007 and fifth in 2008 in the Mid Atlantic Division. He finished his two-year run with the club with a 6-17-7 record.
“I think it’s a tremendous aspect of why we ultimately chose him from a lot of great candidates,” Menace general manager Matt Homonoff said. “There are numerous things that separated John Pascarella from the other candidates — his experience being at the top of that list.”
Homonoff added, “His experience is the model that we found a lot of success with, in that he has a variety of both from the college, PDL, and most recently with an MLS first team.”
Prior to taking over the Royals, Pascarella had his thumbprint on the goalkeepers at the University of Maryland and Los Angeles Galaxy. As well, Pascarella played professionally in Russia from 1988-89 and Peru in 1989, becoming the first American player to play in Peru.
After his international playing days, he returned to the United States to play for the Richmond Kickers, Standard Falcons (Montclair, Calif.) and the L.A. Galaxy.
The Menace is looking to continue its strong run as one of the top teams in the PDL over the last three seasons. Des Moines finished the regular season as champions with 37 points (12-1-1) in 2014 and followed that with two more division titles in the next two years, adding to the team’s only other Heartland Division titles in 2002 and 2009.
The last three titles came under two coaches. Mike Jeffries, a former Dallas Burn head coach, U.S. men’s national team scout, and Chicago Fire assistant who moved to the Charlotte Independence (USL) following his PDL Coach of the Year appointment in 2014, and led the team to an 18-7-3 record in his two years in Des Moines. The Menace turned over the reins to Mike Matkovich, who compiled a 21-3-4 record before moving back to the Chicago Fire Academy side.
Before Jeffries and Matkovich, Laurie Calloway led the Menace for the second time in franchise history, lasting three years in Des Moines his second time around. Calloway served as head coach for the San Jose Clash of the MLS from 1995 to 1997. That makes Pascarella the Menace’s fourth straight coach with experience at the highest level of the U.S. soccer pyramid.
“This isn’t a one-off,” Homonoff said. “We’re one of the few, if only, PDL franchises that has the resources, the fan base, the commitment from our ownership to bring in coaches of John Pascarella’s caliber consistently.”
Homonoff said fans can expect to meet Pascarella at some intimate meet-and-greets in the months leading up to the season, starting May 10 with the US Open Cup.
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