KiXX looks to snap franchise-worst seven-game losing skid versus St. Louis on February 18
Published on February 13, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, February 13, 2006 - The Philadelphia KiXX (4-12) look to snap a franchise-worst seven-game losing skid versus former player/coach Omid Namazi and the first-placed St. Louis Steamers on Saturday, February 18. The first 2,500 fans, under 14, will receive a mini-soccer ball, courtesy of Giant Food Stores. Game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is slated for 7:05 pm ET with the doors opening at 6:00 pm ET. The contest will also be televised live on CN8, The Comcast Network, beginning at 7:00 pm ET.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, February 13, Off Day
Tuesday, February 14, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, February 15, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, February 16, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, February 17, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, February 18, KiXX vs. St. Louis Steamers, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm
Sunday, February 19, Off Day
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Vlatko Andonovski Calf Out
Don D'Ambra Hamstring Questionable
Chris Fehrle Hamstring Questionable
Kevin Sloan Hamstring Questionable
Goran Vasic Jaw Out
KiXX vs. Blast
2005-06 Series: 0-2 (home 0-1, away 0-1) Overall: 4-6 (home 2-3, away 2-3)
The Philadelphia KiXX and the St. Louis Steamers met for the first time in franchise history on November 14, 2003 ... the club defeated the Steamers, 7-3, in that contest and split the series (2-2) in each of the past two seasons ... the Steamers, who earned an 8-4 win in the first meeting between the two clubs this season on November 26, are led by former KiXX player/coach Omid Namazi ... six different St. Louis scorers recorded multiple points in the contest, while forward John Barry Nusum was the lone KiXX representative to register more than one point ... veteran defender Genoni Martinez led all players with four points (two goals, two assists), as the Steamers edged past Philadelphia, 6-5, in overtime on January 7 ... KiXX defenders Drew Kopp and Pat Morris each notched a pair of points ... Namazi led the Cleveland Force team that knocked-off Philadelphia in the semifinals last season, but then fell to the Milwaukee Wave in the two-game Finals ... with Cleveland becoming inactive this season, Namazi was hired to replace player/coach Daryl Doran who is now listed as the club's Vice President of Corporate Sales and Alumni Relations ... former Kansas City Head Coach Zoran Savic also joined the Steamers this past off-season as the team's President.
MISL All-Star Game: Local standout Pat Morris and the rest of the 2006 MISL All-Stars defeated the Mexican All-Stars by a score of 9-5 at the U.S. Cellular Arena on February 11 ... Milwaukee's Todd Dusosky was named the game's Most Valuable Player after recording a hat trick (three goals) and one assist ... Storm forward Novi Marojevic chipped with three assists ... Morris' representation marked the fourth consecutive such nomination for the 28-year-old defender in his seven-year career.
Franchise Marks: The club currently posts a 4-12 record in the 2005-06 season, establishing a franchise worst mark of being eight 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 ... Philadelphia is also in the midst of a seven-game losing streak ... the skid marks the franchise worst mark for consecutive losses ... the KiXX also 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.
Television Broadcasts: The 2005-06 KiXX television package continues with the club's contest versus the St. Louis Steamers on Saturday, February 18 ... the five-game package kicked-off with a pair of wins versus the Cougars; a 7-6 overtime victory on 11/12 and a 10-5 win on 12/3 ... 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 again serve as the color analyst ... overall, the team now posts an 13-7 record when competing in a televised game over the past four seasons:
Date Opponent CN8 Broadcast Time*/Score
Sun, November 12 California Cougars W, 7-6 OT
Sat., December 3 California Cougars W, 10-5
Sat., February 18 St. Louis Steamers 7:00 pm
Sat., March 18 St. Louis Steamers 7:00 pm
Sat., April 8 Baltimore Blast 7:00 pm
*all times eastern and subject to change
Injury Bug: Philadelphia continues to battle injuries up and down their roster this season ... newcomer and all-star defender Vlatko Andonovski appeared in only two games with the team before being forced out of commission with a calf injury ... the Skopje, Macedonia native has missed the club's last eight outings and is expected to remain sidelined for up to two additional weeks ... player/coach Don D'Ambra, who has battled a hamstring injury since early December, sat out of nearly the entire second half versus Chicago on January 28 and did not play at UIC Pavilion on January 29 ... the St. Joseph's graduate played sparingly in the third quarter versus California (2/4) before delegating himself to the bench for two full weeks ... as such, he has missed the club's last two outings (2/8-2/12) ... he has now missed six full games and parts of three others due to the injury ... veteran forward Goran Vasic suffered the team's latest setback as he fractured his jaw after colliding with Blast goalkeeper Sagu during the team's school-day matinee on February 8 ... he will be unable to play for six to eight weeks.
Trouble on Special Teams: Philadelphia's special teams units have struggled in the first half of the 2005-06 season, as both their power-play and penalty-killing units rank fourth in the six-team MISL ... the club's penalty-killing unit, which has occupied the cellar position for nearly the entire season, jumped to the current position after stopping six of the seven man-down situations they faced in Chicago on February 12 ... the unit has now saved 17-of-the-27 opportunities for a 63.0 percent kill rate ... vice versa, the club's power-play unit posts a 31.3 success rate (five-of-16) ... forward Shawn Boney has recorded two-of-those-four, courtesy of penalty-kick opportunities, while player/coach Don D'Ambra has also registered a pair ... last season, Philadelphia ranked third in power-play success rate (54.0) and first in kill rate (64.7).
Overtime: The KiXX were forced to overtime for the third time this season versus California and fell 4-3 courtesy of a goal from former Philadelphia midfielder Gary Brooks at 1:18 of the extra frame ... 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 and to post a 1-2 record when playing in overtime this season ... Philadelphia finished the 2004-05 campaign with a 3-5 mark when forced to the extra stanza.
Last Week's Outing(s):
Storm 8, KiXX 4 (2/12): Philadelphia dropped their franchise worst seventh straight contest, 8-4, to the Chicago Storm at the UIC Pavilion. After a scoreless first quarter, midfielder Matthew Stewart opened the scoring on a pass from teammate Gaston Pernia at 4:39 of the second period to give the hosting Storm an early 1-0 advantage. Less than three minutes later (7:27), Stewart struck again, this time on a feed from Semir Mesanovic to stretch the Chicago lead to two, 2-0. Tamas Weisz provided the hosts with a three-goal cushion, 3-0, connecting on a dish from defender Matt Johnson at 8:52 of the frame. Local standout Pat Morris finally broke the drought for Philadelphia, 3-1, registering a restart goal from Shawn Boney at 5:08 of the third stanza. The Storm quickly responded as veteran forward Mark Ughy found the back of the net, 4-1, on an assist from Novi Marojevic at 5:29. Marojevic then added a shoot-out goal (6:30) to increase the Chicago advantage to four, 5-1, after Pappas received a two-minute tripping infraction inside the box. John Barry Nusum, the team's leading goal scorer with 13, pulled the KiXX within three, 5-2, notching an unassisted score at 11:45. Just 23 seconds into the fourth period, midfielder Gary DePalma cut Philadelphia's deficit down to two, 5-3, with his third tally of the season. Boney followed to cut the deficit to one, connecting on a pass from rookie defender Clay Roberts at 2:15. Stewart completed the hat trick with his third notch of the contest, 6-4, on a dish from Mesanovic at 3:37. Marojevic regained the three-goal advantage for Chicago, 7-4, with a power-play goal at 7:05 of the stanza; the Storm received the one-man advantage courtesy of a two-minute boarding infraction called on Morris. Mesanovic secured the Storm victory, 8-4, with a tally from defender Lazo Alavanja at 13:48.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 13, 2006
- Steamers Newsom Receives Player of the Week - St. Louis Steamers
- Steamers Weekly Recap - St. Louis Steamers
- KiXX looks to snap franchise-worst seven-game losing skid versus St. Louis on February 18 - Philadelphia KiXX
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