MISL names Players of the Month

Published on January 31, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2) News Release


GOALKEEPER OF THE MONTH

Sagu, Baltimore Blast

Sagu was a perfect 4-0 in the month and played admirably in leading third-place Baltimore (9-6) to wins at first-place Milwaukee and fourth-place Chicago, as well as crucial wins at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena against Chicago and second-place St. Louis. In helping to keep the Blast in the thick of the hunt in the MISL standings race, the 32-year-old native of Brazil also continued his move up among the MISL's statistical goalkeeping leaders. As he enters February, Sagu has moved into a near tie with Milwaukee Wave All-Star Nick Vorberg for the MISL's lead in save percentage (Vorberg 72.5 percent, Sagu 72.2 percent). He's second only to Vorberg in goals against average (4.87) after playing in 11 of 15 games for Baltimore, and starting 10. In January Sagu played 227:50 minutes and saved 58 of 78 shots, including a season-high 20 saves (on 25 shots) in a Jan. 21 win over Chicago, 9-5, at Baltimore. Less than 24 hours later, when Sagu and his team traveled to Chicago for a rematch against the Storm Sagu was again up to the challenge stopping 12 of 16 Storm shots to complete the weekend sweep. He was awarded MISL Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Jan. 23 in recognition of that weekend's showing. Now 7-3, Sagu is 5-1 in home games and 2-2 on the road. However Sagu has a 74.6 save percentage on the road, bettering his 70.6 percentage in games played at his home arena. Sagu's overall save percentage for January was a phenomenal 74.4 percent. The eighth-year professional, who first spent six seasons in Dallas before coming to Baltimore prior to the 2004-05 season, ranked fifth in the MISL in 2004-05, with a .697 save percentage and sixth with a 5.62 goals against average.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Genoni Martinez, St. Louis Steamers

Genoni Martinez's reputation remains intact as one of the MISL's most feared offensive weapons coming out of the back from his defender position. The 30-year-old Mexico City native, who has been selected to represent the Mexican Federation's National Futbol Rapido team in the 2006 MISL All-Star Game at Milwaukee's U.S. Cellular Arena on February 11, had a superb month of January as is evidenced by his individual statistics, the team's defensive and offensive numbers, and the Steamers' 5-2 record. After missing the final five games of December, Martinez re-launched, playing all seven games in January. In four previous games this season, Martinez was held without a goal. In January he scored goals in five of seven games, totaling six. He added two assists, including one game-winner, and three blocks as St. Louis (12-4) continued to jockey with Milwaukee (13-3) for the top position in the MISL standings. His career in the League, which began in 1996, has now included 244 games, 227 goals, 178 assists, and 393 blocks. The MISL's two-time Defender of the Year, and a 2004-05 All-MISL First-Team selection, earned his first MISL Defensive Player of the Week of the season on January 9, 2006. Besides his career in this League, Martinez enjoyed a successful stint with the Monterrey LaRaZa (CISL and WISL). Martinez, regarded as one of the masters of the restart, had three restart goals in January for the Steamers, who have 17 on the season (Wave leads with 18). Martinez contributed to his team's scoring an average of 7.286 goals per game during the month and allowing just 5.02 on defense. In January, St. Louis earned victories over Milwaukee, Baltimore, Philadelphia and California (two).

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Greg Howes, Milwaukee Wave

Greg Howes used a mid-season surge to solidify his candidacy for his second consecutive MISL Most Valuable Player award and Spalding Scoring Championship last season. If Howes' 20-point performance in January is any indicator, it appears Howes will make a run at the Hector Marinaro Trophy once again this season. Howes played in seven of eight games for the defending MISL Champion Milwaukee Wave, and put up 20 points, a figure trailed closely by teammate and line-mate Todd Dusosky, who totaled 18. Two weekends ago, Howes became the season's first 30-point scorer, and he now leads the MISL with 38 points (23 goals, 15 assists) on a League-high 88 shots. Howes gained his first MISL Offensive Player of the Week award of the season on November 7, 2005. That honor was repeated on January 23 following a weekend in which he overtook Baltimore's Adauto Neto for the MISL's points lead. Neto had maintained a more than two-month stranglehold on the MISL scoring lead. Howes has been particularly hot of late, scoring three hat tricks in his last four games, and pushing Milwaukee (13-3) back into sole possession of first-place in the MISL standings. Howes had two game-winning goals in the month, one game-winning assist, five power-play goals, and two blocks. Howes is a three-time All-MISL selection and will make his third MISL All-Star Game appearance on February 11 before the Wave's home crowd at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. Last season, the now 28-year-old native of Tacoma, Wash., scored 41 goals and 32 assists and finished with 73 points for the 2005 MISL Champions. Since he began his career in the League in 2000 with Milwaukee, Howes has totaled 217 goals and 125 assists in 204 career regular season games.

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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 31, 2006


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