Chicago Riot's 4th-quarter Run Falls Short In 18-17 Loss To Blast

January 29, 2011 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)
Chicago Riot News Release


BALTIMORE, MD - The Chicago Riot offense posted an 8-2 fourth-quarter run, but fell one point short as the Baltimore Blast escaped with an 18-17 win over Chicago on Saturday in Major Indoor Soccer League action at 1st Mariner Arena.

Riot target forward Anthony Maher tallied two goals, three assists and seven points after missing four straight games because of a cheekbone injury. Miodrag "Miki" Djerisilo added two goals and an assist for the Riot, which fell to 2-8 on the season. Baltimore improved to 9-3, though the Riot nearly overcame the Blast's 10-0 first-half run.

"We dug ourselves a hole early on," Riot Head Coach Jeff Kraft said. "We fought to the end, but came up short. That's been the story of our life this season. But I'm proud of what the guys did in the second half. Maher had some big goals and assists, and Miki also stood out tonight with a couple of goals."

The Riot's 17 points represents the highest offensive total in a game this season, and it also is the most points allowed by Baltimore in a game this season.

Maher will be unavailable, however, for the Riot's next game because of personal reasons. The Riot hosts Baltimore at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Odeum Sports and Expo Center in Villa Park, Ill. The game is available through a live webcast accessible at MISL.net, and Spanish-language radio is available at LaMaquinaDeportiva.com.

Sunday's event includes "Chicago Soccer Heritage Night," which features 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 receive 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 Riot got off to the early lead as Maher headed in a goal at the 2:48 mark of the first quarter for a 2-0 advantage. Maher utilized his height advantage against the Blast's Robbie Aristodemo and snapped home the header.

Baltimore responded quickly at the 4:48 mark with Lucio Gonzaga's goal to tie the score at 2-2. As the Riot defense attempted to intercept, the ball found its way into the middle of the box and Gonzaga tapped in the easy score.

Djerisilo gave the Riot a 4-2 lead at the 8:14 mark of the first after Marco Sullo sent the ball hard off the left-side boards. The ball bounced out to Djerisilo in the box and he capitalized with a shot past Blast goalkeeper Sagu.

The teams continued going back and forth as the Blast's Mike Lookingland scored off a rebound at the 10:52 mark of the first to tie the score at 4-4. Worteh Sampson had a three-point restart shot, and Riot goalkeeper Ante Cop got in front of the ball but could not secure it. Lookingland converged for the goal.

Then the Blast took a 6-4 lead at the 14:17 mark of the first as Pat Healey netted a power play goal to take advantage of a Maher holding penalty. About 20 seconds remained on the power play when Healey scored.

The Blast maintained its momentum into the second quarter with a Carlos Garcia goal at the 3:09 mark, followed by a Worteh Sampson counter-attack tally at the 6:48 mark, and a patient power play goal by Pat Morris at the 11:27 mark to push the Blast lead to 12-4.

The Riot ended Baltimore's 10-0 run with Roberto Gallo's restart goal at the 12:03 mark of the second quarter, with Djerisilo assisting, to make the score 12-6. Gallo's shot actually deflected off of Baltimore's Zach Wilkes, and Sagu had no chance to get to the ball in time.

The Blast capped off the first-half scoring with Healey's second goal at the 14:07 mark of the second quarter to take a 14-6 lead into halftime.

The Riot cut the Blast's lead to 14-9 with Semir Mesanovic's three-point restart goal 27 seconds into the third quarter. Mesanovic's strike got past the Blast's defensive wall and deflected off of another Baltimore defender and into the back of the net. But the Blast responded as Gonzaga tallied his second goal of the match at the 9:14 mark of the third to push Baltimore's lead to 16-9.

Djerisilo scored his second goal at the 4:40 mark of the fourth quarter to cut the Riot's deficit to 16-11. Maher drew a pair of Blast defenders in the left corner, then played the ball off the boards and found Djerisilo in the box.

The Blast's Giuliano Celenza got the two points back at the 6:09 mark of the fourth with his penalty shootout goal, beating Cop to the right for an 18-11 lead.

Then Chicago went on a 6-0 fourth-quarter run. Maher netted his second goal at the 6:45 mark with a strong turn with his right foot, placing his shot inside the left post. Maher then set up Eric Lukin at the 7:52 mark and assisted Sandre "Sunny" Naumoski's goal at 12:14 to cut the Blast's lead to 18-17.

In the final minute, the Riot did have one potential scoring chance as Mesanovic played the ball from the left corner, trying to find Maher in the middle. But Sagu intercepted and made a long distribution to take some time off the clock.

Sagu had five saves, and Cop had nine saves for the Riot.



Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from January 29, 2011


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