KiXX clinch playoff spot, set to host semi-final game on April 14

March 26, 2007 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release


Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2007 - The Philadelphia KiXX (16-12) split the club's weekend set against Baltimore and Milwaukee. Against the Blast on Saturday, March 24, the KiXX won by a score of 14-7 in the first regular season game in MISL history to be televised live nationally. The club had to travel to Milwaukee to take on the Wave at 2:00pm the following day, dropping the match 18-10. Genoni Martinez extended his point streak to 13 games, recording five points and five blocks over the weekend. Despite the loss to the Wave, the KiXX clinched a playoff spot by winning the head-to-head point differential tie-breaker against Milwaukee. With just two games remaining, the club sits one game out of first place, behind the Detroit Ignition. Philadelphia will travel to Baltimore this Friday, March 30 to face the Blast before returning home on March 31 to host the Ignition at 7:05pm ET. The first 2,500 fans under the age of 14 will receive a mini-ball courtesy of the Children's Miracle Network at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The game will be televised live on CN8, the Comcast Network.

This Week's Itinerary:

Monday, March 26, Off Day

Tuesday, March 27, Training, Tri-State Sports, 10:00am to 12:00pm

Wednesday, March 28, Training, Tri-State Sports, 10:00am to 12:00pm

Thursday, March 29, Training, Tri-State Sports, 10:00am to 12:00pm

Friday, March 30, at Baltimore, 7:35pm ET

Saturday, March 31, vs. Detroit, 7:05pm ET

Sunday, April 1, Off Day

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

Injury Report: Injury Status

John Barry Nusum Hamstring Questionable

KiXX vs. Baltimore

2006-07 Series: 2-3 (home 2-1, away 0-2) Overall: 40-33 (home 24-13, away 16-20)

This Friday's meeting will be the sixth and final time that the Blast and KiXX face off this season with Baltimore taking three of the five matches ... Baltimore has dropped four straight including March 24 at Philadelphia ... the Blast fell out of first place when they lost to Detroit on Friday, March 16 and dropped into a second place tie at one game back with a loss to Milwaukee on March 18 ... the Blast now find themselves 2.0 games back in fourth place with just two games remaining ... Blast forward Machel Millwood has become an offensive force with 27 goals and nine assists, ranking him seventh in the MISL with 63 points ... last year's MISL MVP, Adauto Neto is out for the season with a knee injury ... Denison Cabral has added 23 goals and 14 assists ...in net, Sagu sports a 12-9 record and a League best 9.99 PAA ... the defending champions are led by former Blast stand-out Danny Kelly, who retired from professional play at the end of the 2005-06 season to coach the team full time ... Kelly played 14 seasons in the MISL, collecting three MISL Titles.

Game Two: The KiXX will host the Detroit Ignition on Saturday, March 31, live on CN8 with kick off set for 7:05pm ET ... Detroit is currently one full game ahead of Philadelphia in the MISL standings ... with a win over Baltimore on March 30, the KiXX have a chance to take over the top spot with a weekend sweep ... Detroit's regular season finale will be Sunday, April 1 against Chicago ... Jamar Beasley leads the MISL in goals (39) and points (104), thought Philly's defense has kept Beasley in check for the most part, allowing only three goals ... Carlos Farias has been a nightmare for the KiXX this season, recording 15 points in five games ... Farias has 15 goals for 50 points in 24 games this season ... in net, keeper Sanaldo sports a 13-10 record and a 10.63 PAA ... first year coach Mark Pulisic played eight seasons with the Harrisburg Heat.

Back-to-Back Contests: This weekend's back-to-back set marks the seventh and final time in which the team will compete in two games in the same number of days ... the club begins the series with a March 30 contest against the Baltimore Blast at the 1st Mariner Arena, before a March 31 match at the Wachovia Spectrum against Detroit ... thus far, the club is 5-7 when competing in back-to-back games ... here is the club's schedule of back-to-back games this season and their results in each:

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

12/9 vs. Chicago L, 4-10 12/10 vs. Chicago W, 16-13

1/27 vs. Chicago L, 2-6 1/28 at Detroit W, 9-8

2/2 at Baltimore L, 19-12 2/3 vs. Baltimore L, 16-8

2/24 vs. Milwaukee W, 24-14 2/25 at Detroit L, 22-12

3/10 at Chicago W, 18-11 3/11 at Milwaukee L, 11-7

2/24 vs. Baltimore W, 14-7 2/25 at Milwaukee L, 18-10

3/30 at Baltimore 7:35 pm 3/31 vs. Detroit 7:05 pm

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

Martinez Living Up to the Hype: KiXX All-Star defender Genoni Martinez has been proving why he has been named Defender-of-the-Year three-times in the MISL, after Philadelphia selected him with the club's first round pick in the 2006 St. Louis Steamers Dispersal Draft ... Martinez is currently riding an 13-game point streak, while leading the MISL in three-point goals with seven ... in just 25 games this season, Martinez has shot up the MISL leaderboard in points with 69, ranking him fifth ... the Mexico City native leads the KiXX with 20 assists, while contributing 31 blocks and five power-play goals ... this season alone, Martinez has recorded the 250th goal of his career, the 650th point, the 100th career two-point goal, and the 200th assist of his career ... Martinez was named Player-of-the-Week in the MISL for his efforts during the seven-day period ending January 14 and Philadelphia's Player-of-the-Month for his 25 points in five games during February.

Last Game: MIL 18, PHI 10 (3/25/07): The Philadelphia KiXX (16-12) fell to the Milwaukee Wave (14-14) by a final score of 18-10 at U.S Cellular Arena ... Philadelphia clinched a playoff spot despite the loss by virtue of owning the tiebreaker against Milwaukee ... under MISL Rules, if at the end of the regular season, two teams are tied in record, the tiebreaker is head-to-head record ... the Wave and KiXX are tied at 3-3 after the series finale ... the third criteria moves to head-to-head point differential, which Philly owns by one point ... the KiXX are currently in second place, just one game back of the first place Detroit Ignition, who will visit the Wachovia Spectrum on March 31, the last game of the regular season ... with only two games remaining, Philadelphia will travel to Baltimore on Friday, March 30 to take on the Blast at 7:35pm ET ... veteran Michael King recorded a hat trick in a must win for the Milwaukee Wave, and 2003-04, 04-05 MISL MVP Greg Howes buried two three-pointers against Philadelphia ... the KiXX had trouble finding the net, as Milwaukee recorded 15 blocks in front of 2005-06 Keeper-of-the-Year Brett Phillips ... former KiXX player Goran Vasic also scored his second goal of the season ... Dino Delevski scored two goals for the KiXX, while player/coach Don D'Ambra, captain Pat Morris, and three-time Defender-of-the-Year Genoni Martinez all recorded two-pointers for Philadelphia ... D'Ambra also assisted on two goals ... Martinez's goal came in a shootout after a Phillips hand ball outside of the box ... the goal extends Martinez's point streak to 13 games ... shots ended 34-34 ... the KiXX went 2-2 on the power play on goals from D'Ambra and Martinez ... Philadelphia's John Barry Nusum did not dress for the 11th time this season with a sore hamstring ... KiXX defender Casey Barton played in his 100th career game.

Recently: PHI 14, BAL 7 (3/24/07): The Philadelphia KiXX (16-11) defeated the Baltimore Blast (15-13) by a final score of 14-7 in front of 7,264 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum ... the game was televised nationally on the Versus Network, the first such broadcast in Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) regular season history ... the KiXX hold sole possession of second place, just one game back of the first place Detroit Ignition with only three games remaining in the regular season ... Tarik Walker put Baltimore on the board first on a two-pointer set up by Jonathan Steele ... Genoni Martinez wasted no time extending his current point streak to 12 games with his 20th goal on the season from Shawn Boney ... Carlos Garcia buried a three-pointer just over a minute later to put the Blast back on top 5-3 after one quarter ... Garcia committed his fourth foul of the half, warranting a two minute penalty, at the 10:13 mark of the second quarter ... KiXX captain Pat Morris capitalized on the power play on a rebound from an Edgar Bartolomeu shot, tying the game at five apiece ... Ptah Myers gave Philly their first lead less than one minute later from Boney ... player/coach Don D'Ambra would extend that lead on a pass from Tony Donatelli, putting Philadelphia up 9-5 going into half time ... after a scoreless third quarter, Tarik Walker's second of the night brought Baltimore back to within two, 9-7 at 10:37 of the final stanza ... D'Ambra would pad the KiXX lead at the 6:36 mark of the fourth, with his second of the night and team leading 28th of the season, 11-7 ... Pat Morris sealed the Philly victory with an empty net goal versus the 6th attacker ... Philadelphia's John Barry Nusum did not dress for the tenth time this season with a sore hamstring.



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 26, 2007


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