Ironmen Fall to KiXX in Critical Late Season Match Up
March 20, 2008 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
New Jersey Ironmen News Release
NEWARK, NJ (Thursday, March 20, 2008) - The New Jersey Ironmen (13-14) played host to the Philadelphia KiXX (12-15) tonight at Prudential Center in a contest with major playoff implications, but their effort would not be enough to hold off the defending MISL champions. Following the 17-10 defeat, New Jersey has only a one game lead over the KiXX for the final spot in the 2008 playoffs with three games remaining in the regular season. With Philadelphia taking the season series, 3-0, they would receive the final bid should the two clubs end up with identical records at the conclusion of the season.
A defensive battle ensued during the first 15 minutes of the contest with no goals being recorded in the opening frame. Heading into the second period, the two teams were still knotted up with no numbers on the scoreboard.
KiXX midfielder Ptah Myers put up the first points of the game two minutes into the second period by scoring a Tony Donatelli feed, and Donatelli then netted a Ryan Heins ball at 4:20 to give Philadelphia a 4-0 advantage. Namazi ended the Ironmen drought at 6:42 when he set up a Stefan Stokic two-point goal. 16 seconds later, Brazilian forward Freddy Moojen finished an assist from New Jersey captain Lazo Alavanja to even the count at four each, but KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra netted a Pat Morris pass at 7:22 to push the count back in favor of the visiting team, 6-4.
D'Ambra tallied the lone goal of a heavily-whistled third quarter at 13:59 with Donatelli registering the assist, and Philadelphia took an 8-4 lead into the final period of regulation.
The Ironmen closed within a goal at 3:47 of the fourth frame, 8-6, when Dizzy Antoniuk finished an Alavanja feed at 3:47, but Morris hit a three-pointer at 6:58 to make it 11-6 in favor of the KiXX. Moojen hit his second goal of the night when he finished a Craig Scheer feed at 12:27, but the three-point difference would be as close as New Jersey would get. Antoniuk would pick his 37th goal of the season for his share of the MISL lead, but a pair of open-net threes would give Philadelphia the ever-important victory, 17-10.
Suffering the defeat at the hands of the KiXX puts the backs of the Ironmen on the ropes, but they still control their own destiny. They currently possess a one game lead over the defending champions with both teams having three games left on their regular season slate. This upcoming Friday, they will travel to Detroit to play the first place Ignition (18-7) before returning to Newark on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff with La Raza de Monterrey (14-12). New Jersey closes out the season on Friday, April 4, against the Baltimore Blast (16-9) at Prudential Center. Philadelphia closes out the season with a home game against the Milwaukee Wave (18-7) before hitting the road to play La Raza and the California Cougars (9-17).
ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY IRONMEN The New Jersey Ironmen, operated by Jeff Vanderbeek and Michael Gilfillan of the NHL New Jersey Devils ownership group, join the Baltimore Blast, California Cougars, Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, La Raza de Monterrey (MX), Orlando Sharks, and the Philadelphia KiXX in the 2007-08 MISL regular season, which commenced in mid-October and will conclude at the end of March. The Ironmen play a 15-match home schedule at Prudential Center in the Downtown Core Redevelopment District of Newark. The Ironmen are coached by two-time MISL Coach of the Year Omid Namazi and Assistant Coach Kevin Sloan. For more information on the New Jersey Ironmen, visit www.njironmen.com.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 20, 2008
- Ironmen Fall to KiXX in Critical Late Season Match Up - New Jersey Ironmen
- KiXX Pull to Winthin One Game of Final Playoff Spot, 17-10 Over New Jersey - Philadelphia KiXX
- Cougars Weekly Report - California Cougars
- Coach's Corner, with Chicago Storm head coach Steve Morris - Chicago Storm
- Ignition Weekly - Detroit Ignition
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