Chicago Riot Edged by Missouri, 9-7

February 20, 2011 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)
Chicago Riot News Release


INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (Feb. 20, 2011) -- The Chicago Riot could not hold onto a 7-2 lead in the fourth quarter as the Missouri Comets rattled off a 7-0 run en route to a 9-7 win Sunday in Major Indoor Soccer League action at the Independence Events Center.

The Riot has lost six straight on the road and dropped to 4-12 overall. The Comets improved to 5-11.

Chicago's hopes for the postseason are hanging by a thread, but the Riot is not mathematically out of the picture. The Riot needs to win its four remaining regular-season games and the third-place Omaha Vipers (7-10) need to lose their three remaining games just for Chicago to have a chance at the playoffs.

Novica "Novi" Marojevic had a three-point goal and Miodrag "Miki" Djirisilo and Eric Lukin added two-point goals for the Riot. In the net, Riot goalkeeper Jeff Richey had 16 saves, including eight in the first quarter. His counterpart, Missouri's Danny Waltman, had a game-high 21 saves.

Next up for the Riot is a two-game home weekend set that includes an 8 p.m. match on Saturday, Feb. 26, against Missouri, followed by a 7 p.m. match on Sunday, Feb. 27, against Baltimore at the Odeum Sports and Expo Center in Villa Park, Ill. Following the Feb. 26 match, stick around afterward for a free performance by Chicago band Riot Inside at the upstairs Odeum Lounge.

For tickets and more information, visit www.ChicagoRiotSoccer.com or call 630-708-6284.

On Sunday, despite Missouri maintaining most of the possession during the opening minutes, the Riot got on the board first with Lukin's restart goal at the 3:48 mark of the first quarter for a 2-0 lead. Novi took the free kick at the top of the arc, tapped the ball to his right and Lukin slotted the ball in for the tally.

But the Comets were quick to respond with a Leo Gibson goal at the 4:31 mark to tie the score at 2-2. Missouri's Jamar Beasley took the initial shot, which was deflected by Riot defender Will Kletzien. However, the ball trickled to Gibson up top, and he had space to shoot.

In the second quarter, the Riot handled the bulk of the offensive possession, and Chicago also had a pair of breakaway chances that came up empty. With about 8 minutes remaining in the half, Semir Mesanovic's breakaway chance was broken up by Missouri's Brian Harris. Then with 4:30 left in the quarter, Waltman made a huge kick save with his right foot against Novi's breakaway. Novi attempted to beat Waltman to the right, but Waltman stayed with him to turn away the shot.

Shortly after the Riot defense held off the Comets' power play opportunity, Chicago took advantage of its own power play chance late in the third quarter when Vahid Assadpour was called for tripping. Novi's three-pointer at the 11:49 mark of the third gave the Riot a 5-2 lead.

The Riot then pushed its lead to 7-2 with a power play goal from Djirisilo at the 3:40 mark of the fourth quarter. The ball had bounced around in the left corner, popped out to Djirisilo and he punched it home for the goal.

But the Comets got right back into the mix with a Byron Alvarez penalty kick goal at the 5:43 mark of the fourth to cut the Riot's lead to 7-4. Shortly after one of Chicago's penalties expired later in the quarter, Assadpour tied the score at 7-7 with a three-point goal at the 8:26 mark.

Missouri then garnered the lead at the 12:06 mark of the fourth with Alvarez's second goal of the game to take a 9-7 lead. His shot from the left side found the upper right corner of the net past Richey.

In the closing seconds, the Riot had one last attempt with Richey bringing the ball out himself past midfield. But Richey's three-point shot went into the stands with 0.5 seconds left as Missouri held on for the win.



Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from February 20, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central