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Professional Arena Soccer League Update

January 7, 2014 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) News Release


Freeze Takes Hold In East

1/7/14 - Quick, name the top scoring team in the PASL. Perhaps you guessed San Diego or Las Vegas or maybe Chicago? It may surprise you that the Cleveland Freeze lead the PASL with 117 goals (2nd best 10.6 goals per game). Even before their record breaking 27-6 win over the Illinois Piasa Saturday, the Freeze were averaging a robust 9.00 goals per game.

Saturday's goal explosion set PASL records for goals in a quarter (11) and half (16) and were the second most goals in a game and the second highest scoring game in league history. Alex Bernot fell one shy of the league record with his eight goal performance.

Cleveland's coach, Hector Marinaro, knows a thing or two about scoring as the sport's all-time leading scorer.

Ironically, the Freeze played Saturday without the league's then-leading scorer Allen Eller, but the Cleveland offense has coming from several sources. Besides Eller and Bernot, Stefan Ostergren, Steve Gillespie, Josh Grossman and Mike Green have all been productive and 22-year old midseason addition Cameron Johnson has made an immediate impact.

Freeze defender and assistant coach Louis Kastelic is excited, if cautious about the team's start. "With each week, we have gotten better and better," said Kastelic. "We know that we have a lot of work to do and a lot to prove, but we are all looking forward to the next few weeks. Our number one goal is to win a championship and we realize that in order to do that we must qualify for the playoffs first. Once we do that, you never know what can happen. We need to finish out the year strong, remain humble, and keep improving."

Cleveland is 8-3 with a 2.5 game lead over Detroit. The Freeze trail the undefeated Chicago Mustangs by just 1.5 games. Four of their last five games are against Detroit and Chicago. The Freeze have won five in a row, but have surely not forgotten their last loss, a stinging 13-4 rout at the hands of the Mustangs.

Kastelic played for the moribund Ohio Vortex last year, who went 1-15. Gillespie was the Vortex leading scorer with just six points, though he only played in five games.

"For me, this is quite the turn around from playing for the Vortex," said Kastelic. "I was never able to experience the sensation of winning a game with them and with the Freeze I was able to get the monkey off my back early in the year. I will always be grateful that I got the opportunity to play for the Vortex though because I learned a ton about what it takes to win at this level. We definitely have something special going on here with all the support we have received from the fans, the tremendous coaching staff we have in place, and the support of a strong ownership group."

Player of the Week

Brian Farber, San Diego Sockers

Farber, the first player signed to a PASL contract and a former league MVP, wasn't piling up goals and assists at his customary pace this year, but his presence was still felt on the field. In leading the Sockers to a 12-7 win over Toros Mexico in Tijuana, however, Farber found the net five times and added an assist. Farber's fourth PASL five-goal game included a power play goal and a shorthanded goal and he scored even strength goals in both 5v5 and 4v4 situations. The four-time defending champion Sockers have now won seven straight games heading into a clash vs. Las Vegas Saturday.

Kick Starters - Conversations you should be having about the PASL

How the West Was Lost

The fight for the third playoff spot in the Pacific Division has cooled off considerably. Las Vegas (8-1) and San Diego (7-2) are on solid ground for the top two spots, but Turlock (2-7) has lost seven in a row, Ontario (3-6) just ended a six-game losing streak, Mexico (4-5) was routed by both Ontario and San Diego this weekend, and Bay Area (5-5) lost to Sacramento (2-8).

Sacramento Surges

After a 1-21 start in their first year and a half of existence, the Sacramento Surge have begun playing their best arena soccer. The Surge earned their first road win last week at Turlock and Saturday they rallied for an 11-8 home win before a season-high crowd. After much tinkering, Head Coach Jorge Fernandez has finally hit on a competitive core.

Miserly Milo Holds Down the Fort While Sagu Mends

The Dallas Sidekicks have been in the capable hands of Dejan "Milo" Milosevic while Sagu has missed several games with a hip flexor injury. Sagu at times has been like a pitching coach on the mound, whispering instructions and encouragement to his protege from behind the goal. Milosevic held the Wichita B-52s to three goals Thursday and then perfected the B-52s in a 6-0 road shutout Saturday. Milosevic is 5-1 this year and 6-1 overall in two seasons with the Sidekicks.

The Week Ahead

Tulsa Wichita Fri, Jan 10 7:05 pm Hartman Arena

Ontario Turlock Fri, Jan 10 7:05 pm Turlock IS

Turlock Sacramento Sat, Jan 11 7:05 pm Estadio Azteca

Las Vegas San Diego Sat, Jan 11 7:05 pm VV Casino Arena

Detroit Cleveland Sat, Jan 11 7:05 pm Soccer Sprtsplx

Dallas Texas Sat, Jan 11 7:05 pm Ford Arena

Harrisburg Cincinnati Sat, Jan 11 7:35 pm Tri-County

Chicago Illinois Sat, Jan 11 7:35 pm Fld Sprts Cmplx

Ontario Bay Area Sat, Jan 11 8:00 pm Cabernet Indoor

Hidalgo Saltillo Sat, Jan 11 8:05 pm Deportivo RSS

Las Vegas Mexico Sun, Jan 12 1:05 pm Unisantos Park

Harrisburg Detroit Sun, Jan 12 3:05 pm Melvindale

Hidalgo Monterrey Sun, Jan 12 5:05 pm Arena Monterrey

All times Eastern

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Professional Arena Soccer League Stories from January 7, 2014


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