Cleveland defeats Steamers, 6-2
March 6, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
St. Louis Steamers News Release
(St. Louis, March 6, 2004) -- The Cleveland Force scored two third-quarter goals to break open a tight game and went on to defeat the St. Louis Steamers 6-2 Saturday at The Family Arena. Midfielder Braeden Cloutier scored two goals to lead the Force (9-18), and Cleveland goalkeeper Jim Larkin saved 26 of 28 shots faced to register the victory. Larkin also recorded a late fourth-period goal on a long throw-out with St. Louis using a sixth attacker.
Sterling Wescott and Steve Butcher scored for the Steamers (10-16), who entered the game having won three in a row and four of their past five. The Steamers now travel to Milwaukee to take on the MISL Central Division leading Wave in a March 7, 1 p.m. kickoff at U.S. Cellular Arena.
On Saturday, Cleveland took a 1-0 lead at five minutes, 33 seconds of the first quarter as Cloutier beat St. Louis goalkeeper Brett Phillips with a one-timer off a long pass from Larkin. The Force took a 2-0 lead at 1:12 of the second as Adauto Neto won a loose ball and chipped a shot over Phillips. Wescott made it 2-1 with his 11th goal of the season with an assist to Jeff DiMaria.
Cloutier scored his second goal of the game at 12:26 of the second to give the Force a 3-1 lead. However, the Steamers closed to 3-2 on a power play goal by Butcher with just two seconds left in the half. On the play, Daryl Doran made a nifty chip to Butcher off a restart, and Butcher headed in the goal. For Butcher, the goal was his 29th of the season â third best in the MISL.
Cleveland's Joel Bailey made it 4-2 at 2:36 of the third on a hustle goal, and Hector Marinaro scored off a restart at 12:45 of the third to make it 5-2. The Steamers brought in Sterling Wescott as a sixth attacker with 4:01 left in the game; Larkin took the ball and fired it down the middle of the field into the St. Louis net at 13:32 of the fourth to complete the scoring.
St. Louis has now won two of three games against Cleveland this season. The Steamers and the Force meet one more time this season: March 28 at Cleveland.
Following the March 7 road game against the Milwaukee Wave, the Steamers have a week off before traveling to San Diego for a March 14 contest. The Steamers have home games March 17 (Dallas) and March 19 (Kansas City).
TICKET INFORMATION: Single-game tickets ranging from $7 to $15 are available at The Family Arena box office; by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111; or by visiting metrotix.com. For general information on the Steamers, visit www.stlsteamers.com, or call 1-866-STL-KICK (1-866-785-5425).
• Discuss this story on the Major Indoor Soccer League 2 message board...
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 6, 2004
- Sockers Lose Close Battle in Baltimore, 8-9 - San Diego Sockers
- Howes Scores Four More to Spark Wave to 9-7 Win Over Comets - Milwaukee Wave
- Cleveland defeats Steamers, 6-2 - St. Louis Steamers
- Force Steams Past St. Louis For Victory - Cleveland Force
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
