The Des Moines Menace often make waves in our Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Beginning life back in 1994, the Iowa-based amateurs, who’ve helped produce respected pros like Tesho Akindele, Danny Cruz and Ezra ‘EZ’ Hendrickson, have seven times beaten pro sides in their 15 trips to this country’s most historic competition. In so doing, they’ve earned a reputation as one of the most consistent and feared giant-killers of the Modern Era.
Those Cupset wins, which began in 2005, were earned in the traditional way. A hungry group of young amateurs, with an eye to making a big statement, got the best of their so-called betters.
But now, furthering a gambit conceived by former Menace player-turned-GM Charlie Bales in last year’s edition, the Menace have doubled down on tapping big-name ex-pros to help in the cause of causing another sensation in the Open Cup.
Read on to learn more about the eye-popping clutch of former MLS stars – a dozen in total with league and Open Cup Champions among them – who’ve dusted off their hung-up boots to capture a little more of that Open Cup buzz. They’re led by Sacha Kljestan, 2017 Open Cup Runner-up and former USMNT standout, who returns to line up in Menace Red for a second-straight year in the Open Cup.
Ozzie Alonso, a four-time Champion and 7-time Finalist, is an Open Cup legend by any measure. Another, Bradley Wright-Phillips, scored over 100 goals in MLS, while Matt Hedges was an MLS Defender of the Year and Victor Ulloa won the inaugural Leagues Cup in 2023 playing alongside world stars Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
We’d suggest, if you don’t have a team to support for the upcoming all Amateur vs. Pro First Round (March 18-20), you consider these good gentlemen from Des Moines.
Sacha Kljestan
Age: 39
Position: Midfielder
U.S. Open Cup: 2017 Runner-Up (New York Red Bulls)
Major League Soccer: 2015 Supporters’ Shield winner (New York Red Bulls), Best XI 3x, 2016 All-Star
Belgian Pro League: Champion 3x (Anderlecht)
Belgian Super Cup Winner 4x (Anderlecht)
USMNT: 52 caps, 2008 Olympic Football Tournament
USOC Insight: “I love the Open Cup. You have all the levels and all the layers of the game in this country – and it’s the only time when you get little teams with a chance of going out and winning against the odds on the day. It means something to every player who’s ever played in it.”
Benny Feilhaber
Age: 40
Position: Midfielder
U.S. Open Cup: 2015, 2017 Champion 2x (Sporting Kansas City)
Major League Soccer: 2013 MLS Cup Champion (Sporting Kansas City), 2015 Best XI and All-Star
USMNT: 44 caps, 2007 Concacaf Gold Cup Champion
Bradley Wright Phillips
Age 39
Position: Forward
U.S. Open Cup: 2017 Runner-Up (New York Red Bulls)
Major League Soccer: Supporters’ Shield 3x (New York Red Bulls), 2021 Campeones Cup (Columbus Crew), 2014, 2016 Golden Boot, MLS 100 Goal Club Member, All Star 2x, Best XI 2x, NYRB MVP 3x, 2018 Concacaf Best XI
2011-2012 Football League One Champion (Charlton Athletic, England)
USOC Insight: “When you take money out of the game, when you’re a pro, you better make sure you’re trying to win trophies and beating the teams you’re supposed to beat. And when you’re a lower-league team in a Cup, when you get a sniff, you have to be ready to make something of it – to make it as hard as possible. You have to make the most of it.”
Dax McCarty
Age: 37
Position: Midfielder
U.S. Open Cup: 2007 Runner-Up (Dallas Burn/FC Dallas)
Major League Soccer: 2013, 2015 Supporters’ Shield 2x (New York Red Bulls), All Star 2x, 2015 Best XI
USMNT: 13 caps, 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup Champion, 2008 Olympic Football Tournament
USOC Insight: “I love the Open Cup and I’ve always loved the Open Cup. Look up gritty in the dictionary and the Open Cup should be there because it’s all about survival. There’s nothing easy about these kinds of Open Cup games.”
Ozzie Alonso
Age: 39
Position: Midfielder
U.S. Open Cup: Champion 4x (Seattle Sounders), Finalist 7x (Seattle Sounders, Minnesota United & Charleston Battery)
Major League Soccer: 2016 MLS Cup Champion, All Star 4x, 2012 Best XI
International: 17 caps for Cuban National Team
USOC Insight: “The Open Cup gave me my chance. It was my chance to improve and move forward. For me it was special. The Cup showed me anything is possible.”
Matt Hedges
Age: 34
Position: Defender
U.S. Open Cup: 2016 Champion (FC Dallas)
Major League Soccer: 2016 Supporters’ Shield, Best XI 2x, All Star 3x, 2016 MLS Best Defender
USMNT: 5 caps, 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup Champion
AJ DeLaGarza
Age: 37
Position: Defender
U.S. Open Cup: 2018 Champion (Houston Dynamo)
Major League Soccer: MLS Cup Champion 3x (LA Galaxy), Supporters’ Shield 3x (LA Galaxy, NE Revolution), LA Galaxy Defensive Player of the Year 2x
Justin Meram
Age: 36
Position: Winger
U.S. Open Cup: 2019 Champion (Atlanta United)
Major League Soccer: 2019 Campeones Cup Champion
International: 36 caps for Iraq National Team
And that’s not all, folks. The Des Moines Menace, who used Kljestan and three-time Open Cup Champion Roger Espinoza in a run to last year’s Second Round, also boast several other ex-pro signings of note.
Felipe Hernandez, the 26-year-old midfielder, lifted the Open Cup trophy alongside Feilhaber with Sporting Kansas City in 2017. Victor Ulloa, an Open Cup Champion/MLS Supporters’ Shield winner in 2016 with FC Dallas, scooped a League Cup crown in 2023 playing alongside Lionel Messi with Inter Miami. Mikey Ambrose and Donny Toia are both multi-year MLS vets with experience in the US National Team Youth System.
These 12 heavyweights will be joined in the squad by returning amateurs from last year’s Open Cup campaign. Fan favorite Leroy Enzugusi leads the charge alongside Kyle Owen and Enzo Carvalho. That even leaves a few spaces for a scattering of new amateur players, who will join the team for the first time in the early rounds of this 2025 Open Cup before helping the Menace in their USL League Two campaign this summer.
Fontela is editor-in-chief of ussoccer.com/us-open-cup. Follow him at @jonahfontela on X/Twitter.