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Force closes out regular season

April 21, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Cleveland Force News Release


CLEVELAND, OHIO -The Cleveland Force will concluded the 2004-05 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) regular season with a back-to-back weekend games. The Force will first travel to the Charm City to take on the two-time defending MISL Champion Baltimore Blast on Friday, April 22 at the 1st Mariner Arena. Cleveland will then return home for Fan Appreciation Night to on Saturday, April 22 to take on the MISL first place Milwaukee Wave at the Wolstein Convocation Center.

Catch Al Pawlowski as he calls all the action live on WHK 1420 AM or WHKW 1440 AM in Warren/Youngstown or live worldwide on the Internet at www.thesportsking.com. Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 7:35 p.m. with Saturday's contest slated for a 7:05 p.m. start. The pre-game show hosted by Ed Daugherty will air at 7:05 p.m. on Friday and 6:35 p.m. on Saturday.

The Force enters the game with a record of 21-16 overall, 11-8 at home and 10-8 on the road. Cleveland secured its third straight playoff appearance by defeating the Chicago Storm by a final score of 7-2 last Friday night and then defeated the Wave by a final score of 8-7 in overtime on Sunday. The Force currently sits in second place in the MISL Standings trailing Milwaukee by two games and ahead of the Philadelphia KiXX by a half game for third place. Cleveland can still win the MISL regular season by winning its final two games while having the Wave drop its final two games. The Force can secure second place by either winning their final two games or by winning one game and having Philadelphia lose its final contest. If none of these combinations take place, Cleveland would finish third.

Baltimore will not be able to defend its two-time MISL Championship as the team will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1998-99 season. The Blast enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak and with a record of 15-22 overall, 9-10 at home and 6-11 on the road. Baltimore fell to the Kansas City Comets 7-6 in overtime last Friday and to the Storm by a final score of 6-5 on Saturday.

Milwaukee comes into the weekend with a record of 23-14 overall, 13-6 at home and 10-8 on the road. The Wave defeated the St. Louis Steamers by a final score of 7-2 on Saturday night before falling to the Force on Sunday.

The game between Cleveland and the Blast will mark the eighth and final meetings this season between the two squads as well as the fourth and final meeting at the 1st Mariner Arena. The contest will mark the 137th meeting between the two squads with Baltimore holding a 70-66 advantage. The Blast snapped a three-game winning streak by the Force to take a 4-3 advantage in the season series with a 7-6 victory on April 8th at the Wolstein Center.

In the season series, Cleveland is led by forward and team captain John Ball with 12 points in seven games on six goals and six assists. Defender Genoni Martinez is second on the team in the series with nine points in just four games on six goals and three assists. Forward Antonio Sutton is third with seven points coming on five goals and two assists. Forwards Chris Handsor, Adauto Neto and Aaron Susi are all a close fourth with six points.

Baltimore is paced by forward David Bascome with 13 points in seven games on nine goals and four assists. Forward Giuliano Celenza along with former Blast forward Carlos "Chile" Farias are tied for second with 11 points. Celenza has tallied nine goals and two assists, including two hat tricks while Farias tallied four goals and seven assists in four games before being traded to St. Louis. Forward Lee Tschantret is third with five goals and two assists for seven points.

The game between the Force and Milwaukee will mark the fifth and final regular season meeting this season between the two squads. Cleveland evened the season series 2-2 and posted a 2-1 mark at the U.S. Cellular Arena with an 8-7 overtime victory last Sunday. The Force recorded both their wins in overtime.

In the season series, Cleveland is led by Sutton and Neto with four points apiece. Sutton notched three goals and one assist in four games while Neto picked up three of his four points in the last meeting as he has recorded three goals and one assist. Midfielder Robbie Aristodemo, Ball, defender Genoni Martinez and Neto are all tied for second with three points. Aristodemo has accounted for three goals, including the game winner on January 22 and a two-goal performance in the first game while Ball tallied all his points in the last meeting with one goal and two assists including the game-winner in overtime. Martinez picked up his three points in the last game as well as he notched one goal.

The Wave are led by the MISL leading scorer forward Greg Howes in the season series with 11 points on six goals and five assists. Forward Todd Dusosky is second with six points on three goals and three assists. Midfielder Marcelo Fontana is second with five points coming on four goals and one assist.

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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.

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