Chicago Riot Drops Finale, 18-12, to Missouri
March 6, 2011 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)
Chicago Riot News Release
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (March 6, 2011) -- The Chicago Riot fell to the third-place Missouri Comets, 18-12, on Sunday to wrap up its inaugural Major Indoor Soccer League season at the Independence Events Center.
In a losing effort, Riot scoring leader Bato Radoncic tallied three goals and an assist, and goalkeeper Jeff Richey made 20 saves to surpass 900 for his career. Richey now has 904 career saves.
Chicago overcame a 10-2 halftime deficit to tie the score at 10-10 through three quarters. But the Comets pieced together another 8-0 run to seal the victory, with two of Missouri's final scores coming when the Riot had a sixth attacker on the field.
"We were down, 10-2, and the boys came back and fought tonight," Riot Head Coach Jeff Kraft said. "I hate pulling the 'keeper, and we got burned in the end. But I'm proud of the boys. And give the Comets credit, they stepped up and could be going to the playoffs. They're peaking at the right time."
The Riot wraps up its first MISL season with a 5-15 mark, while the third-place Comets improve to 8-11 as they attempt to secure the third and final playoff spot. MISL scoring leader Byron Alvarez led the way for Missouri on Sunday with four goals and an assist.
The Comets got on the board first when Alvarez netted a goal at the 9:10 mark of the first quarter for a 2-0 lead. Leo Gibson had the deep send to midfield, and the Riot's Eric Lukin attempted to cut in front of Gibson's pass. But Alvarez had some space and shot the ball over Richey.
The Riot responded on a restart opportunity as Miodrag "Miki" Djerisilo tallied the equalizer at the 13:19 mark of the first quarter to tie the score at 2-2. Lukin drew a foul on the right side, and Novica "Novi" Marojevic spotted Djerisilo inside the three-point arc.
At the 2:55 mark of the second quarter, Alvarez struck again as he redirected Brian Harris's cross from the right side to gain the 4-2 lead. Then at 8:50, Alvarez notched a first-half hat trick to give Missouri a 6-2 lead as the Riot defense could not clear the ball on a couple of occasions close to the box.
The Comets extended their lead to 8-2 with a Mirsad Dzilic goal at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter. Harris had the long outlet pass and Dzilic had a step on the Riot's Brandon Corday, took a shot near left post and slotted the ball into the back of the net past Richey. Then Jamar Beasley pushed the Comets' run to 8-0 with a goal at the 14:20 mark to take a 10-2 lead into halftime.
The Riot was energized to start the second half, and Alex Megson tallied a goal for Chicago at the 42-second mark of the third quarter to cut Missouri's lead to 10-4. Chicago defender Will Kletzien and Richey worked on the defensive end to get the ball out of harm's way and the Riot pushed forward, with Radoncic assisting Megson's close-range tally.
Riot captain Fred Degand then was credited with a goal at the 2:28 mark of the third as his cross deflected off of a Comets defender and into the net to cut Missouri's lead to 10-6.
Radoncic pushed the Riot's run to 6-0 with an unassisted goal at the 6:47 mark of the third quarter to cut Missouri's lead to 10-8. Radoncic was double-teamed near the right corner, but he was able to turn away from the two Comets defenders and slot the ball past Missouri goalkeeper Danny Waltman. That forced Comets head coach Kim Roentved to use a timeout to try to halt Chicago's momentum.
Radoncic didn't have to work as hard for his second straight goal at the 11:24 mark. Lukin provided a solid cross from the left side and Radoncic finished with the chip-in goal to tie the score at 10-10, extending Chicago's run to 8-0 after Missouri had dished out an 8-0 run in the second quarter.
But the Comets finally ended Chicago's run early in the fourth quarter as Lucas Rodriguez earned a breakaway goal at the 30-second mark to help Missouri regain the lead at 12-10. Alvarez then garnered his fourth goal of the game as he maneuvered around Kletzien and Richey to take a 14-10 lead at the 7:08 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Riot came out with the sixth attacker (Novi) for the final three and a half minutes, but the Comets continued to add to their lead with Beasley's second goal of the game at the 12:10 mark of the fourth to take a 16-10 cushion. Stokic then sealed Chicago's fate with a goal at the 14:23 mark to take an 18-10 lead.
Chicago kept its sixth attacker out there and Radoncic scored his third of the game off of a Kletzien assist at the 14:40 mark to make it 18-12.
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Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from March 6, 2011
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- Comets Defeat Riot 18-12, Now up 1 Game in Playoff Hunt - Kansas City Comets
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