Late Goal Beats Heat

January 10, 2003 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Harrisburg Heat News Release


Cleveland, OH - The Harrisburg Heat has created plenty of last-minute magic so far in the 2002-03 season - on Friday night, the Cleveland Force turned the tables, as John Ball scored the game-winning 2pg with just 34 seconds to play in a 13-12 Cleveland win in front of 5,259 fans at The Convo. Ball's tally sent the Heat (9-12) to its third straight loss, and erased a three-goal, seven-point performance from the Heat's Ato Leone. Jim Larkin made only 4 saves in goal for Cleveland as the Force improved to 10-8 on the year. Raul Salas (0-5) made 11 stops for Harrisburg.

The Heat struck first, when David Bascome found Ato Leone for a far-post tap-in and a 2-0 lead at 4:47 of the first. Cleveland replied with a pair of deuces, from Kiley Couch at 9:19 and Myles Stoddard at 13:13, to make it 4-2, but Harrisburg tied things up again when Leone bagged his second two-pointer at 13:56. It was 4-4 after the first quarter.

Ball put the Force up 7-4 with a 3pg at 5:55 of the second, and Stoddard followed with his second 2pg of the evening at 10:37 to make it 9-4. Just 23 seconds later, Bascome one-timed a Chris Morman feed from the top of the box past Larkin to make it 9-6, which is where it stood at the half.

Leone struck again for the Heat just 54 seconds into the third; the forward attempted to feed Bascome on a 2-on-1, but the ball was inadvertently deflected into the net by Force defender Joe Mattachione for a 2pg, and Cleveland's lead was down to 9-8. Giuliano Oliviero's 2pg at 10:40 made it 11-8, Force, heading into the final quarter.

Harrisburg pulled to within 11-10 at 5:43, when Marco "Chikis" Lopez smacked home a two-point restart goal from the right wing, and the Heat snagged its first lead since early in the first when Marco Coria ripped a two-point drive from the left wing to make it 12-11 at 9:17. When Cleveland's Mattachione was sent off for tripping at 12:17, the Heat seemed in good position to control play as the clock wound down. But Harrisburg failed to convert the power play, and at 14:26, Mattachione, fresh out of the penalty box, picked off an errant pass from Coria, sprinted down the field, and fed John Ball, who promptly beat Salas for a 2pg and the final 13-12 score.

NOTES: Ato Leone's hat trick was his first in a Heat uniform, and his seven-point performance stands as his best of the year...Cleveland's Hector Marinaro extended his current scoring streak to 56 games with a second-quarter assist...The Heat completes its current three-game road trip with games in Milwaukee tomorrow, Saturday, January 11 (2:05 p.m. EST at the Bradley Center) and in Philadelphia next Sunday, January 19 (5:05 p.m. at the First Union Spectrum). Harrisburg faces Cleveland at home on Saturday, January 25.



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 10, 2003


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