KiXX concludes 2005-2006 campaign with back-to-back weekend
April 3, 2006 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, April 3, 2006 - The Philadelphia KiXX (9-19) made one final surge for the 2006 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Championship Series with a two-win week, a 4-3 victory versus the top-seeded St. Louis Steamers on March 30 and a 7-5 win versus the expansion California Cougars on April 1. Despite the late push, the club was eliminated from playoff contention after the fourth-placed Chicago Storm secured the final spot with a victory versus the Baltimore Blast on April 2. The KiXX had previously qualified for a playoff position in each of their previous nine years of existence.
Philadelphia concludes the 2005-06 season with a set of back-to-back contests, commencing with the team's home finale versus the Blast on Saturday, April 8. The first 2,500 fans to enter the game will receive a KiXX Rally Towel, courtesy of G&J Automotive, Inc.. The contest, which will be televised live on CN8, The Comcast Network, at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET. The series concludes with a trip to the Windy City to battle the Chicago Storm at UIC Pavilion on Sunday, April 9. Game-time is slated for 5:00 pm ET.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, April 3, Off Day
Tuesday, April 4, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, April 5, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, April 6, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, April 7, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, April 8, KiXX vs. Baltimore Blast, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm
Sunday, April 9, KiXX @ Chicago Storm, UIC Pavilion, 5:00 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Shawn Boney Arm Out
Andy Guastaferro Ankle Out
Kevin Sloan Back/Hamstring Questionable
Goran Vasic Jaw Out
KiXX vs. Blast
2005-06 Series: 1-4 (home 1-1, away 0-3) Overall: 37-30 (home 21-12, away 16-18)
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 continued to dominate the KiXX with a 5-2 decision in the first game of a home-and-home series at 1st Mariner Arena on March 3 ... Neto led all scorers with four points on three goals and one assist ... Philadelphia then defeated the visiting Blast, 7-5, on March 4 thanks to solid performances from newcomers David Schofield, Josh Rife and local product David Castellanos ... Baltimore then earned a 6-2 win in their final meeting at 1st Mariner Arena on March 26 ... the Blast remain without the services of Head Coach Tim Wittman ... Wittman was suspended by the MISL for the remainder of the regular and postseason for his actions following the club's contest in California on March 18 ... the Blast 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 ... 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.
KiXX vs. Storm
2005-06 Series: 2-3 (home 2-1, away 0-2) Overall: 4-5 (home 3-2, away 1-3)
The Philadelphia KiXX and the Chicago Storm met for the first time in franchise history on November 14, 2004 ... Philadelphia dropped the decision, 4-7, but split the season-series, two-games apiece, in 2004-05 ... Philadelphia edged past the visiting Storm, 3-2, in a low-scoring affair in the first meeting this season on December 10 ... Shawn Boney, Drew Kopp and John Barry Nusum each netted a goal for the KiXX, while Novi Marojevic and Byron Alvarez struck for Chicago ... the Storm bounced back to equally edge past the hosting KiXX, 4-3, in the opening game of a home-and-home series on January 28 ... despite a season-high three-point performance (two goals, assist) from midfielder Andy Guastaferro, the KiXX then dropped the second game, 8-6, in the Windy City on January 29 ... Marojevic paced Chicago, who rallied for a 4-0 deficit, with three points on a pair of goals and two assists ... the club fell, 8-4, on February 12 as three Storm players recorded three points ... Philadelphia then edged Chicago, 6-5, in the most recent meeting at the Wachovia Spectrum on March 25 ... Guastaferro made his professional indoor debut with Philadelphia in the 2003-04 campaign, but was then selected third overall by the Storm in the 2004 MISL Expansion Draft ... with Chicago, the native of Canandaigua, NY recorded 16 points on 10 goals and six assists ... the KiXX reacquired the rights to the 26-year-old midfielder in exchange for a player-to-be-named (Allen Eller) on October 24 ... led by Head Coach Frank Klopas, the Storm enter the contest with a 9-15 overall record and holding three-game lead over Philadelphia for the fourth spot in the MISL standings ... the two clubs will square-off a total of six times.
Operation Soccer Ball: The Philadelphia KiXX have partnered with the Defense Department's "America Supports You," as well as several branches of the United States Military and Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association (EPSYA) to distribute soccer balls to the youth players throughout the countries of Afghanistan and Iraq .. any fan bringing a new soccer ball to the team's home finale versus the Baltimore Blast on Saturday, April 8 will receive a voucher for a complimentary ticket to a KiXX home game in the 2006-07 season ... the contest, which will be televised live on CN8, The Comcast Network, is scheduled to kick-off at 7:05 pm ET with the doors opening at 6:00 pm ET ... the KiXX and Spalding, the official soccer ball of the MISL, will partner to donate a minimum of 50 new official rocket red soccer balls to the cause .. for more information, please contact the KiXX Office at 1-888-888-KIXX (5499).
Newcomer Honored: KiXX forward Dino Delevski was named the League's Offensive Player-of-the-Week for the seven-day period April 2 ... the distinction is the first of the season for the two-time MISL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the fifth overall for the club ... the native of Skopje, Macedonia paced the club with four points in their 2-0 week, posting a pair of points in both the team's 4-3 victory versus the top-seeded St. Louis Steamers on March 30 and their 7-5 win versus the expansion California Cougars on April 1 ... the six-year veteran and five-time All-League selection was drafted in the 2005 MISL Dispersal Draft and agreed to terms for the remainder of the 2005-06 campaign on February 16 ... he has registered 11 points on seven goals and four assists in only seven appearances with Philadelphia this season.
Television Broadcasts: The 2005-06 KiXX television package concludes with the club's home finale versus their Interstate-95 rival, the Baltimore Blast, on Saturday, April 8 ... the team enters the contest with a 13-9 record when competing in a televised game over the past four seasons ... each telecast broadcasts live on CN8, The Comcast Network which currently reaches 7.1 million households from Maine to Virginia ... veteran Bob Lampinen will provide the play-by-play, while Jimmy Harrison will serve as the color analyst.
Back-to-Back: The KiXX embark on their seventh and final set of back-to-back contests to wrap up the 2005-06 season ... the club first welcomes the Baltimore Blast for their home finale on Saturday, April 8 ... game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET ... the series and the season then concludes with a trip to the Windy City to square-off versus the Chicago Storm on Sunday, April 9 ... the contest at UIC Pavilion is slated for a 5:00 pm ET start ... to date this season, the team is now 1-5 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 2-4 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 L, 2-5 3/4 vs. Baltimore W, 7-5
3/18 vs. St. Louis L, 3-7 3/19 at Milwaukee L, 1-6
3/25 vs. Chicago Storm W, 6-5 3/26 at Baltimore Blast L, 2-6
4/8 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm 4/9 at Chicago 5:00 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Last Week's Outing(s):
KiXX 7, Cougars 5 (4/1): The club earned a 7-5 victory versus the expansion California Cougars in their final trip to Stockton Arena on April 1. Just 19 seconds into the opening quarter of play, Drew Kopp converted on a pass from Northeast Catholic graduate Pat Morris to give the visiting KiXX and early 1-0 advantage. The tally was the 12th of the season (19 points) for the native of Bridgeport, CT, as he continues to establish new highs in both goals and in points in his seven-year career. Philadelphia player/coach and local product Don D'Ambra extended the club's advantage to two, 2-0, with an unassisted score at 3:22 of the second frame. Cougars forward Vicente Figueroa closed out the first-half scoring, 2-1, off a dish from teammate Ricardinho at 10:48. Ricardinho opened the second half to pull the clubs even, 2-2, at 4:32 of the third quarter, but rookie midfielder David Castellanos responded with a pair of unanswered goals to regain Philadelphia's two-point advantage, 4-2. The University of Connecticut product struck first on an assist from Kopp at 8:03 of the quarter, before connecting on a feed from forward Shawn Boney at 12:19. California's Bernie Lilavois pulled the hosts back within one, 4-3, with a score at 14:16, but KiXX newcomer Dino Delevski quickly responded with a tally at 14:28, 5-3. Brian Farber cut Philadelphia's advantage back to one, 5-4, finishing off a dish from teammate Enrique Tovar at the 4:44 mark of the fourth and final period of action. Ricardinho once again knotted the clubs, 5-5, with his second score of the evening on Tovar's second dime of the contest at 9:25, but Philadelphia rattled off two unanswered notches to secure a 7-5 victory. Develski found the back of the net for the second time at 11:35 of the stanza, followed by a score from defender Ptah Myers at 12:49.
KiXX 4, Steamers 3 (3/30): Philadelphia defeated former player/coach Omid Namazi and the St. Louis Steamers, 4-3, in the club's annual school-day matinee at the Savvis Center. The victory was the first of the season versus St. Louis and only the second on the road. After a scoreless first quarter, Drew Kopp opened the game's scoring on a pass from all-star defender Vlatko Andonovski at 1:15 of the second period to give the visiting KiXX an early 1-0 advantage. Ptah Myers followed to increase Philadelphia's lead to two, 2-0, on a dish from player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan at 5:30. Steamers' Jamar Beasley responded with a pair of unanswered goals to close out the half with the two clubs knotted at 2-2. Beasley struck first on a feed from Jeff DiMaria at 8:27, before notching his second score with less than 30 seconds remaining in the frame (14:31) from Genoni Martinez. Delevsi, a two-time MISL MVP, regained Philadelphia's advantage, 3-2, connecting on a power-play goal off an assist from player/coach Don D'Ambra at 8:44 of the third stanza; the club received the one-man advantage courtesy of a two-minute boarding penalty assessed on Elvir Kafedzic. DiMaria once again knotted the score, 3-3, with a tally at 10:46. Rife sealed the KiXX victory, 4-3, burying a pas from Delevski past Elfvin and into the back of the net at 13:36 of the final quarter of action.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 3, 2006
- MISL players of the week - MISL 2
- Steamers Weekly - St. Louis Steamers
- KiXX concludes 2005-2006 campaign with back-to-back weekend - Philadelphia KiXX
- Steamers Opening Round Schedule is Set - St. Louis Steamers
- KiXX Forward Dino Delevski Named MISL Offensive Player of the Week - Philadelphia KiXX
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