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Chicago Storm Faces St. Louis and Milwaukee This Weekend

February 15, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Chicago Storm News Release


Chicago (Tuesday, February 15, 2005) – The Chicago Storm is currently riding a team-record five game winning streak and the "Yellow and Black" will put that mark on the line this weekend when they face the rival St. Louis Steamers on Friday, February 18 at the UIC Pavilion, starting at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game can be heard live on www.chicagostorm.net in English and on Univision Radio WRTO 1200 AM in Spanish.

Individual tickets are available and range in price from $8 to $25 and can be purchased by calling the Storm's front office (312) 226-GOAL (4625), Ticketmaster (312) 559-1212 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Fans can also purchase individual tickets at the UIC box office located on 525 South Racine, Chicago, IL 60607. The box office is open from 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Waltman Earns Player of the Week Award: Chicago Storm goalkeeper Danny Waltman earned MISL Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the second time this season after helping the Storm to a 5-1 win over Milwaukee on Friday, February 11. Waltman made 10 saves on 11 Wave shots to earn his 11th win of the season and help the Storm move into fourth-place in the MISL with an 11-12 record.

Over his last five games, the 23-year-old rookie is 5-0 with a .750 save percentage and a tidy 3.00 goals against average. For the season, Waltman is now 11-9 with a 5.43 GAA. He ranks second in the league with 1,227 minutes played, is tied for second with 11 wins, and is third with 241 saves. The native of Gig Harbor, WA, was also named Goalkeeper of the Week on November 15.

Also receiving accolade this week are Milwaukee's Chris Morman, who was named MISL Defensive Player of the Week and Philadelphia KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra, who earned MISL Offensive Player of the Week accolades.

Back North: The Storm will head up to Milwaukee to face the Wave on Sunday, February 20 at 1:05 p.m. CT at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The match will be the last between the bitter rivals during the regular season as the Storm leads the season series 4-3. Chicago dropped Milwaukee 5-1 last weekend to move into fourth-place in the MISL with an 11-12 record.

Home Sweet Home: The Chicago Storm's match this Friday against the Steamers will end a seven-game home-stand for the "Yellow and Black" at the UIC Pavilion. The Storm has posted a 5-1 record thus far in the home-stand, which increased their home mark to 8-4. Chicago has also posted an 8-0 mark at home when leading the game at halftime.

Dynamite Defense: The Chicago Storm is currently riding a team-record five-game winning streak, which has been credited to an offense that has scored an average of 6.6 goals a game, although the defense has quietly allowed only three goals per game in that same stretch. In the past five games, the defense of the Storm has stifled their opponent's offensive attack, allowing only 12 shots on goal per game. "Yellow and Black" goalkeeper Danny Waltman has solidified his place as one of the top goalkeepers in the league, saving 45 of 60 shots faced in the past five games. The 24-year-old netminder has now saved 241 shots on the season, ranking him third in the league in saves.

DaSilva's Streak Reaches Five: Chicago Storm midfielder/forward Nino DaSilva is riding a five-game point-scoring streak, which started on January 21 in a 8-4 win over Cleveland. That match marked DaSilva's debut with the Storm after being acquired from St. Louis in a trade. The Hoffman Estates, IL native recorded a goal and assist in his first game with the "Yellow and Black" and the team has not lost a game yet with him in the lineup (5-0). Throughout the streak, DaSilva has totaled four goals and two assists for six points in helping the Storm to fourth-place in the MISL. DaSilva's five-game point-scoring streak tied a team record set by Byron Alvarez at the start of the season, when the Mexican forward scored goals in the Storm's first five games.

Alavanja Streaks to Four: Chicago Storm midfielder/defender Lazo Alavanja has put together a four-game point-scoring streak, dating back to January 23 when he earned two assists in a 7-3 Storm win over Milwaukee. The Crown Point, IN native followed up that performance by scoring the game-winning goal in a 5-3 win over St. Louis at the UIC Pavilion. Alavanja's goal came with 1:04 remaining in the contest to give the Storm their first-ever win over the Steamers. The Indiana product has totaled three goals and three assists for six points in the four games. His streak is just one game behind Nino DaSilva and Byron Alvarez for the team lead at five consecutive games. DaSilva's streak is still active.

Klopas Nominated for the Hall: The National Soccer Hall of Fame announced the 2005 Ballot for election to the Hall of Fame includes Chicago Storm Head Coach and General Manager Frank Klopas. A total of 53 former players have been nominated and Klopas appears on the ballot for the second consecutive year. Klopas' playing career spanned 16 years and began with the Chicago Sting when he was 17 years old and ended with the Chicago Fire in 1999. During that span, Klopas appeared 40 times for the United States National Team, including the 1994 World Cup held in the U.S.

Klopas also played for Greek First Division powerhouse AEK Athens. Klopas scored six goals in 49 career matches with AEK Athens and would help the side to two appearances in the European Cup and a pair of berths in the UEFA Cup in 1989 and 1991 during his four seasons of play. He then signed with Major League Soccer in 1996.

Klopas spent his first two seasons in MLS with the Kansas City Wizards, where he scored 25 points (7g, 11a) in 49 games during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. After the expansion Chicago Fire was born in 1998, Klopas was signed by the club and given a chance to end his professional career in where it began -- his hometown. "Kid" Klopas would play 40 games and score 17 points on six goals and five assists for the "Men in Red" during the 1998 and '99 seasons. Klopas ended the Fire's inaugural season in dramatic fashion with what still ranks as one of the club's most memorable moments on October 30, 1998, as his "golden goal" in overtime gave Chicago a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Crew in front of a rabid hometown crowd at Soldier Field. The victory gave the Fire its first of three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Championships in addition to capping off a historic "double" for the squad in its first campaign.

Where they Stand:

Through Games of 02/14/2005

TEAM STANDINGS

GOALS GOALS WITHIN LAST

GP W L PCT GB FOR AG HOME ROAD DIV TEN STREAK

Philadelphia Kixx 24 16 8 .667 --- 144 125 9-4 7-4 16-8 8-2 WON 4

St. Louis Steamers 25 15 10 .600 1.5 143 130 8-4 7-6 15-10 5-5 LOST 1

Milwaukee Wave 22 12 10 .545 3.0 115 102 9-4 3-6 12-10 3-7 WON 1

Chicago Storm 23 11 12 .478 4.5 129 135 8-4 3-8 11-12 5-5 WON 5

Baltimore Blast 24 11 13 .458 5.0 127 142 8-5 3-8 11-13 5-5 LOST 2

Cleveland Force 21 9 12 .429 5.5 119 126 5-6 4-6 9-12 4-6 WON 1

Kansas City Comets 21 9 12 .429 5.5 125 137 4-5 5-7 9-12 4-6 LOST 1

* - top four teams make the playoffs

Injury Report:

Costea Decu – stress fracture right leg – IR

Awadalla Morad – sports hernia – IR

Practice Schedule:

The following is the Chicago Storm practice schedule for this week:

Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Darien Sportsplex

Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Darien Sportsplex

Friday: Chicago Storm vs. St. Louis Steamers – 7:30 p.m. CT – UIC Pavilion

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Darien Sportsplex

Sunday: Chicago Storm @ Milwaukee Wave – 1:05 p.m. CT – U.S. Cellular Arena

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