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Lightning Travel to Cincinnati Tonight for Revenge Match With Kings

January 1, 2011 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
Louisville Lightning News Release


The Louisville Lightning are back in action tonight; this time on the road. The team will travel up Interstate 71 tonight for a clash with the Cincinnati Kings. Kickoff from the Cincinnati Gardens is set for 7:35 PM EST.

The Lightning are feeling confident after a late-game comeback in their last home game against the San Diego Sockers before the holiday break. It's going to take more than just confidence tonight against the Kings, however. The Cincinnati side is 6-1 on the season thus far, including a win over the Sockers. Their lone loss came to the Detroit Waza, a team they've also defeated this season.

For the Lightning, it's been a slow start to the season, and coach Ted Nichols hopes to get 2011 off to a better start. The Lightning are limping into Saturday night's contest, however, with several key players out due to injury. "I've got Ross Hopkins out, Simon [Bird] is out, OT [Yanez] and Jerry [Chavez] are both out," Nichols said following the loss to the Sockers on December 17th.

The Lightning have displayed improvement in the final few games of 2010, and it's momentum the team hopes will continue into 2011. The team upset La Revolución de Tijuana in Mexico, then came back to Louisville and destroyed the Evansville Crush 25-3 before their final game against San Diego. The squad is featuring a number of new players this season, and Nichols says it's just a matter of time until they gain chemistry and things begin to come together.

Louisville will face arguably the top player in the PASL Saturday night in Cincinnati's Jeff Hughes. The 2009 League MVP scored two goals against San Diego before the break, while Cincy's Kwame Sarkodie, Garrett Buck, and Sam Fiore also chipped in goals to pace the home side. Containing Hughes has been a difficult task for every team in the PASL, but Lightning coach Ted Nichols said earlier this season that his team prepares differently for Hughes then any other team or player in the league.

While Hughes has been a scoring machine for the Kings once again this season, he's just one of many weapons the Kings have. Eddie Hertsenberg is tied for third place in the league in scoring with nine goals, while Matt Breines and Sam Fiore also find themselves among the league's top scorers. Kings' goalkeeper Craig Salvati is also having a stellar season, earning 65 saves and allowing just 22 goals so far this season. As a team, the Kings have outscored their opponents 65 to 36 through the first seven games of the 2010-2011 season.

While Louisville face an uphill battle Saturday night, veteran defender Lee Weyland says the team is improving and feeling more confident with every game. "I think we're going to continue to build on that success when we go up to Cincinnati to play them at their place on New Year's Day," Weyland said recently.

Kickoff for tonight's game between the Cincinnati Kings and Louisville Lightning is set for 7:35 PM EST from the Cincinnati Gardens. Tickets are only $8, and the Lightning Storm Chasers are organizing a fan caravan to the game Saturday night. For more information on the fan caravan, please visit www.louisvillelightning.com/home/489609.html. For information on tonight's venue, check out www.cincygardens.com/.



Professional Arena Soccer League Stories from January 1, 2011


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