On May 8th 2021, International Wichita played their second match against Des Moines UTD in Iowa. Being a 5hr drive from Wichita to Des Moines, the team started the trip on Friday morning in hopes of getting to Des Moines a day early and having ample time to fight of fatigue and prepare for the game. Coming off a last minute defeat the previous week against Sunflower State FC, the team was looking forward to get the first win of their inaugural season. The team arrived early evening in high spirits, and the players bonded over some dinner headed out to the hotel to get some rest.
The next day (Game Day) started off early with some stretches and warm up runs to get the body moving. Soon after, breakfast followed after which the players got some personal time before heading out to the mall for some lunch, shopping and sight seeing. Des Moines UTD was also generous enough to invite our Head Coach (Martin Penafiel) together with a few players to their radio/TV station for a little bit of media coverage. All this took place before the team started preparation for the late kickoff game at 7pm.
The weather by this time was not what either team had hopped for. The forecast was for a cold and rainy evening with high winds, and that’s what it was. Because of this, the spectators were but a few in the rather large stadium field. The players were put to their paces and the game kicked off 30mins late in the hopes that the rains would let up a little bit.
Despite the rough conditions, the players gave it their all! Being the second game together as a group, it seemed like the boys had started getting familiar with each other as the passing and movement were a notch higher than the previous game. Not before long after kick off, Inter Wichita was awarded a well deserved penalty. The nerves were high, the rain was pouring hard, while the wind was blowing vigorously. Largely due to these factors, Juan hit the ball and unfortunately enough it raised higher than it was supposed to and the wind carried it away from goal. The first half ended 0-0 and the players retreated to the locker rooms for some warmth and a word or two from Coach Martin.
The second half wasn’t any different from the first, both teams were evenly matched while the weather conditions got even worse. By this time only the die hard fans were left on the stadium with the vendors and food trucks all but gone. Its was in these moments that Des Moines attacked our half from the right wing and in an effort to put a cross into the danger area, the ball got deflected by our very own defender and managed to find the back of the net. For the rest of the game, Inter Wichita attempted to find a response but fell short. Despite having a great game, the team lost 1-0 to a very spirited and experienced Des Moines UTD side. Spirits were still high on the way back to Wichita the following day.
