Chicago Storm Drops Last-Minute Heartbreaker 7-6 to St. Louis
January 9, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Chicago Storm News Release
St. Louis, MO (Sunday, January 9, 2005) â The Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) dropped an 7-6 result tonight to the St. Louis Steamers at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO. Storm midfielder Novi scored a hat trick in the contest, but St. Louis' Aaron Susi scored the game-winner with only 18 seconds remaining. The Storm fell to 6-11 and last-place in the MISL and a game and half behind the last playoff spot, currently held by Baltimore (8-9).
"We did a better job tonight and fought hard," said Storm Head Coach and GM Frank Klopas. "The result did not come tonight, but the team worked very hard. We need to stay focused in games and do a better job finishing off our opponents."
St. Louis won the game when midfielder/head coach Daryl Doran gathered the ball deep in Chicago territory. He dribbled the ball towards the Storm goal, drawing out Storm goalkeeper Danny Waltman and then passed the ball off to Susi in front of the net. Susi shot the ball into the open net to give the Steamers a 7-6 lead.
Novi's hat trick was not enough for the Storm as St. Louis was able to overcome a 6-4 deficit with three straight goals. Steamers midfielder Randy Soderman knocked the first in with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter. St. Louis then got a contribution from Jeff DiMaria at 7:36 of the fourth quarter on a power play that resulted in a controversial penalty called to Storm midfielder Sandre Naumoski.
The Storm took an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by Novi, but St. Louis scored two short-handed goals by Matt Caution and Di Maria to tie the game up in the second. Chicago's Matthew Stewart and Gus Karterouliotis responded to give the Storm a 4-2 halftime lead.
St. Louis' Ibrahim Kante scored off of a direct kick at 2:08 of the third stanza to cut into the Storm lead 4-3. Novi then completed his hat trick at 3:16 of the third. St. Louis forward Joe Reiniger made it 5-4 for Chicago at 4:36. Storm midfielder Andy Rosenband then dribbled down the left wing past three St. Louis defenders and found Jorge Valle at the far post and the Mexican forward blasted the ball into the back of the net to give the Storm a 6-4 lead.
After the game a brawl broke out on the field and three players from each team were issued red cards. Chicago's Byron Alvarez, Mark Ughy and Tijani Ayegbusi along with St. Louis' Matt Caution, Brett Phillips and Mali Walton were identified by the officials as having commited extreme conduct.
The "Yellow and Black" return to Chicago for a date with the Kansas City Comets on Sunday, January 16 at 3:00 p.m. CT at the UIC Pavilion. The game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet and can be heard on www.chicagostorm.net in English and Univision Radio WRTO 1200 AM in Spanish.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 9, 2005
- Chicago Storm Drops Last-Minute Heartbreaker 7-6 to St. Louis - Chicago Storm
- Steamers Storm Into First Place - St. Louis Steamers
- Force Drops Overtime Decision To Philadelphia - Cleveland Force
- KiXX Claim 6-5 Overtime Decision in Cleveland - Philadelphia KiXX
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