Harrisburg Recap - MASL December Awards
January 9, 2017 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Syracuse Silver Knights News Release
KANSAS CITY - The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) announced the December winners of the Player, Coach and Goalkeeper of the Month awards.
Goalkeeper of the Month - Brett Petricek (Cedar Rapids Rampage)
Petricek led the MASL in December with the best save percentage of any goalkeeper with more than three starts (.791). His strong play was central to the Rampage's 5-0 December and helped to place the team at the top of the Central Division table.
Player of the Month - Ian Bennett (Milwaukee Wave)
After a rough start to the season, Bennett has helped the Wave climb back into contention. The team had a 3-1 record in December, in large part to Bennett's 20 goals. In fact, he scored at least 6 six goals in three of the four games of the month. He continues to prove dangerous as he also finished the month with the league's highest shooting percentage (.769).
Coach of the Month - Luis Jaime Borrego (Sonora)
Sonora has rattled off seven straight wins, including all three of their matches in December. In those matches his team outscored their opponents 33-12. Sonora holds a 2.5 game lead in the Southwest Division over their closest rival, Atletico Baja.
SILVER KNIGHTS TAKE OVER SECOND PLACE WITH WIN OVER HARRISBURG
The Syracuse Silver Knights desperately needed a win against division rivals Harrisburg on Friday night, and Syracuse earned it with an 11-7 victory over the Heat.
Silver Knights Coach Bryan O'Quinn's side responded positively to the pressure to get a win with seven goals in the first half, paving the way to a more reasonable path for Syracuse to earn a place in the Major Arena Soccer League playoffs.
The victory puts Syracuse (4-5) in a tie with Harrisburg (4-5), but the Silver Knights now own the tiebreaker in head-to-head play, three games to one. If the Silver Knights had lost, Syracuse would have trailed Harrisburg by two games while still having three games remaining on its schedule versus defending MASL champions Baltimore.
Veteran forward Joey Tavernese stepped up big, tallying a hat trick in the first half and earning the game's first star. Defender Jake Schindler earned the second star, adding a goal and two assists and helping Syracuse to a 7-4 lead at the half.
The diminutive and colorful Syracuse midfielder Antonio Manfut earned the game's third star, scoring two goals, one of them an impressive blast from distance into the top left corner of the Heat's goal.
Harrisburg came out playing high pressure soccer at the start of the third quarter, but Syracuse withstood the onslaught and effectively counter-attacked with a fast break. The blazing finish from Manfut put Syracuse up 8-4 and took a little of the steam out of the Heat.
After a foul on Harrisburg midfielder Val Teixeira for holding back Tavernese, the Silver Knights went on the power play. A shot from Syracuse forward Moises Gonzalez went just wide but fell right to Tavernese, who put the rebound in the back of the net for his fourth goal on the night and gave Syracuse a 9-4 lead.
Midfielder Nate Bourdeau tacked on another for Syracuse, dispossessing Harrisburg keeper Hugo Silva and rolling in a long shot from midfield to put the Silver Knights up six.
The Heat briefly started to melt down after that, with midfielder Thiago Freitas picking up a five-minute yellow card for unsportsmanlike manner late in the third. The quarter finished with Syracuse leading 10-4.
Harrisburg's Lucio Gonzaga scored on a shootout in the fourth quarter, slipping a shot under a defenseless Andrew Coughlin and making it 10-5. The Heat added goals from midfielders Dominic Francis and Doug Mellor to cut the deficit to three with two minutes left.
It was too little, too late for Harrisburg, as Syracuse spread the field and worked on its possession passing game to ice the Heat. A foul on Harrisburg's sixth attacker, Thiago Freitas, led to a shootout goal from Syracuse's Slavisa Ubiparipovic, which finished the scoring and sealed the 11-7 victory.
Syracuse starts a three-game road trip at Kansas City on Jan. 20 prior to returning to Dave and Buster's Field for its next home match on Sunday, Jan. 29 versus the Chicago Mustangs. For information on tickets, call 303-7261.
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from January 9, 2017
- Harrisburg Recap - MASL December Awards - Syracuse Silver Knights
- Fury Can't Slow Sockers in San Diego - Ontario Fury
- Sockers Cruise To 7-3 Win Vs Fury - San Diego Sockers
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.
