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Heat Humbled in Cleveland

November 22, 2002 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Harrisburg Heat News Release


Cleveland, OH - Matt Tanzini scored a pair of goals in his first game back from a concussion and the Harrisburg Heat scored six points within 56 seconds in a furious third-quarter rally, but the Cleveland Force rode big nights from Hector Marinaro and Giuliano Oliviero to a 23-12 win over the Heat in front of 6,036 fans at The Convo on Friday night. The Heat drops to 4-5 with the loss, and Cleveland improves to 5-4, holding a one game over Harrisburg for second place in the MISL's Eastern Conference. Doug Petras (3-3) took the loss in goal. The defeat stands as Harrisburg's worst of the 2002-03 season thus far.

Cleveland assumed a fairly innocuous 4-2 lead at the end of one quarter, thanks to 2pgs from Lee Edgerton (5:55) and Chris Stathopolous (14:58) sandwiched around a deuce from Tanzini at 11:05. But the Force began a dominating run early in the second, using a 2pg from Oliviero (2:15) and a pair of deuces from Marinaro (8:00 and 9:27) to build a 10-2 halftime advantage. Oliviero continued the Cleveland run at 5:38 of the third, finishing a Marinaro feed to make it 12-2.

Harrisburg ended the run with prejudice in the third by scoring six points within 56 seconds, beginning with a Martin Hernandez restart goal at 8:53 (his first goal of the year). Tanzini headed home a loose ball at 9:23 to make it 12-6, and at 9:49 Horacio Robledo banged home the rebound of a Chris Morman drive and the Force lead had dwindled to 12-8. Cleveland veteran John Ball answered with just three seconds left in the third, however, as he beat Petras to a ball outside the yellow line and stroked a backbreaking 3pg into the open net for a 15-8 Force lead heading into the fourth.

Oliviero completed his hat trick for the Force with a two-point restart goal at 2:16 of the fourth to make it 17-8, putting the Heat on its heels. That trend continued at 5:15 when Nevio Pizzolitto cracked a three-point restart goal over Petras from the neutral zone to make it 20-8. With Hernandez on as the Heat's sixth attacker at 12:05, John Ball rolled in an empty-net 3pg to make it 23-8. The Heat's Genoni Martinez (13:41) and David Bascome (14:37) scored academic 2pgs as the clock wound down, and Cleveland secured the 23-12 win.

NOTES: The Heat had not allowed a restart goal coming into the game, but surrendered two consecutive restart tallies to Cleveland in the fourth...Giuliano Oliviero and Hector Marinaro both finished with 7 points for the Force. Marinaro has now scored 280 points in 46 career games against Harrisburg...These two clubs will next meet at the Farm Show Arena on Saturday, December 7...Harrisburg next travels to Dallas to face the Sidekicks this Sunday, November 24. Kickoff at Reunion Arena is 7:05 p.m. EST.

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