Comets End Wave's Home Streak
February 24, 2014 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) News Release
MILWAUKEE - The Missouri Comets ended the Milwaukee Wave's 19-game regular season home winning streak as Lucas Rodriguez led his side to a 15-9 victory on Sunday afternoon in front of 4,267 fans at U.S. Cellular Arena. The defeat dropped the Wave a half-game behind the Baltimore Blast for first in the MISL standings as the league approaches the final weekend of the regular season.
Missouri was the last side to beat the Wave on home turf in the regular season and opened the scoring late in the first quarter as John Sosa's free kick gave the Comets a 2-0 lead. Milwaukee grabbed the lead on a long-range chip by Victor Quiroz, who caught goalkeeper Danny Waltman off his line from inside his own half, but Missouri got back-to-back goals from Milan Ivanovic to take a 6-3 lead midway through the second.
Giuliano Oliviero made it a one-point game at the halftime break from the penalty spot for the Wave, but the Comets continued to hold the advantage as Rodriguez scored his first of the game more than five minutes into the third quarter to make it 8-5. Marcio Leite continued his strong run of recent form for the Wave as his goals on either side of the third quarter intermission gave the Wave a 9-8 lead 1:05 into the fourth.
Missouri wouldn't be denied its third win against the Wave this season, however, as Rodriguez scored shortly after the conclusion of a power play with 3:01 to play to edge his side back in front. Stefan Stokic and Brian Harris, from 3-point range, then added empty-net insurance goals as the Comets solidified third place in the MISL standings.
THURSDAY
ROCHESTER 18, PENNSYLVANIA 2: Doug Miller had a hat trick as the Rochester Lancers took victory against the Pennsylvania Roar at Santander Arena. Joey Tavernese also had a goal and four assists as the Lancers cruised to victory.
Tavernese opened the scoring just less than four minutes into the contest and goals by Miller and Sean Summerville stretched the Lancers' advantage by the end of the first quarter. Summerville added a second to start the second, while Stephen Basso also had a pair of goals for Rochester as it held the Roar to only 20 shots, 15 of which were saved by Marc Sotile.
FRIDAY
MILWAUKEE 20, ST. LOUIS 9: The Milwaukee Wave got a pair of goals apiece from Marcio Leite, Luan Oliviera and Nick Perera as a fast start to the third quarter played a key role in their victory in front of 6,235 at the Family Arena.
The Wave grabbed an early lead through Philip Surprise before Leite grabbed his first, but the Ambush responded quickly with a goal from Matt Kimball. Milwaukee extended its lead to four points at the halftime break, however, and then broke the game open in the opening three minutes of the third quarter as Leite, Perera and Hewerton all scored in a span of 50 seconds to make it 14-4.
St. Louis got within five as back-to-back goals by Jeff DiMaria and Pat McSheehey, from 3-point range, made it 14-9, but the Wave kept the Ambush at bay from then on as Oliveira bagged his two goals before a scoreless fourth quarter.
BALTIMORE 23, PENNSYLVANIA 6: The Baltimore Blast got a pair of goals from Tony Donatelli and scored the opening five goals of the game as they took victory against the Pennsylvania Roar in front of 6,246 at the Baltimore Arena.
After a scoreless first quarter the Blast took a 5-0 halftime lead through goals by Lucas Roque - from 3-point range - and Donatelli, and then picked up the pace in the second half as they extended their lead to 11-0 before Jordan Thomas got the Roar on the board. Six different Blast players found the back of the net, including 3-point goals by Max Ferdinand and Adriano Dos Santos.
SATURDAY
BALTIMORE 10, SYRACUSE 9: The Baltimore Blast held off a strong challenge from the Syracuse Silver Knights as a pair of goals apiece from Tony Donatelli and Lucio Gonzaga earned victory in front of 8,385 fans at the Baltimore Arena.
The Blast got out to a fast start as both Gonzaga and Donatelli scored in the opening three minutes, but from there the game became a defensive battle as the teams combined for 17 blocked shots. Nelson Santana pulled the Silver Knights within one with a 3-point goal late in the first quarter, but the Blast got goals from Max Ferdinand and Donatelli on either side of the intermission to take an 8-3 lead.
Syracuse battled back into the game, however, as goals late in the second and third periods by Nate Bourdeau and Bo Jelovac respectively made it 8-7. Baltimore responded quickly to Jelovac's finish as Gonzaga scored just 10 seconds later off the ensuing restart, but the Silver Knights again made it a one-point game as Neto scored with 6:44 to play in the fourth. Syracuse was unable to find a winner, however, as William Vanzela recorded 10 saves to help his side preserve its win.
MISSOURI 26, ST. LOUIS 21: Leo Gibson had an eight-point night as the Missouri Comets claimed victory against the St. Louis Ambush in front of 5,187 fans at the Independence Events Center. The Ambush jumped out to an early lead but the Comets were able to surge back to claim victory in a thrilling contest.
The teams exchanged a pair of goals early with new Comets addition Max Touloute scoring on his debut for Missouri, but the Ambush claimed an 8-4 lead at the end of the first quarter through goals by Jake Bleyenberg and Mike Mesle. Missouri stormed back in the second as Bryan Perez had two of its five tallies to take a 14-11 halftime lead.
The Ambush pulled within a point 22 seconds into the third quarter as Mesle scored his second, but the Comets maintained a three-point lead at the end of the third quarter before a pair of goals by Gibson, the second from 3-point range, stretched their lead to eight with just less than 10 minutes to play. St. Louis tried to rally and pulled within four on goals by Odaine Sinclair and Chris Mattingly, but the Comets were able to maintain their advantage and hold on for victory.
SUNDAY
SYRACUSE 24, PENNSYLVANIA 7: Antonio Manfut had his first career hat trick as the Syracuse Silver Knights guaranteed the first winning season in club history with victory against the Pennsylvania Roar at The Oncenter War Memorial.
Nelson Santana had a hand in the opening three goals of the game for Syracuse, providing the assists for Kenardo Forbes and Machel Millwood's goals before scoring himself to make it 6-0 midway through the second quarter. Pennsylvania pulled a goal back through Chris Williams, but Forbes scored again in the final minute of the half to restore Syracuse's six-point advantage.
Manfut then had a strong second half as he scored twice in the third quarter and once in the fourth to more than double his season point total. Millwood also had another strong game as he finished with two goals and two assists as the Silver Knights cruised to victory.
BALTIMORE 22, ROCHESTER 5: Lucas Roque had two goals and two assists as the Baltimore Blast moved into first place in the MISL standings with their third win of the weekend as they defeated the Rochester Lancers in front of 8,910 at the Blue Cross Arena.
The Blast shut out the Lancers in the first half as they built a 14-0 lead behind 3-point goals from Mike Lookingland and Lucio Gonzaga. Rochester's Mauricio Salles also struck from 3-point range to get his side on the board, but the Blast continued to put on the pressure as Adriano Dos Santos and Roque scored 16 seconds apart to make it 18-3 with just less than five minutes to play in the third to give the Blast their 16th win of the season.
STANDINGS
(Through February 23, 2014)
Team W L Pct. GB PF PA
x-Baltimore 16 3 .842 - 291 99
x-Milwaukee 15 3 .833 0.5 304 182
x-Missouri 12 6 .667 3.5 293 207
x-Syracuse 11 8 .579 5 261 207
z-Rochester 6 13 .316 10 200 263
z-St. Louis 4 14 .222 11.5 168 305
z-Pennsylvania 1 18 0.53 15 103 357
x- Clinched berth in MISL Playoffs
z- Eliminated from playoff contention
RESULTS
Thursday, February 20
Rochester 18, Pennsylvania 2
Friday, February 21
Baltimore 23, Pennsylvania 6
Milwaukee 20, St. Louis 9
Saturday, February 22
Baltimore 10, Syracuse 9
Missouri 26, St. Louis 21
Sunday, February 23
Missouri 15, Milwaukee 9
Baltimore 22, Rochester 5
Syracuse 24, Pennsylvania 7
SCHEDULE
Thursday, February 27
Missouri at St. Louis, 8:35 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 1
St. Louis at Milwaukee, 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, March 2
Missouri at Milwaukee, 3 p.m. ET
Rochester at Syracuse, 4 p.m. ET
Baltimore at Pennsylvania, 4:05 p.m. ET
END OF REGULAR SEASON
Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from February 24, 2014
- Doran to Return as Ambush Head Coach Next Season - St. Louis Ambush
- Comets End Wave's Home Streak - MISL
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