Chicago Storm drops Baltimore 5-3
March 26, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Chicago Storm News Release
Baltimore, MD â The Chicago Storm defeated the two- time defending MISL champion Baltimore Blast 5-3 tonight at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD. Storm forward Mark Ughy tallied the game-winning goal at the 2:28 mark of the fourth quarter to improve the Storm's record to 16- 17. The Storm remains in fifth-place and is now a game and a half behind the Cleveland Force for the fourth and final playoff spot.
"The team played very well," said Storm Head Coach Frank Klopas. "We were able to stay disciplined and capitalize on some great chances. Danny (Waltman) did a great job coming in when Jeff (Richey) got hurt. Jeff was doing a good job and it is unfortunate to see him get injured. We felt this was a good opportunity to get him some playing time as he is a good goalkeeper. The team responded well to the loss last night in St. Louis and they had great energy from start to finish. I am very proud of them, but there is a lot more work to do to get into the playoffs.
The Storm started the contest with Richey making his third start of the 2004- 05 season. The Ft. Wayne, IN native made six saves on eight shots until he went down with a left hamstring strain at the 5:42 mark of the second quarter. Waltman stepped in and proceeded to shut the door on Baltimore, making four saves on five shots to earn his 16th win of the campaign.
Baltimore lit the scoreboard first as Lee Tschantret maneuvered around Storm defender Denny Clanton and slotted a shot past Richey for a 1-0 Blast lead. The defending champs struck again at 13:15 when P.J. Wakefield extended the Blast lead to 2-0.
Chicago battled back and midfielder Sandre Naumoski's shot rebounded off of Blast goalkeeper Sagu and defender Fred DeGand knocked the rebound in to cut the Blast lead to 2-1. The Storm came out of the locker room at halftime and proceeded to apply a counter-attack strategy, which paid immediate dividends when Andy Guastaferro tied the game at 2-2 with his ninth goal of the season, at 2:34 of the third quarter. The "Yellow and Black" took the lead for the first time in the contest when DeGand knocked in his second goal of the game and his seventh of the campaign. Ughy found DeGand along the right wing and blasted a high shot that hit the far post and landed in the back of the net for a 3-2 Storm lead.
The Storm extended their lead when Ughy tallied at 2:28 of the fourth quarter after Nino DaSilva dribbled around two Blast defenders. The Hoffman Estates, IL native dribbled in on Sagu, drew him out of his net, and slotted a pass to the Hungarian forward, who knocked in a shot into the open net for a 4-2 lead.
The Blast cut into the lead when Giuliano Celenza scored on a diving header past Waltman at 4:45 of the fourth quarter. Matthew Stewart responded for Chicago only 48 seconds later to give the Storm a 5-3 lead. Ughy flipped a pass over his head as Stewart was racing behind him along the right wing. The pass bounced right into the path of the El Paso, TX native and he settled the ball and blasted a shot past Sagu for his 17th goal of the season.
The Storm will return to action on Saturday, April 2 when they travel to Kansas City to battle the Comets at Kemper Arena at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game can be heard live on www.chicagostorm.net. The Storm returns to Chicago on Sunday, April 3 when they take on the Steamers again at the UIC Pavilion at 6:00 p.m. CT. Prior to the game, the Storm will host the Chicago Soccer Legends Game at 4:30 p.m. CT. The Storm will also retire Chicago soccer great Karl-Heinz Granitza's number 12 as part of the festivities for the Legends Game. The game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet and can be heard live on www.chicagostorm.net in English and Univision Radio WRTO 1200 AM in Spanish. For more information on the Legends Game, please call (312) 226-GOAL (4625).
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 26, 2005
- Steamers' Carlos Farias Records Six-Point Night In Victory - St. Louis Steamers
- Chicago Storm drops Baltimore 5-3 - Chicago Storm
- KiXX Cruise Past Cleveland, 8-2 - Philadelphia KiXX
- Force Snaps Winning Streak In Philadelphia, 8-2 - Cleveland Force
- Chicago Storm drops 6-4 result to St. Louis - Chicago Storm
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