KiXX splits weekend set with Baltimore; heads west to battle first-placed Steamers
Published on March 6, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2006 - The Philadelphia KiXX (6-15), after splitting a home-and-home series versus the Baltimore Blast this weekend, head west to battle former player/coach Omid Namazi and the first-placed St. Louis Steamers on Saturday, March 11. Game-time at Savvis Center is slated for 2:05 pm ET. The team returns to the Wachovia Spectrum to host the Steamers on Saturday, March 18 with the action set to kick-off at 7:05 pm ET.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, March 6, Off Day
Tuesday, March 7, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, March 8, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, March 9, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, March 10, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, March 11, KiXX @ St. Louis Steamers, Savvis Center, 7:05 pm
Sunday, March 12, Off Day
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Dino Delevski Hamstring Questionable
Andy Guastaferro Ankle Out
John Barry Nusum Abdominal Out
Goran Vasic Jaw Out
KiXX vs. Blast
2005-06 Series: 0-3 (home 0-2, away 0-1) Overall: 4-7 (home 2-4, 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 ... Martinez again proved to be too much for Philadelphia, connecting on a game-high five points including the game-winning goal late in the fourth quarter of the Steamers' 8-6 win in the most recent meeting between the two clubs on February 18 ... player/coach Don D'Ambra paced the KiXX with three points on a pair of goals and one assist ... 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.
Rookies Step Up: The KiXX received big contributions from three of their five rostered rookies in the team's 7-5 victory versus the Baltimore Blast on March 4 ... defender Josh Rife opened the scoring with his fourth tally of the season, followed by an unassisted score from Preston, England native David Schofield ... the tally, only 29 seconds after Rife's notch, marked the first professional indoor goal for the 24-year-old midfielder ... Philadelphia native David Castellanos also enjoyed himself, matching his personal best with a two-point performance on a goal and one assist ... the UCONN product currently leads all Philadelphia newcomers with nine points on seven goals and a pair of dishes.
Familiar Face: When the Philadelphia KiXX hit the Gateway to the West this Saturday, March 11, they will be squaring-off against a familiar face ... former player/coach Omid Namazi has guided the St. Louis Steamers to their current position atop the St. Louis Steamers after leading the Cleveland Force to the MISL Finals last season ... Namazi, who currently holds the franchise mark in assists, became Philadelphia's second head coach midway through the 1998-99 season ... after guiding the KiXX to a League Championship in 2001-02 and a 83-54 overall record, he left the club just four games into the 2002-03 campaign for other endeavors ... Namazi returned to the MISL after a one-year hiatus and took over the reigns in Cleveland in the final stretch of the 2003-04 season ... the KiXX are 0-3 versus their former player/coach this season and 6-7 overall.
Playoff Scenarios: Despite every club down to at least their final nine games of action, the first-placed St. Louis Steamers remain the only team to have clinched a berth into the 2006 MISL Playoffs ... both the Milwaukee Wave and Baltimore Blast can secure a position with either a win and/or a Philadelphia loss ... with four of the six teams eligible for the postseason, the KiXX are currently on the outside looking in ... the team presently trails the fourth-placed Chicago Storm by three full games for the final position with two head-to-head match-ups remaining ... Philadelphia has qualified for the playoffs in each of their first nine years of existence.
Back-to-Back: The KiXX concluded their most recent set of back-to-back contests by splitting a home-and-home series versus the Baltimore Blast this past weekend ... the team dropped the first game of the series versus, 5-2, at 1st Mariner Arena on March 3, but rebounded to earn a 7-5 victory in front of the home crowd at the Wachovia Spectrum on March 4 ... to date this season, the team is 0-4 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 2-2 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 7:05 pm 3/19 at Milwaukee 2:05 pm
4/8 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm 4/9 at Chicago 5:00 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
KiXX Summer Kamps: Philadelphia KiXX announced on February 14 that online registration for the 2006 Philadelphia KiXX Summer Soccer Kamp program is now available ... the program, which opens in mid-June and runs through late August, is designed for boys and girls (ages four through 16) with approximately 35 locations throughout the Tri-State area ... the online registration webpage can be accessed by clicking the 2006 KiXX Kamp logo, which is located on the left navigator bar of the team's official website, www.kixxonline or by logging onto directly at www.kixxinteractive.com/kamps ... Pro Sports Media created all aspects of the webpage, while Thriva created and will handle the online registration process ... for more information or to obtain an official 2006 KiXX Kamp brochure, contact the club's office at 1-888-888-KiXX.
Last Week's Outing(s):
KiXX 7, Blast 5 (3/4): KiXX rookie defender Joshua Rife finished off a restart pass from Vlatko Andonovski to give the home team an early 1-0 lead at 7:01 of the opening quarter of action. 30 seconds later (7:31), the KiXX stretched their lead to 2-0 when David Schofield drilled home an unassisted tally for his first goal of his professional indoor career. David Bascome put the visiting Blast on the board, 2-1, by sending a score past Pappas just over 30 seconds into the second stanza. A mere 12 seconds later (:45), Northeast Catholic product Pat Morris extended the club's advantage, 3-1, connecting on his own rebound off a shoot-out opportunity courtesy of a two-minute holding infraction accessed on Baltimore's Wendell Regis. The Blast climbed within one goal, 3-2, following a solo strike by defender Rich Daughtridge at 11:38 of the second frame. The club's one-goal margin at halftime marked the first time since January 29 that the KiXX held a lead at the midway point. KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra opened the second-half scoring at 2:29 of the third quarter, 4-2, by blasting an unassisted bomb past Sagu. At 7:52 of the period, Castellanos stole possession and dribbled untouched to the goal line to provide Philadelphia with a three-goal advantage, 5-2. Bascome netted his second unassisted goal of the evening just 24 seconds in the fourth stanza to cut the KiXX lead to two, 5-3. Robbie Aristodemo pulled the visiting Blast within one score, 5-4, when he finished off a delivery from Adauto Neto at 2:44 of the frame. Giuliano Celenza evened the score, 5-5, by scoring off a Aristodemo pass. The lead was short lived, as Ptah Myers drilled a header past Sagu only eight seconds later, regaining the lead for the hometown KiXX, 6-5. Castellanos recorded the assist on the play. Gary DePalma sealed a 7-5 victory for Philadelphia with an unassisted notch at 13:56.
Blast 5, KiXX 2 (3/3): After 10 minutes of scoreless (10:27) action in the opening period of play, Baltimore's Adauto Neto connected with teammate Wendell Regis to provide the hosting Blast an early 1-0 advantage. With Holy Ghost Prep graduate Chris Fehrle serving a two-minute tripping penalty for the KiXX, Neto extended Baltimore's lead to two, 2-0, with a power-play score, his second tally of the evening, from Robbie Aristodemo at 2:26 of the second quarter. Blast defender Billy Nelson increased the hosting team's advantage, 3-0, with a strike from Neto at 2:51 of the third stanza. Just 11 seconds after Philadelphia newcomer David Schofield was sent to the penalty box for a two-minute holding infraction, Neto completed the hat trick with his third score of the game at 3:27. Philadelphia finally struck onto the scoreboard as forward Shawn Boney back-heeled home a pass from rookie defender Josh Rife at 9:29 of the frame. David Bascome extended the Blast lead, 5-1, with a restart tally from forward Lee Tschantret at 5:56 of the final period of play. Philadelphia native David Castellanos pulled the KiXX within three with a notch from teammate Drew Kopp at 12:13 but Baltimore held on to earn a 5-3 victory in the opening game of a home-and-home series between the two clubs.
KiXX RECORD:
Overall: 6-15
Home: 5-7
Road: 1-8
PREVIOUS RESULTS:
3/3 @ Baltimore Blast - L, 2-5
3/4 vs. Baltimore Blast - W, 7-5
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
3/11 @ St. Louis Steamers - 2:05 pm ET
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 6, 2006
- Cougars Jakubek, Sutton, and Ball Sweep MISL Weekly Honors - MISL 2
- Steamers weekly - St. Louis Steamers
- KiXX splits weekend set with Baltimore; heads west to battle first-placed Steamers - Philadelphia KiXX
- Osborne takes "starring" role - Milwaukee Wave
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