Ignition knock off Ironmen
December 20, 2008 - Xtreme Soccer League (XSL)
New Jersey Ironmen News Release
Plymouth, MI - The expectations are still high for the 2008-09 New Jersey Ironmen, but the second-year club has found themselves in an early 0-2 hole after being defeated in overtime by the Detroit Igntion (1-1) at Compuware Arena on Saturday night, 16-14. The loss extends the New Jersey road losing streak to 10 games dating back to last season.
Ironmen defender Rey Martinez put up the first points of the evening at 7:03 of the opening frame after he settled a ball that was sent upfield by fellow defender Evan McNeley. The former Cuban National Team player put a good first touch on the lob to bounce the ball over the head of Detroit defender Zach Wilkes, and he then pounded a shot from beyond the three-point arc just beyond the outstretched arms of Ignition netminder Danny Waltman. In the final minute of the first period, Detroit would retaliate by scoring two quick strikes. With 19 seconds remaining, Ignition defender Josh Rife made good on a Wes Sechrist restart, and an untimely deflection in the Ironmen backfield with two ticks remaining resulted in the visitors trailing 4-3 after 15 minutes of play. Detroit midfielder Vahid Assadpour was credited with the second tally.
At 12:31 of the second stanza, Ignition forward Drew Crawford sent a hard pass to Assadpour on the back post, and the midfielder tapped it in for his second goal of the night to give the home team a 6-3 lead. New Jersey finally answered with 26 seconds remaining in the half on a Lucio Gonzaga to Martinez score, and the 6-5 count stood when the two clubs headed to the locker rooms for intermission.
Detroit wasted little time in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 8-5 as midfielder Tino Scicluna slid a touch underneath Ironmen goalkeeper Brett Phillips at 13:53. Minutes later, Phillips made a great save of a Ryan Mack shot attempt, but Scicluna was there to send home the rebound at 9:56 and give the Ignition a 10-5 edge. New Jersey striker Tiguniho then made his presence felt in his 2008-09 debut by finishing a feed from Gonzaga at 7:42 of the third period, closing the gap to 10-7. Martinez then finished the trifecta at 4:05 by adding an assist to his two-point and three-point goals when he delivered a hard feed across the face of the Detroit goal to veteran forward Shawn Boney for a two-pointer. Boney eclipsed the 300-point mark for his career on that notch, giving him a total of 301 regular season points in his illustrious career.
Midfielder Chile Farias reclaimed the advantage for the Ironmen at 6:33 of the final period when he drilled a three-point bullet into the back of the net on a restart opportunity, and Boney made it nine straight points for New Jersey by finishing a pass from Gonzaga at 4:38. Ignition head coach Matt Johnson then pulled Waltman in favor of the sixth attacker, and the decision paid off. An Assadpour to Drew Crawford goal at 2:45 and a restart tally from Rife to Ryan Mack with 5.8 seconds left sent the game into a golden goal overtime knotted at 14 up.
At 11:54 of the extra stanza, Mack hit the game-winner for Detroit when he finished a pass from midfielder Kyt Selaidopoulus to give the Ignition a 16-14 victory.
The Ironmen will now take a two-week break and hope to start 2009 with a new ambition when they play the Chicago Storm in a Sunday night road contest on January 4th. New Jersey returns to Prudential Center in Newark on Friday, January 9th, to host the Storm. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-IRONMEN.
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Xtreme Soccer League Stories from December 20, 2008
- Storm edged in home opener - Chicago Storm
- Ignition Win Home Opener In Overtime, 16-14 - Detroit Ignition
- Ignition knock off Ironmen - New Jersey Ironmen
- Wave beats Chicago - Milwaukee Wave
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