Defending champs miss playoffs for just the second time in club's 12-year history
April 9, 2008 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, April 9, 2008 - The defending MISL Champion Philadelphia KiXX lost both games on the team's road trip to Monterrey and California this past weekend, falling short of the playoffs for just the second time in the club's 12-year history. The KiXX couldn't shut down former player Dino Delevski in Monterrey on April 3, where the MVP candidate scored a hat trick in the game which eliminated the KiXX from post-season contention. In California on April 5, the KiXX fell into an 8-0 hole against the Cougars in the first half and never rallied.
Season Highlights
Don D'Ambra's 64 points this season marks the fifth time in 12 years with the KiXX that the player/coach has led the team in points. D'Ambra's 22 assists are a career high, and have moved him into second place in KiXX history (182) behind current New Jersey Ironmen coach Omid Namazi (209). D'Ambra reached a number of notable milestones this season, including becoming the 15th player in MISL history with 1,000 points, the 12th with 300 two-point goals, the 14th with 200 assists, and the 10th coach to win 100 games. D'Ambra was also named Offensive Player-of-the-Week for the seven-day period ending January 6 after scoring four-goals against the Orlando Sharks on New Year's Eve.
On April 5 in California, the last game of the regular season, Tony Donatelli became the fastest KiXX player to record 100 points from the start of his career, needing just 59 games in two seasons to accomplish the feat. The Temple native set career highs in goals (20), assists (13), points (55), and blocks (14) this season.
Ptah Myers set career highs in goals (19), assists (8), and points (50) in the fourth year of his career. Myers has played in 90 straight games dating back to the 2004-05 season.
Chris Williams (12/15/07 vs. ORL), Nigel Marples (1/12/08 vs. ORL), Sammy Castellanos (1/5/08 at BAL), and Ryan Heins (12/14/07 at NJ) each scored the first goals of their indoor careers during the 2007-08 season, while goalkeeper Nick Hovaker II picked up the first win of his career on January 27 vs. New Jersey.
Peter Pappas recorded the 5,000 save of his career on November 10, 2007 vs. Detroit, and moved into fifth all-time in every major goaltending category including minutes (22629:08), shots faced (7232), saves (5234), games played (399), and fourth all-time in wins (220). Pappas was named the MISL Goalkeeper-of-the-Week twice this season for the seven-day periods ending November 25, 2007 and January 6, 2008.
Angel Rivillo set career highs in assists (10) and points (31) after being selected by Philadelphia in the 2007 MISL Expansion Draft. Rivillo also played in the 100th game of his career on March 20 in New Jersey.
Pat Morris ended the season with 48 blocks, giving him 489 all-time, good for 16th in MISL history. Morris is easily the KiXX all-time leading shot blocker. In Monterrey on April 3, Morris competed in the 300th game of his career while scoring the 150th goal of his career. The Philadelphia native also recorded his 100th assist on January 25 at Orlando, and the 350th point of his career on January 27 at New Jersey. Morris was named the MISL Defender-of-the-Week for the seven-day period ending January 27 after scoring two goals, one a three-pointer, and an assist in two games that weekend.
In the KiXX 2008-09 home opener, three KiXX veterans could reach major milestones in games played; Drew Kopp (250), Peter Pappas (400), and Don D'Ambra (500). D'Ambra would become just the 4th player in MISL history to reach the feat.
Last Week's Outings:
KiXX 12, La Raza 16 (4/3) - The KiXX (12-17) fell out of the playoff race Thursday night with a loss to the Monterrey La Raza (16-13) in Monterrey, Mexico. Former KiXX player and two-time MISL MVP Dino Delevski scored a hat-trick to end his former team's postseason hopes. With the KiXX loss, the expansion New Jersey Ironmen have been awarded the sixth and final playoff spot, setting up a possible first round match with the third-seed Baltimore Blast. Byron Alvarez began scoring 3:52 into the first quarter. The KiXX answered with two goals to take the lead 4-2, from Aaron Susi and John Barry Nusum. Delevski scored the first of his three goals with 3:48 remaining in the first frame, but KiXX captain Pat Morris answered with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter to give the KiXX a 6-4 lead after one. The game was the 300th of Morris' career. Ivan Medina and Jose Birche tallied for La Raza in the second quarter, the loan goals of the frame. Monterrey took an 8-6 lead into the locker room. Philadelphia scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter, courtesy of Sandre Naumoski, Wendell Regis, and KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra. Morris was credited with the assist on D'Ambra's goal. Monterrey would return the favor in the final quarter, scoring four unanswered, one from Birche and two from Delevski to complete the hat trick. With the three-goal output, Delevski takes over the league-lead with 44 goals in just 28 games played. Genoni Martinez, the KiXX leading assist man last season and 2006-07 MISL Defender-of-the-Year scored the final goal.
KiXX 14, Cougars 18 (4/5) - The KiXX (12-18) were defeated by the California Cougars (11-19) in the final game of the 2007-08 regular season. Both teams came into the game without a chance of advancing to the postseason. Philadelphia missed the postseason for just the second time in the club's 12-year history, just one year after winning the MISL championship. California player/coach Bernie Lilavois scored first for the Cougars, assisted by Brian Farber 10:27 into the first frame. Farber tallied two of his own goals in the second quarter, giving him five first half points. Nelson Santana tacked on another two-point goal for the Cougars with 2:41 remaining in the half, giving California an 8-0 lead at half time. 21 seconds into the third quarter, KiXX captain Pat Morris scored his 16th goal of the season, to put the KiXX on the board for the first time, 8-2. Morris scored the 150th goal of his career in the 300th game of his career on April 3 against Monterrey. Evan McNeley answered with a two-point goal to make the score 10-2 California 2:51 into the third quarter. Lilavois scored his second of the night on a header set up by Frank M'Bemba, and completed the hat trick with 5:56 remaining in the third frame. Angel Rivillo scored at 4:13, set up by Jonathan Steele. Steele scored a hat trick the last time the two teams met in Philadelphia on February 23, a 19-15 KiXX win. Less than one minute later, Aaron Susi and Tony Donatelli scored back-to-back goals to bring the score to 14-8. Frank M'Bemba scored his seventh goal of the season to start the fourth quarter, giving California a 16-8 lead, assisted by Santana. Donatelli tacked on another goal with 4:30 left to play, bringing the KiXX to within six points. Donatelli finished the regular season with 20 goals, 13 assists, and 55 points, all career highs for the Temple native. KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra was credited with the assist, and scored his own goal over four minutes later, assisted by Rivillo. D'Ambra finished the season with 21 goals, tops on the team. Aaron Susi out as sixth attacker for the KiXX, Enrique Tovar scored on the empty net, his first of the night. Morris finished scoring with his second goal, ending the game 18-14. The KiXX and Cougars split the season series at two games apiece. Ptah Myers also finished the season with career highs in goals (19), assists (8), and points (50). Philadelphia finished the season with a 4-11 record away from the Wachovia Spectrum.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 9, 2008
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- Defending champs miss playoffs for just the second time in club's 12-year history - Philadelphia KiXX
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