KiXX battles the Baltimore Blast in a home-and-home series this weekend

Published on February 27, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2) News Release

Philadelphia, PA, February 27, 2006 - The Philadelphia KiXX (5-14) battle their Interstate 95 rival, the Baltimore Blast, in a home-and-home series that commences at 1st Mariner Arena on Friday, March 3. Game-time is slated for 7:35 pm ET with the action available via webcast at www.baltimoreblast.com. The teams then return to the City of Brotherly Love to conclude the series on Saturday, March 4. The night, dubbed "Christian Night" includes post-game testimonials from various KiXX players and a free concert featuring national recording artist, The Afters. Kick-off at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET with the doors opening at 6:00 pm ET.

This Week's Itinerary:

Monday, February 27, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Tuesday, February 28, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Wednesday, March 1, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Thursday, March 2, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Friday, March 3, KiXX @ Baltimore Blast, 1st Mariner Arena, 7:35 pm

Saturday, March 4, KiXX vs. Baltimore Blast, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm

Sunday, February 26, Off Day

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

Injury Report:

Player Injury Status

Vlatko Andonovski Calf Out

Dino Delevski Hamstring Questionable

Drew Kopp Hamstring Questionable

Goran Vasic Jaw Out

KiXX vs. Blast

2005-06 Series: 0-2 (home 0-1, away 0-1) Overall: 36-28 (home 20-12, away 16-16)

The Blast earned a 8-2 victory in the first match-up between the Interstate-95 rivals on December 30 ... Giuliano Celenza and Adauto Neto each posted a ha trick for Baltimore, while John Barry Nusum and Andy Guastaferro notched the only goals for the KiXX ... the Blast then defeated the hosting KiXX 8-4 in front of a season-high 9,356 fans for the club's 11th Annual School Day Game on February 8 ... all-star defender P.J. Wakefield led all scorers with three assists ... Nusum and veteran forward Goran Vasic each posted a pair of points for Philadelphia .... Baltimore entered the season with a revamped roster, courtesy of the additions of forwards Adauto Neto and Robbie Aristodemo ... both players were acquired in the 2005 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Dispersal Draft of the Cleveland Force and the Kansas City Comets ... with veteran forward Denison Cabral on the inactive list after sustaining a knee injury versus the KiXX on December 30, Neto and Celenza have become a potent one-two punch for the Blast ... Neto ranks second in the League with 45 points, while Celenza is first in goals (31) and fourth in points (36) ... veteran Sagu is ranked third among MISL goalkeepers in points against average (4.83) and enters the contest with a 12-4 record ... the two clubs squared-off in a preseason exhibition at Tri-State Sports, the KiXX practice facility on October 27 with the five-quarter scrimmage ending in a nine-nine tie ... Philadelphia and the Blast, one of the League's oldest rivals, will meet a total of six times in 2005-06.

Local Standout Shines: On February 27, the MISL announced that Philadelphia native Pat Morris was named the League's Defensive Player-of-the-Week for the seven-day period ending February 26 ... the Northeast Catholic product, almost single-handedly snapped the team's franchise worst nine-game losing streak with a career-best four-goal performance, including the game winner at 2:39 of overtime, versus the defending League Champion Milwaukee Wave on February 25 ... after a score from Philadelphia newcomer Dino Delevski at 2:43 of the third frame, Morris recorded three consecutive goals to knot the score at 6-6 and force the extra stanza ... the Philadelphia University graduate then sealed the team's comeback connecting on a pass from teammate Gary DePalma for the game-winning power-play score ... Morris also posted a two-point outing versus the expansion Cougars in California to kick-off the week's action on February 20 ... he currently leads the KiXX with 16 blocks and ranks tied for second with 17 points (11 goals and six assists) in 15 appearances ... the distinction was the first of the season for the seven-year veteran and the fourth overall for the team ... here are his teammates who have already received weekly honors in 2005-06:

Player MISL Distinction Period Ending

Ptah Myers Defensive Player of the Week November 13

Peter Pappas Goalkeeper of the Week December 4

Drew Kopp Defensive Player of the Week January 22

Franchise Marks: The club snapped a franchise worst nine-game losing streak with a come-from-behind 7-6 overtime victory versus the Milwaukee Wave on February 25 ... prior to the victory, Philadelphia posted a 4-14 record, establishing a franchise worst mark of being 10 games under the break-even point ... the team's previous low of seven games under .500 (16-23) occurred during their inaugural campaign of 1996-97 ... the club has not posted a losing season since their first year and has qualified for a playoff spot in each of their nine years of existence ... the KiXX lost six consecutive outings from January 26, 2001 to February 17, 2001, but still managed to finish the 2000-01 season with a 22-18 record.

Overtime: The KiXX were forced to overtime for the fourth time this season versus Milwaukee (2/25) and earned a 7-6 victory as local standout Pat Morris recorded his fourth consecutive goal at 2:39 of the extra stanza ... in the previous overtime action, the team fell 4-3 courtesy of a goal from former Philadelphia midfielder Gary Brooks at 1:18 ... the club was also forced to the extra stanza versus the expansion Cougars on November 12 and versus the St. Louis Steamers contest on January 7 ... the KiXX defeated California 7-6, but then fell to the Steamers 7-6 ... with the win versus Milwaukee, the KiXX now post an even 2-2 record when playing in overtime this season ... Philadelphia finished the 2004-05 campaign with a 3-5 mark when forced to the extra stanza.

Back-to-Back: The KiXX schedule of back-to-back contests this season continues with a home-and-home series versus the Baltimore Blast ... the set commences with a road trip to 1st Mariner Arena on Friday, March 3 and then concludes at the Wachovia Spectrum on Saturday, March 4 ... to date this season, the team is 0-3 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-2 in the latter contest ... last season (2004-05), the club posted a 7-4 record in the first game of back-to-back series and an even 5-5 mark in the latter ... listed below are all of the back-to-back sets this season:

Date Opponent W/L* Date Opponent W/L*

12/9 at Milwaukee L, 3-5 12/10 vs. Chicago W, 3-2

1/20 at Milwaukee L, 5-10 1/21 vs. Milwaukee L, 4-7

1/28 vs. Chicago L, 3-4 1/29 at Chicago L, 6-8

3/3 at Baltimore 7:35 pm 3/4 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm

3/18 vs. St. Louis 7:05 pm 3/19 at Milwaukee 2:05 pm

4/8 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm 4/9 at Chicago 5:00 pm

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

KiXX Summer Kamps: Philadelphia KiXX announced on February 14 that online registration for the 2006 Philadelphia KiXX Summer Soccer Kamp program is now available ... the program, which opens in mid-June and runs through late August, is designed for boys and girls (ages four through 16) with approximately 35 locations throughout the Tri-State area ... the online registration webpage can be accessed by clicking the 2006 KiXX Kamp logo, which is located on the left navigator bar of the team's official website, www.kixxonline or by logging onto directly at www.kixxinteractive.com/kamps ... Pro Sports Media created all aspects of the webpage, while Thriva created and will handle the online registration process ... for more information or to obtain an official 2006 KiXX Kamp brochure, contact the club's office at 1-888-888-KiXX.

Last Week's Outing(s):

KiXX 7, Wave 6 OT (2/25): Forward Michael Wiesner opened the game's scoring with a pair of goals in a span just over one minute to give the visiting Wave an early 2-0 advantage. The native of Minneapolis, MN first notched a tally off a feed from teammate Matt Schmidt at 2:19 of the first quarter, before connecting with current MISL points-leader Greg Howes at 3:41. Philadelphia finally struck onto the scoreboard at 7:14 of the frame, as midfielder Ptah Myers found the back of the net on a nice pass off the boards from Gary DePalma. Giuliano Oliviero concluded the quarter's scoring, 3-1, on a pass from Howes, his second assist of the evening, at 12:04. A mere 34 seconds into the second stanza, Howes extended Milwaukee's lead to three, 4-1, with an unassisted restart score. Kyt Selaidopoulos stretched the advantage to four, 5-1, on an assist from Todd Dusosky at 7:10. Just over a minute (8:13), 2005 MISL Rookie of the Year John Barry Nusum blasted home a feed from rookie defender Clay Roberts to cut the KiXX deficit back to three, 5-2. With local product Chris Fehrle serving a two-minute tripping penalty, Marcelo Fontana registered an unassisted power-play goal to regain Milwaukee's four-point cushion, 6-2. KiXX newcomer Dino Delevski pulled the team back within three, 6-3, on a dish from forward Shawn Boney at 2:15 of the third period. Northeast Catholic graduate Pat Morris cut the deficit down to two, 6-4, connecting on a pass from Nusum at 8:47. Just 19 seconds into the final quarter of play, Morris recorded his second tally of the night, from Delevski to pull Philadelphia within one, 6-5. Morris completed his hat trick (three goals) with an unassisted restart goal at 11:42 of the frame to knot the score, 6-6, and force the action into the extra stanza. Morris completed the KiXX comeback with his fourth consecutive score at 2:39 of overtime, 7-6. DePalma registered the assist on the play.

Cougars 5, KiXX 3 (2/20): Enrique Tover opened the scoring with the only goal of the first quarter (2:08), a header off a rebounded shot from teammate Craig Scheer to give the hosting Cougars an early 1-0 advantage. Local products David Castellanos and Pat Morris connected to knot the game, 1-1, at 3:33 of the second period. Vicente Figueroa quickly responded to regain California's one-goal lead, 2-1, at 4:14. John Ball added an unassisted tally to lengthen the Cougar advantage to two, 3-1, at 8:30, but KiXX newcomer Dino Delevski notched an unassisted tally of his own with only two seconds remaining in the half (14:58), to pull the team back within one, 3-2. After a scoreless third quarter, California registered a pair of unanswered goals to extend their advantage to three, 5-2. Susi struck first on a dish from Ricardinho at 8:55 of the stanza, followed by Ball's second tally of the evening at 13:26. With midfielder Gary DePalma serving as sixth attacker, Morris pulled Philadelphia back within two on a feed from player/coach Don D'Ambra at 13:44, but the Cougars held on to earn a 5-3 victory.

KiXX RECORD:

Overall: 5-14

Home: 4-7

Road: 1-7

PREVIOUS RESULTS:

2/20 @ California Cougars - L, 3-5

2/25 vs. Milwaukee Wave - W, 7-6 OT

THIS WEEK'S GAMES:

3/3 @ Baltimore Blast - 7:35 pm ET

3/4 vs. Baltimore Blast - 7:05 pm ET

Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 27, 2006

• Steamers weekly - St. Louis Steamers
• MISL names players of the week - MISL 2
• KiXX battles the Baltimore Blast in a home-and-home series this weekend - MISL 2
• Philly Native Pat Morris Named MISL Defensive Player of the Week - Philadelphia KiXX

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