Milwaukee holds on to beat Steamers, 5-4
March 27, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
St. Louis Steamers News Release
(St. Louis, March 27, 2004) -- The St. Louis Steamers â playing without leading goal-scorers Steve Butcher and Sipho Sibiya â gave MISL power Milwaukee all it could handle before falling 5-4 Saturday in the season home-finale at The Family Arena. The Steamers (13-19) now prepare for a crucial March 28 game at Cleveland (14-19), which leads St. Louis by ½ game in the battle for the sixth and final MISL playoff berth.
In Saturday's "Fan Appreciation Day" matinee, the Steamers battled to the end against the team with the best record in the Major Indoor Soccer League. Milwaukee's Chris Morman and Giuliano Oliviero each had a goal and an assist to lead the Wave (25-9), and Milwaukee goalkeeper Dan Green registered the victory to raise his season mark to 16-3.
Forward Mike Apple led St. Louis with two goals and nearly tied the game with a third goal late in the fourth quarter. With two minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the game and the Wave leading 5-4, Milwaukee's Marcelo Fontana was whistled for a holding penalty which resulted in a penalty kick. Apple's penalty kick blast was just wide of the goal off the left boards. The Wave killed off the penalty and held on for the victory.
St. Louis Player/Coach Daryl Doran gave the Steamers a 1-0 lead at 1:39 of the first quarter on a feed from Jake Bleyenberg. Milwaukee's Johnny Torres tied the game 1-1 at 12:57 of the first, and the game remained 1-1 through halftime. Milwaukee scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter to take a 4-1 lead. Matt Schmidt notched an unassisted tally at 51 seconds of the third to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead. Morman scored at 2:49 of the third to make it 3-1, and Oliviero followed at 4:59 of the same quarter to make it 4-1.
Jeff DiMaria scored on a rebound of a Franck M'Bemba blast at 1:37 of the fourth to make it 4-2, and Apple also scored on a rebound of an M'Bemba shot to make it 4-3 at 5:04 of the fourth. Collinsville, Illinois native Joe Reiniger beat Steamers goalkeeper Brett Phillips with a high blast at 6:54 of the fourth to give Milwaukee a 5-3 lead. Apple scored off an assist from Sterling Wescott at 9:08 of the fourth for the 5-4 final.
The March 28 game at Cleveland kicks off at 2:05 p.m. (CST) at the Convocation Center. The game is the fourth and final matchup of the season between the two teams; the Steamers have won two of the previous three meetings. If the two teams happen to tie in the MISL final regular-season standings, the first tiebreaker to make the playoffs is head-to-head; the second tiebreaker is goal-differential. Cleveland currently holds a plus-two goal differential. In the most recent game between the two clubs, the Force defeated the Steamers 6-2 at The Family Arena as Cleveland goalkeeper Jim Larkin saved 26 of 28 shots faced. Following the March 28 game, the Steamers have three regular-season games remaining, all on the road: March 31 at Monterrey; April 3 at Dallas; and April 5 at Monterrey.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 27, 2004
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