Chicago Storm Tangles With Kansas City Tomorrow at 3:00 P.M. CT

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


Chicago (Saturday, January 15, 2005) – The Chicago Storm will take on the Kansas City Comets on Sunday, January 16 at 3:00 p.m. CT at the UIC Pavilion. The contest will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet and will be replayed at 1:00 p.m. CT on Monday, January 17. The game can also be heard live via internet radio at www.chicagostorm.net and www.broadcastmonsters.com. This is the first time the Storm will host the Comets as Chicago is looking to snap a six-game losing streak.

Chicago Storm vs. Kansas City Comets
UIC Pavilion, 3:00 p.m. CT
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: www.chicagostorm.net

Storm Injury Report
Ted Chronopoulos – Broken Cheek Bone – IR
Costea Decu – stress fracture right leg – IR
Andy Guastaferro – Abdominal Strain – doubtful
Awadalla Morad – sports hernia – IR
Leo Pernia – IT Band friction syndrome – doubtful

Suspended
Byron Alvarez – red card on 1/9/05 @ STL (one game)
Tijani Ayegbusi – red card on 1/9/05 @ STL (one game)
Mark Ughy – red card on 1/9/05 @ STL (one game)

Officials
Senior Referee: Grady, Rich
Referee: Nagle III, Stanford
Assistant Referee: Balciunas, Peter
Fourth Official: Gut, Ian M.

Home Sweet Home: The Chicago Storm's match against the Kansas City Comets this weekend is the first of a six-game home stand for the "Yellow and Black." The team will then host the Cleveland Force on Friday, January 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The rival Milwaukee Wave will visit the UIC Pavilion on Sunday, January 23 at 3:00 p.m. CT. The league-leading St. Louis Steamers will make their first Chicago appearance on Friday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Kansas City and Milwaukee round out the home stand with games on Saturday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m. CT and Friday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Not Appearing Tonight: Storm forwards Byron Alvarez and Mark Ughy, along with defender Tijani Ayegbusi will miss the Chicago Storm's encounter with the Kansas City Comets on Sunday due to a mandatory suspension after receiving a red card on January 9 at St. Louis. The trio were issued red cards following the Storm's 8-7 loss against the Steamers. A fight broke out on the field and Alvarez, Ughy and Ayegbusi were identified by the referees for using violent conduct. St. Louis' Brett Phillips, Matt Caution and Mali Walton were identified and issued suspensions as well. Phillips will serve a two-game ban for the offense.

Morad Undergoes Successful Surgery: Storm has placed forward Awadalla Morad on injured reserve as he recovers from a hernia procedure, which was conducted earlier in the week. Dr. Richard Cattey performed the procedure in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Palestine native will miss four to six weeks with the injury. Morad suffered a groin injury in preseason, which caused him to miss the first six games of the season, but the injury was aggravated in recent games and had to be treated by Dr. Cattey.

Morad, 25, has scored 11 goals and four assists for 15 points in eight games. The rookie forward also scored a team-record four goals in a game on December 18 at Kansas City.

Storm Rewind: The last time the Chicago Storm faced off against the Kansas City Comets, the Storm dropped a 9-8 overtime contest to K.C. at Kemper Arena. Comets forward Anthony Maher scored at 3:36 of overtime to give Kansas City the win. Chicago's Awadalla Morad scored a club-record four goals in the game, including a game-tying tally with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Storm defender Ted Chronopoulos also suffered a fractured cheekbone in the game when he tackled a Comets midfielder, but was elbowed in the face as the player lost his balance.

Storm Signs Jacob Ward: The Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) signed defender/midfielder Jacob Ward to a contract. Per league policy, details of the contract were not disclosed. Ward has been practicing with the "Yellow and Black" this week and will be available to Storm Head Coach Frank Klopas for a 3:00 p.m. CT contest with the Kansas City Comets on Sunday, January 16 at the UIC Pavilion.

The 23-year-old Ward is in his second season in the MISL and has played 31 games, scoring six goals and four assists for 10 points for the San Diego Sockers. The 6'1" 195-pound native of San Diego, CA was acquired by the Storm with the first selection in the second round of the Dispersal Draft held on January 5.

Ward will wear jersey number 81 to commemorate the year he was born (date of birth: May 5, 1981).

Storm Acquires Chicago Native: The Storm executed a trade over the weekend acquiring defender Fred DeGand from the Cleveland Force in exchange for midfielder Attila Vendegh. DeGand made his Storm debut on Sunday in a 7-6 loss to St. Louis at the Savvis Center. He played an active role for the Storm throughout the contest and contributed on a goal scored by Gus Karterouliotis in the second quarter.

The 25-year-old DeGand is in his second season in the MISL and has played in 33 games, scoring two goals and six assists for Cleveland. The 5'11" 175- pound defender was born in Chicago and lived in Highland Park. He attended Deerfield High School and then Bowling Green State University, where he played soccer.

Vendegh was acquired by the Storm from the San Diego Sockers in the MISL Dispersal Draft held on Wednesday, January 5. The Old Dominion University product has not played a game for the Storm or in the MISL, but has trained with the "Yellow and Black."

Storm Shots:

· Storm midfielder Matthew Stewart made his return to the lineup on December 31 in a 6-5 overtime loss at Milwaukee after suffering a left knee sprain on November 26. The El Paso, TX native netted a goal in the contest.

· Chicago midfielder Gus Karterouliotis scored his first professional indoor goal on December 31 in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Wave. Karterouliotis joined the Storm on December 17 after spending a season with Kalamata of the Greek second division.

· Storm midfielder Novi recorded his first hat trick of the season on Sunday, January 9 in a 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Steamers at the Saavis Center, bringing his goal total to 13 on the season.



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 15, 2005


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