KiXX Head West to Battle Cougars
Published on January 9, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
KiXX RECORD:
Overall: 3-5
Home: 3-2
Road: 0-3
PREVIOUS RESULTS:
1/7 vs. St. Louis Steamers - L, 5-6 OT
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
1/16 @ California Cougars - 7:00 pm ET
MISL STANDINGS (through games of 1/8)
TEAM W L PCT GB STREAK
Milwaukee Wave 9 1 .900 --- Won 1
St. Louis Steamers 8 3 .727 1.5 Lost 1
Baltimore Blast 6 4 .600 3.0 Lost 1
Philadelphia KiXX 3 5 .375 5.0 Lost 2
Chicago Storm 4 7 .363 5.5 Won 1
California Cougars 1 11 .083 9.0 Won 1
Philadelphia, PA, January 9, 2006 - The Philadelphia KiXX (3-5), who opened 2006 with a 6-5 overtime loss to the St. Louis Steamers on January 7, head west to battle the expansion California Cougars at Stockton Arena for the first time in franchise history on Monday, January 16. The contest is slated to kick-off at 7:00 pm ET. The team then squares-off versus the League-leading Milwaukee Wave in a home-and-home series that commences at the U.S. Cellular Arena on January 20 and then concludes in the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday, January 21. Friday's outing in Milwaukee is scheduled for an 8:05 pm ET game-time, while Saturday's home match will kick-off at 7:05 pm ET.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, January 9, Off Day
Tuesday, January 10, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, January 11, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, January 12, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, January 13, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, January 14, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Sunday, January 15, Travel to California
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Don D'Ambra Hamstring Probable
John Barry Nusum Quad Probable
KiXX vs. Wave
2005-06 Series: 0-2 (home 0-1, away 0-1) Overall: 16-23 (home 13-6, away 3-18)
The home-and-home series will be the third and fourth contests between the KiXX and the Milwaukee Wave this season ... the Wave, under the direction of Head Coach Keith Tozer, earned a 6-3 victory in the first match-up at the Wachovia Spectrum on November 19 ... forward Todd Dusosky led all scorers with three points, all assists, while six different scorers struck for Philadelphia ... Dusosky added another three points (goal, two assists) in the 5-3 Wave victory at the U.S. Cellular Arena on December 9 ... 2005 MISL Rookie of the Year John Barry Nusum led Philadelphia with a pair of goals, while local standout Pat Morris accounted for the team's only other score ... Milwaukee, who are currently sitting atop the League standings, earned the top spot in the playoffs last season and knocked-off former KiXX player/coach Omid Namazi and the Cleveland Force in the two-game MISL Championship, their fourth League Championship in franchise history ... Milwaukee returns its core with two-time Spalding Scoring Champion Greg Howes leading the way (2nd MISL) with 21 points in five games this season ... netminder Nick Vorberg ranks first among MISL goalkeepers in wins (eight), goals against average (3.58) and save percentage (.761) ... Milwaukee won the season series in 2004-05, four games to two.
All-Star Defender Debuts: Philadelphia acquired all-star defender Vlatko Andonovski (AND-oh-NOV-skee) from the expansion California Cougars in exchange for forward Gary Brooks on December 28... Andonovski, who made his debut with Philadelphia versus the St. Louis Steamers on January 7, was originally acquired by California with their fourth selection in the 2005 MISL Expansion Draft on June 22, 2005 ... the native of Skopje, Macedonia registered one goal and four blocks in six games with the Cougars this season ... the six-year veteran, who spent the last four seasons with the Kansas City Comets, recorded 114 points and 153 blocks including 42 points (17 goals and 25 assists) and 45 blocks came in the 2004-05 campaign ... the 29-year-old defender represented Team International in the 2004 MISL All-Star Game and was also named to the All-MISL Second Team after the 2004-05 campaign.
Defender Honored by Fans: Defender Drew Kopp was honored as the Collector's Corner KiXX Player of the Month for his play throughout December prior to the team's contest versus St. Louis on January 7 ... the fan poll was conducted throughout the month on the team's official website www.kixxonline.com ... Kopp, a native of Bridgeport, CT was rewarded after posting a team-high five-points on three goals and a pair of assists in the club's four games ... the six-year veteran notched a season-high three points (two goals, assist) versus California on December 3 and then added a score versus Chicago on December 10 and an assist in Baltimore on December 30 ... fellow backliner Ptah Myers was named the Collector's Corner Player of the Month for November.
Overtime: The KiXX - St. Louis Steamers contest on January 7 marked the team's second overtime contest at home this season ... the team was also forced to the extra stanza versus the expansion California Cougars in their home opener on November 12 ... overtime was a consistent theme around the MISL on January 7, as the night's other two contests were also forced to the extra stanza ... Milwaukee defeated the hosting Baltimore Blast 7-6 and the expansion Cougars earned their first victory of the 2005-06 campaign, 5-4, versus the Chicago Storm ... Philadelphia, who is now 1-1 in overtime, finished the 2004-05 campaign with a 3-5 mark when forced to the extra stanza.
Trouble on Special Teams: Philadelphia allowed a season-high five restart goals versus St. Louis on January 7 and have only knocked-in two off the restart themselves ... the club's power-play unit is also struggling this season, capitalizing on only three of their nine man-advantage opportunities ... forward Shawn Boney has recorded two-of-those-three, courtesy of penalty-kick opportunities ... player/coach Don D'Ambra registered the other score ... the 33.3 percent success rate ranks the unit fourth in the six-team League ... vice versa, the club's penalty-killing unit ranks last in the MISL, blocking three-of-the-six (50.0) man-down situations they have faced ... last season, Philadelphia ranked third in power-play success rate (54.0) and first in kill rate (64.7).
Familiar Face Returns: Philadelphia agreed to terms with veteran midfielder Gary DePalma on January 5 for the remainder of the 2005-06 season ... the club reacquired the rights to the Pittsburgh native in the 2005 MISL Dispersal Draft that was held via teleconference on September 22, 2005 ... DePalma, who will make his season debut versus the California Cougars on Monday, January 16, donned a KiXX uniform for both the 2001-02 and the 2002-03 campaigns ... with Philadelphia, the five-year veteran registered 108 points in 80 appearances, was an integral member of the 2002 championship squad and earned his only all-star recognition during the 2002-03 season ... DePalma was then selected by the St. Louis Steamers in the 2004 MISL Expansion Draft, but was later dealt via three-team deal to the Cleveland Force prior to the 2004-05 campaign ... with the Force last season, the 29-year-old midfielder registered 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 39 regular-season contests and then added a pair of goals and one assist for three points in the club's four playoff dates.
Dynamic Duo: Forwards Goran Vasic and John Barry Nusum have become a potent one-two punch for the KiXX offense this season ... both players opened the season with at least one point in each of the club's first six games ... Nusum, who was inactive versus St. Louis on January 7 with a quad injury, extended his point streak to seven with one of the team's two tallies in Baltimore on December 30 ... Vasic, however, failed to record a point in Baltimore (12/30), snapping his point and assist streak at six ... the native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia began a new streak with a late fourth-quarter tally versus the Steamers (1/7) and has now recorded nine points on three goals and six assists this season ... Nusum, the 2005 MISL Rookie of the Year, has registered seven goals, including the game winner on December 10 and two assists ... the native of Devonshire, Bermuda is listed as probable for the team's contest versus the expansion California Cougars on January 16.
Last Week's Outing(s):
Steamers 6, KiXX 5 OT (1/7): Philadelphia KiXX fell to the second-place St. Louis Steamers 6-5 in overtime in front of a season-high 7,633 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum. Philadelphia native David Castellanos recorded the only score of the first period, 1-0, connecting with the header on a shot off the boards from teammate Andy Guastaferro at 8:31. With only three seconds remaining in the half (14:57), St. Louis evened the score at 1-1 as defender Genoni Martinez recorded a restart goal on assist from Carlos Farias. At 3:48 of the third stanza, St. Louis took their first lead of the game, 2-1, when forward Carlos Farias found midfielder Mariano Bollella, and the Argentina native drilled a shot past Pappas. The KiXX evened the score at 5:22 (2-2), when Shawn Boney connected on his second penalty-kick goal of the season. Philadelphia received the penalty-kick opportunity after Sandre Naumoski was called for a two-minute tripping infraction inside the box. A mere 21 seconds later (5:43), St. Louis regained the lead, 3-2, when Martinez found Jamar Beasley, who then netted the team's third restart goal in less than two minutes. The KiXX knotted things up (3-3) at 8:10 of the final quarter, when Kevin Sloan headed an assist from Pat Morris over the outstretched arms of St. Louis goalkeeper Brett Phillips. Martinez put St. Louis back on top, 4-3, with a bomb on the restart at 9:02 of the stanza. The Steamers extended their advantage to two, 5-3, as Jeff DiMaria converted a pass Beasley only seconds later (9:26). Forward Goran Vasic pulled Philadelphia back within one, 5-4, connecting on a pass from teammate Drew Kopp at 11:53. With only 14 seconds remaining in regulation, local standout Pat Morris (14:46) found the back of the net to knot the game at 5-5 and force the extra stanza. After nearly 10 minutes of scoreless action (9:56), Newsome converted the Steamer's fifth restart goal of the evening on a dish from Martinez to give St. Louis a 6-5 victory.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 9, 2006
- MISL Names Players of the Week - MISL 2
- Genoni Martinez Scores Defender of the Week - St. Louis Steamers
- KiXX Head West to Battle Cougars - Philadelphia KiXX
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