Fourth Quarter Comeback Propels Philadelphia To Win
Published on February 17, 2007 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
California Cougars News Release
(STOCKTON, CALIF., FEBRUARY 3, 2007) - The California Cougars hosted the MISL leading Philadelphia KiXX tonight at the Stockton Arena. The Cougars added veterans to the lineup in goalkeeper Bayard Elfvin and midfielder Ato Leone in their run up to the playoff. Also returning to the starting line up after a knee injury is midfielder Craig Scheer.
California started the scoring off with a flash as Vicente Figueroa took a perfectly placed pass from Aaron Susi and drilled the ball past KiXX 'keeper Peter Pappas. Craig Scheer followed on the exact same play on an assist from Nelson Santana to make it a 4-0 game with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Philadelphia got into the scorebook on an unassisted shot from KiXX coach/player Don D'Ambra past Cougars goalkeeper Bayard Elfvin to close the gap 4-2.
KiXX forward Dino Delevski and defender Genoni Martinez connected in the second quarter to even the score at four apiece.
The Cougars got back on top as they took a man advantage on the KiXX as Enrique Tovar slipped the ball past Pappas to make it 6-4. Aaron Susi extended the lead two minutes later with an unassisted two-pointer past the KiXX defense.
The Cougars came out of the locker room in the third quarter with a shorthanded goal as Tovar took Ryan Hall pass and headed it over a defenseless Pappas to make it a 10-4 game.
D'Ambra struck back to on a restart pass from Martinez to cut the lead 10-6. Philadelphia cut the lead to two on an unassisted goal by midfielder Sandre Naumoski with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Cougars forward Marcos Chantel ended the KiXX scoring run on a restart goal with the assist credited to midfielder Semir Mesanovic to make it a 12-8 game. Nelson Santana extended the lead 14-8 on a Mesanovic assist with 4:45 remaining in the game.
With two minutes left in the game, Philadelphia played with their backs to the wall and it showed. The KiXX went on a scoring drive to make up the difference scoring four goals in two minutes (2:00 Naumoski, 1:27 D'Ambra, :14.2 Naumoski, :01 D'Ambra) with the only break in the KiXX scoring coming on a goal by Cougars midfielder Brian Farber.
Tied at 16 aside, the two went to an overtime period, the first for the Cougars this season. The KiXX won the hard fought match 18-16 on a Tony Donatelli breakaway goal forty seconds into the Overtime period.
Next up for California the team hosts the Chicago Storm at the Stockton Arena on February 25 at 6:00 pm.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 17, 2007
- Fourth Quarter Comeback Propels Philadelphia To Win - California Cougars
- Philly steals one in California with four goals in final two minutes before Donatelli's game winner - Philadelphia KiXX
- Chicago falls 16-10 to Detroit - Chicago Storm
- Detroit wins in front of sellout crowd at Compuware Sports Arena - Detroit Ignition
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.
