KiXX improve to 9-4 and extends hold on first place by full game
January 22, 2007 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, January 22, 2007 - The Philadelphia KiXX (9-4) prepare for a back-to-back weekend commencing with a visit from the Chicago Storm on Saturday, January 27. The night, dubbed "Scout Night," offers special promotions and discounts to the area's boy scouts. Game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET with the action available live via webcast at www.wmssfm.com. The club concludes the back-to-back set with a trip to the Motor City to square-off versus the Detroit Ignition on Sunday, January 28. The contest is slated for a 4:35 pm ET start at the Compuware Sports Arena.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, January 22, Off
Tuesday, January 23, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, January 24, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 am
Thursday, January 25, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, January 26, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, January 27, Chicago Storm, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm
Sunday, January 28, KiXX @ Detroit Ignition, Compuware Sports Arena, 4:35 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Don D'Ambra Hamstring Questionable
Steve Wacker Knee Questionable
KiXX vs. Storm
2006-07 Series: 2-1 (home 0-1, away 2-0) Overall: 6-7 (home 3-3, away 3-4)
Saturday's contest is the fourth meeting between Philadelphia and the Chicago Storm this season, and the team's second visit to the Wachovia Spectrum ... Chicago earned a 10-4 victory over the hosting KiXX on December 9, led by four points from both Mark Ughy and Awadalla Morad ... Philadelphia sought its revenge with a 16-13 win in the Windy City on December 10 thanks to five and four-point performances from John Barry Nusum and player/coach Don D'Ambra, respectively ... the KiXX pulled out a nail-biter in the team's most recent match-up at the Sears Centre on December 29, 10-8, tallying the game's final three scores including a two-point goal from two-time MISL MVP Dino Delevski with just over a minute remaining in regulation ... D'Ambra led all scorers with a pair of two-point goals for four points ... former KiXX forward Chris Handsor ranks atop Chicago's leaderboard with 27 points (16th MISL) with rookie standout Stephen Armstrong close behind with 26 ... on defense, the Storm's Gaston Pernia is second in the MISL with 28 blocks ... goalkeeper Jim Larkin is 5-6 in net for Chicago with a 12.15 points against average ... Glascow, Scotland native Steve Morris leads the Storm in his first year as head coach ... during his 16-year career, Morris played for the Milwaukee Wave and is in the top 10 in every major statistical category in Wave history ... the Storm enter the contest with a 7-7 overall record and on a three-game losing streak.
KiXX vs. Ignition
2006-07 Series: 2-1 (home 1-1, away 1-0) Overall: 2-1 (home 2-1, away 1-0)
Philadelphia and Detroit are currently one and two in the MISL Standings, with one-full game separating the teams ... the Ignition won the first ever match between the two clubs on November 11 in Philadelphia by a score of 10-8 in an overtime thriller ... the KiXX returned the favor with a victory in Detroit on November 19 by a score of 12-10 also in the extra stanza ... with 10 seconds remaining and the clubs knotted at 6-6 in the third match-up on January 20, overtime seemed definite ... KiXX midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu had other plans, however, as he buried a shot into the top-left corner to give the hosts a 8-6 victory and snapping Detroit's four-game winning streak ... the first-year squad is led by coach Mark Pulisic, who played eight seasons with the Harrisburg Heat ... Jamar Beasley tops both the club and the MISL in several categories, including goals (25), two-point goals (23), points (64), and power-play goals (7) ... Beasely also leads the Ignition in assists with 12 ... Carlos Farias ranks seventh in the MISL in points with 34 and combined with Beasley are the highest scoring duo in the League with 98 points between them ... in goal, Sanaldo brings a 9.86 PAA and .721 save percentage, both second among MISL goalkeepers ... he has also garnered a pair of Goalkeeper-of-the-Week honors, the seven-day periods ending January 7 and January 14.
PennLive Webcasts: The Philadelphia KiXX recently completed an agreement to webcast a pair of upcoming games ... the KiXX - Chicago Storm scheduled for Saturday, January 27 and the team's 12th Annual School Day Game versus the California Cougars on Wednesday, February 7 with both be available live via webcast at www.wmssfm.com ... veteran broadcaster John Wilsbach will provide the play-by-play for both webcasts.
Back-to-Back Contests: This weekend's back-to-back set marks the second of seven occasions in which the team will compete in two games in the same number of days ... the club will commence the series versus the Chicago Storm at the Wachovia Spectrum on Saturday, January 27 ... the back-to-back set concludes with a trip to the Motor City to battle the expansion Detroit Ignition at the Compuware Sports Arena on Sunday, January 28 ... the KiXX enter this weekend with a 1-1 record 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 7:05 pm 1/28 at Detroit 4:35 pm
2/2 at Baltimore 7:35 pm 2/3 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm
2/24 vs. Milwaukee 7:05 pm 2/25 at Detroit 4:35 pm
3/10 at Chicago 2:00 pm 3/11 at Milwaukee 2:00 pm
2/24 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm 2/25 at Milwaukee 2:00 pm
3/30 at Baltimore 7:35 pm 3/31 vs. Detroit 7:05 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Leading the Way: Player/coach Don D'Ambra has paced the KiXX on their way to the top of the MISL Standings ... during D'Ambra's current 11-game point streak, Philadelphia is 9-2, while the St. Joe's grad scored a pair of goals in five consecutive games dating from December 9 to December 31 ... D'Ambra leads the KiXX in points (39), goals (14), assists (10), and power-play goals (5) ... the 11-year veteran is fourth in the MISL in points, tied in fourth for goals, and tied for first in first-goals (3) ... during the weekend of December 29-December 31, the KiXX defeated Chicago 10-8 and Milwaukee 13-12 ... in those two games, D'Ambra played in his 450th career game, recorded his 900th career point, and tallied his 400th career goal ... D'Ambra was named Player-of-the-Week for the seven day period ending December 10.
High Rankings: Philadelphia is tied atop the League in not only wins with nine, but the defensive unit, led by perennial All-Stars Pat Morris, Genoni Martinez, and goalkeeper Peter Pappas, are holding opponents to 9.9 points per game, best in the MISL ... the team's offensive unit ranks second, averaging 12.6 points per game ... after winning the past five games on the road, the KiXX are the league's toughest visitors, posting a 5-1 road record overall ... the team has also jumped out to fast starts, sporting a 5-0 record when leading after one, while player/coach Don D'Ambra is tied for the League lead with three first-goals ... the team ranks first in first-quarter points for with 55 ... the KiXX also post the League's best penalty-killing unit, posting a 67.8 percent kill rate.
Ups and Downs: The KiXX currently possess the MISL's best penalty-killing unit ... through 13 games this season, the club has successfully killed 19 of the 28 man-advantage situations faced for a 67.8 percent kill rate ... Philadelphia's power-play unit, however, ranks at the opposite end of the spectrum sitting last among the League's teams ... the unit has only converted eight of their 23 power-play opportunities for a success rate of 34.8 percent.
Last Week's Outing: KiXX 8, Ignition 6 (1/20/07): Philadelphia midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu found the back of the net with only 10 seconds remaining in regulation to give the hosting KiXX an 8-6 victory versus the expansion Detroit Ignition in front of 6,840 faithful. Detroit opened scoring in the contest on a Philadelphia misplay in their own end; the goal was credited to newcomer Mauricio Salles. Less than one minute into the second quarter, player/coach Don D'Ambra tied the game at two apiece with his team leading 14th goal of the season. With the goal, D'Ambra extended his point streak to a season-best 11 games. Going into the half, the score was 2-2, with shots favoring Philadelphia, 11-6. Novi put Detroit back on top with a two-point restart goal, his eighth goal of the season. Just over two minutes later, Dino Delevski tied the score once more at four apiece on a feed from Sandre Naumoski. The goal was Delevski's sixth on the season. 45 seconds later, Pat Morris put the KiXX ahead on his third goal of the season, assist from Bartolomeu. Philadelphia began the final stanza out shooting Detroit 22-13. After a Casey Barton tripping call, Jamar Beasley tied the game once more for Detroit, with his League-leading 24th goal on the season. The power-play goal, Beasley's seventh, came unassisted. With just 10-seconds left, Edgar Bartolomeu took the ball from midfield through the Detroit defense to bury his third on the season, unassisted. With the win, Philadelphia improves to 4-3 at home, while the Ignition drop to 4-5 on the road. Peter Pappas stopped 8 of 11 shots in his League-leading ninth win of the season, while Sanaldo dropped to 6-6.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 22, 2007
- MISL names players of the week - MISL 2
- Chicago Storm weekly - Chicago Storm
- Local Product Pat Morris Named MISL Defensive Player of the Week - Philadelphia KiXX
- Ignition weekly - Detroit Ignition
- KiXX improve to 9-4 and extends hold on first place by full game - Philadelphia KiXX
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