Chicago Riot Drops Road Match To 1st-Place Milwaukee, 16-8
January 22, 2011 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)
Chicago Riot News Release
MILWAUKEE, WI - The Chicago Riot hung around but could not mount a fourth-quarter charge as the Milwaukee Wave defeated Chicago, 16-8, on Saturday in Major Indoor Soccer League action at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
The first-place Wave (8-3) improved to 3-0 against the Riot this season. Chicago fell to 2-7 on the season and 1-5 on the road.
Riot goalkeeper Ante Cop, making his second straight start, posted 20 saves. His counterpart, Milwaukee's Marcel Feenstra, made 9 saves in his first start of the season, manning the net in place of usual starting goalkeeper Nick Vorberg.
Bato Radoncic and Semir Mesanovic each had a goal and an assist to lead the Riot.
"It was disappointing all the way around," Riot Head Coach Jeff Kraft said. "Our veterans should have been playing better, our rookies made some rookie mistakes. Usually we play Milwaukee tough, but tonight we didn't."
Next up for the Riot are back-to-back matches against the Baltimore Blast. Chicago travels to Baltimore for a 6:35 p.m. CT match on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 1st Mariner Arena. Then the Riot hosts the Blast at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Odeum Sports and Expo Center in Villa Park, Ill.
The Jan. 30 event also is "Chicago Soccer Heritage Night," which will feature a first kick by recently retired Chicago Fire defender C.J. Brown and the chance to see a long line of Chicago-area soccer greats -- from the Chicago Sting's Willy Roy and Pato Margetic, to Arlington Heights native and former Fire and U.S. star Brian McBride. Fans who wear a jersey of any former or current Chicago professional soccer team to the game receives a free Riot pin and the chance to have their photo taken on the field at halftime with these soccer legends. Tickets start at only $10. Visit www.ChicagoRiotSoccer.com or call 630-708-6284.
On Saturday, the Wave's Tom Oatley opened the game's scoring with a three-point goal at the 5:09 mark of the first quarter for a 3-0 lead. Oatley made a hard run to the left, then booted a left-footed strike that was within Cop's reach, but scooted underneath him for the early Milwaukee lead.
Giuliano Oliviero pushed Milwaukee's lead to 5-0 with a penalty shot at the 11:59 mark of the first. The opportunity came following a pushing foul from the Riot's Roberto Gallo. Cop guessed correctly on the shot location, diving to his right. But Cop could not get enough of the ball to turn it away from the goal.
Chicago mounted a run to get back into the match following a scoreless first quarter. Miodrag "Miki" Djerisilo got the Riot on the scoreboard with a two-point goal at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter to cut Milwaukee's lead to 5-2. Mesanovic had the initial strike from the left side, and the Wave tried to clear. But the ball sat in the middle of the box and Djerisilo ran onto the ball and capitalized on the opportunity.
Then the Riot's Sandre "Sunny" Naumoski made it 5-4 at the 10:55 mark of the second when he was set up by Radoncic. Radoncic deflected the ball off the boards to the left of the goal. The ball bounced into the middle of the box and Naumoski notched the tally.
But the Riot's run was followed up by back-to-back Wave goals from Oliviero and Hewerton at the 11:34 and 12:51 marks, respectively, of the second quarter to take a 9-4 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was relatively quiet in the scoring column until the Wave's Ian Bennett beat Riot defender Marco Sullo to the ball in the box for a two-point goal at the 12:05 mark for an 11-4 advantage.
Riot scoring leader Radoncic halted the Wave's 6-0 run with a close-range goal at the 13:55 mark of the third to cut Milwaukee's lead to 11-6. Eric Lukin made the pass off the boards to the left of the goal as Radoncic got behind the Wave defense.
A defensive lapse by the Riot at the 10:44 mark of the fourth quarter allowed the Wave's Hewerton an easy two-point goal and a 13-6 lead. But Mesanovic and the Riot kept plugging away as Mesanovic beat Feenstra inside the near left post to make it 13-8 at the 11:37 mark for an unassisted goal.
In the final minutes, Cop played the role of sixth attacker. And after a deep shot by Cop was blocked, the Wave's Matthew Stewart raced to the ball for a three-point goal at the 13:33 mark for a 16-8 lead to put the match out of reach. Stewart was injured on the play as Cop attempted to race back to cut off the shot from the right side of the field.
Though the Riot put only 13 shots on goal, Chicago did have its share of other scoring chances.
Fred Degand had one of the best opportunities 30 seconds into the second quarter. The ball bounced off the boards to Degand in the box, where only Feenstra was standing in his way. But Degand could not get a square shot on the ball as the high-percentage chance sailed out of play. Chicago also had an unfortunate sequence with less than 6 minutes remaining in the second. Lukin hit the crossbar, the ball bounced all the way out to Sullo beyond the three-point arc, and Sullo's shot hit the left frame of the goal. And with 11 minutes left in the third quarter, Mesanovic had a good chance where he got the ball past Feenstra, but Wave defender Troy Dusosky cleared the ball away.
Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from January 22, 2011
- Milwaukee Washes Out Riot - Milwaukee Wave
- Chicago Riot Drops Road Match To 1st-Place Milwaukee, 16-8 - Chicago Riot
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