Dallas Sidekicks at San Diego Game Preview
Published on October 2, 2002 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Dallas Sidekicks News Release
The Dallas Sidekicks hit the road for the first time this season, heading to the San Diego Sports Arena for a meeting with the Sockers. This is the Sidekicks first trip to San Diego since winning the 2001 World Indoor Soccer League title on the Sockers field December 22, 2001.
NEXT GAME: The Sidekicks return home to Reunion Arena for two games next weekend. Dallas hosts Harrisburg Saturday, October 12 at 7:05 p.m. and Baltimore Sunday, October 13 at 6:05pm. This will be the first time the Sidekicks have faced Harrisburg and this Baltimore franchise.
RADIO: All Sidekicks games are on Fox Sports 1190 AM. They are also available on the internet at www.foxsports1190.com. All broadcasts begin five minutes prior to listed kickoff and will last three hours. Pete Stein calls the action and John Clemens hosts the halftime and post-game shows. There are two games that will be tape delayed on Fox Sports 1190 AM: November 6 (game starts at 10:45 a.m. and comes on 1190 AM at 6 p.m.) and December 31 (game starts at 1 p.m. and comes on 1190 AM at 6 p.m.).
PLAYER/HEAD COACH TATU: Tatu begins his 18th season as a player for the Dallas Sidekicks, his fifth as head coach. Tatu has led the Sidekicks to the World Indoor Soccer League finals all four years as head coach, winning the 1998 and 2001 Championships. In 1998, Tatu replaced Gordon Jago, who retired, as head coach. He has a 55-26 (.679) regular season record, and 7-3 (.700) postseason record. Tatu's .679 winning percentage is the best in indoor soccer history for anyone with more than 50 games as a head coach. PLAYER: Tatu is in his 21st season in indoor soccer, his 18th with the Sidekicks. Tatu enters the season near the top of the career list in several categories. He is ninth with 601 games played, second for goals with 840 (Hector Marinaro - 1187), second in assists with 700 (Zoran Karic - 821), third in points with 1540 (Marinaro - 1855, Karic - 1573), third in game-winning goals with 76 (Marinaro - 97, Steve Zungul - 77), and first with 110 power play goals. He has been part of all four Sidekicks' championship teams, winning titles in 1987, 1993, 1998, and 2001. Tatu is a six-time MVP, 11-time scoring champion, 10-time all-star, and three-time championship series MVP. He also hold Sidekicks franchise records for games - 525, goals - 719, assists - 644, points - 1363, power play goals - 95, game-winning goals - 67, and overtime goals - 7.
SERIES HISTORY: The Sidekicks have a storied history against the Sockers that is divided into two chapters, the first is the original Sockers that folded after the 1996 CISL season and the new Sockers that started with the 2001 WISL season. Dallas was 2-4 against San Diego last season, but won the best of three championship series two games to one as Armando Valdivia scored the game-winner shorthanded 2:11 into overtime of game three. These teams renewed the rivalry in the first game of the 2001 WISL season as they met for the inaugural sporting event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas August 19. The Sidekicks came back from a 5-3 deficit with less than a minute to play, and won on a Marco Coria goal in overtime. The game set a new Dallas attendance record with 17,710 fans.
The Sidekicks are 2-4 against the current Sockers and went 18-37 against the original Sockers. The 2001 championship was the third time these teams met in the finals. San Diego defeated Dallas 4-2 in the best of seven 1992 MISL championship, Dallas won the best-of three CISL title series 2-1 in 1993, and Dallas won the 2001 WISL title two games to one. The Sidekicks are 7-37 in the regular season at the San Diego Sports Arena.
ROAD OPENER HISTORY: The Sidekicks are 6-11 in road openers and have lost five straight. The Sidekicks are 1-1 in overtime. This is the second time the Sidekicks have played their first road game of the season at the San Diego Sports Arena. Dallas lost 6-2 at San Diego November 12, 1989.
1-0: The Sidekicks are 1-0 for the eleventh time. Dallas has started 2-0 six times, including the 2001 season.
THIS DATE IN SIDEKICKS HISTORY - OCTOBER 5: The Sidekicks are 1-2 on October 5. In the 1997 CISL Quarterfinal Series, Dallas forced a mini-game by beating Monterrey 10-5 in game two. Monterrey defeated Dallas in the mini-game 2-1 in a shoot-out to advance to the Semifinal Series. Last season, Dallas lost to San Diego in Dallas 4-6. This is the first road game on October 5.
700 CLUB: At 10:52 into the third quarter of Game 1 vs. Philadelphia (9/28/02), Tatu assisted Leo Pernia's goal, his 700th career assist.
SIX PACK: When Tatu entered game one against Philadelphia (9/28/02), it was his first in the new MISL. He is the only player to play in all six modern top-tier professional indoor soccer leagues: Continental indoor Soccer League (CISL), original MISL, new MISL, North American Soccer League (NASL), National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), and the World Indoor Soccer League (WISL).
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEARS: Sagu won the 2000 and 2001 WISL Goalkeeper of the Year awards. Those are the only two full seasons he has played since joining the Sidekicks in the middle of the 1999 campaign.
HONORS & AWARDS: 9-30-2002 Tatu MISL Offensive Player of the Week 3 goals, 1 assist, 7 points in 14-13 win over Philadelphia
TRANSACTIONS: September 9: Sidekicks trade rights of midfielder Marco Coria, goalkeeper Raul Salas, and defender Genoni Martinez to Harrisburg for the rights to forward Justin Labrum, midfielder Danny Barber, and financial considerations. September 23: sign Patrick Shamu, Brad Flanagan, and Danny Barber to active roster. September 27: Sidekicks acquire rights to Beau Brown from Cleveland in three-way trade with Harrisburg. Dallas gets rights to forward Beau Brown from Cleveland; Harrisburg gets rights to Marco "Chikis" Lopez from Dallas; Cleveland gets first round pick in 2002 MISL college draft from Dallas and rights to midfielder Steve Klein, defender Eric Kvello, and forward Bernie Lilavois from Harrisburg.
APPROACHING 2.5 MILLION: The Sidekicks have attracted 2,464,098 fans at home through 17 regular seasons.
MILLION FAN MARCH: The Sidekicks have drawn 937,614 home fans to regular season games since Jim Tolbert took over the sales department prior to the 1993 season.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from October 2, 2002
- Dallas Sidekicks at San Diego Game Preview - Dallas Sidekicks
- Force Makes Trade - Cleveland Force
- Force Adds Three More Players To Roster - Cleveland Force
- MISL Transaction Report - MISL 2
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