MISL weekly

Published on March 24, 2006 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2) News Release

This Week: (All Times Local To Home Team) & Broadcast Information
- Baltimore Hosts CAL, Fri. 7:35 ET; Hosts PHI, Sun. 5:05 ET (Both - WCBM-680, wcbm.com).
- California At BAL, Fri. 7:35 ET (wcbm.com); At CHI, Sun. 4 CT (chicagostorm.net).
- Chicago At PHI, Sat. 7:05 ET; Hosts CAL, Sun. 4 CT (chicagostorm.net).
- Milwaukee At STL, Sat. 1:05 CT; Hosts STL, Sun. 1:05 CT (Both - Joy-1340, milwaukeewave.com).
- Philadelphia Hosts CHI, Sat. 7:05 ET; At BAL, Sun. 5:05 ET (wcbm.com).
- St. Louis Hosts MIL, Sat. 1:05 CT; At MIL, Sun. 1:05 CT (Both - KFNS-590, kfns.com).

Last Week:
- Baltimore (L) Lose for first time to California, 8-6, at Stockton Arena (3/18).
- California (W) Vicente Figueroa scores four times, California defeats Baltimore 8-6 (3/18).
- Chicago (L, L) Losses to MIL (10-5) and STL (4-2) loosen grip on postseason bid (3/17, 3/19).
- Milwaukee (W, W) Wave Reality All-Star Weekend includes W's over CHI and PHI (3/17, 3/19).
- Philadelphia (L, L) KiXX can't overcome injuries, slow starts in losses to STL, MIL (3/18, 3/19).
- St. Louis (W) Phillips and Elfvin split wins in goal as Steamers roll past PHI, CHI (3/18, 3/19).

What They Are Saying
> "We like to pressure the ball, to make it an exciting game. Most teams want to sit back. I want the fans to enjoy the game. We played well. I'm not down on my team. There were some small details in this game that could have been better." - Chicago Storm Head Coach Frank Klopas, following a 10-5 loss at Milwaukee on Friday night (Matchnight, 3/18).
> "Practice went smoothly. We just kind of picked up where we left off. Danny has played for years, and he's a student of the game. He knows what he's doing." - Midfielder Lee Tschantret on Baltimore's first practice Tuesday under the direction of interim player/head coach Danny Kelly, a 2006 MISL All-Star defender (The Sun, 3/22).
> "I was looking forward to the award after that game. I've been waiting for this day to come." - California first-year forward Vicente Figueroa, on being named MISL Offensive Player of the Week following a four-goal performance in the Cougars 8-6 win over Baltimore at Stockton Arena on Saturday night. (The Record, 3/21).

Baltimore Blast
baltimoreblast.com
Record: 15-10
Leading Scorer: Adauto Neto (33G, 20A)
Leading GK: Sagu (13-7, 4.97 g.a.a.)
Head Coach: Tim Wittman, 3rd Season

Blast Notes - 2006 MISL All-Star defender Danny Kelly was introduced as the club's interim player/head coach for the remainder of the 2005-06 MISL Regular Season, and MISL Championship Series on Monday. Kelly is a 14-year indoor vet.
* Only team to have beaten both STL (17-5) and MIL (15-8) twice.
* Team is 15-7 when Neto scores a point, 0-3 when he does not.
* Rematch with Cougars Fri. On Saturday Baltimore lost to the expansion franchise for the first time.
* Won the first four times by 3-goal avg.

California Cougars
californiacougars.net
Record: 8-18 (Expansion Team)
Leading Scorer: John Ball (12G, 20A)
Leading GK: Jim Larkin (4-14, 6.46 g.a.a.)
Head Coach: Troy Dayak, 1st Season

Cougars Notes - Have defeated every MISL team in the past five weeks, most recently Baltimore on Saturday. That rematch highlights two road games this weekend. Cougars are two behind Chicago for the final MISL Championship Series position.
* Have improved to become MISL's fourth-best offense, averaging 4.8 goals.
* Cougars are winners of seven of nine.
* Quintet of John Ball, Vicente Figueroa, Aaron Susi, Ricardinho and Bernie Lilavois among MISL's top-19 in points.
* Outscore opponents 48-44 in 4th qtr.
* Ball has 21 points in last 10 games.

Chicago Storm
chicagostorm.com
Record: 9-15
Leading Scorer: Matthew Stewart (12G, 12A)
Leading GK: Danny Waltman (7-13, 5.11 g.a.a.)
Head Coach: Frank Klopas, 2nd Season

Storm Notes - Have dropped three straight since an almost three-week layoff in the club's schedule. Key weekend, especially with Sunday's game at home against California. Cougars lead series 3-2.
* Novica Marojevic has played in every game in the club's 63-game history.
* "Novi" has scored six goals, two assists and a block in the four games played versus the KiXX - Saturday's opponent.
* Stewart has four goals, one assist in five games against California - Sunday's opponent. Awadalla Morad also has five points in the series (2G, 3A).

Milwaukee Wave
milwaukeewave.com
Record: 17-8 (Defending MISL Champions)
Leading Scorer: Greg Howes (33G, 28A)
Leading GK: Nick Vorberg (13-7, 4.70 g.a.a.)
Head Coach: Keith Tozer, 14th season (22nd overall)

Wave Notes - Team that started 8-0, then went 6-8, is looking like itself again, after winning two over the weekend to improve its win streak to three games with a big home-and-home series against the MISL-leading Steamers this weekend.
* Sunday's game is also the regular season finale at U.S. Cellular Arena. Wave is 16-5 in previous 21 home finales, including wins in five-straight.
* The Wave has won 28 consecutive games when allowing 5 or fewer goals.
* Michael King needs three goals for 700.
* Marcelo Fontana needs seven points for 300. Fontana had 5 goals last weekend.

Philadelphia KiXX
kixxonline.com
Record: 6-18
Leading Scorer: Pat Morris (12G, 7A).
Leading GK: Peter Pappas (6-16, 5.67 g.a.a.)
Head Coach: Don D'Ambra, 4th season

KiXX Notes - Philadelphia should field more healthy players than it did last weekend in two losses, however the slumping KiXX remain banged up and must turn things around to avoid elimination from postseason contention. Qualified past 9 years.
* KiXX have a record of 2-8 in five back-to-back sets this season. This is the sixth and final one on the schedule.
* 2005 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year Peter Pappas tops the MISL in saves (292), ranks third in save pct. (70.4).
* Partnered with Defense Department's "America Supports You," to bring soccer balls to youth in Afghanistan and Iraq.

St. Louis Steamers
stlsteamers.com
Record: 19-5
Leading Scorer: Carlos "Chile" Farias (10G, 28A)
Leading GK: Brett Phillips (16-4, 4.63 g.a.a.)
Head Coach: Omid Namazi, 1st season (6th overall)

Steamers Notes - Huge task this weekend for the Steamers, with huge rewards for success. A sweep this weekend in home-and-home series with Milwaukee would clinch the MISL Regular Season Championship for St. Louis and the top seed in the MISL Championship Series. Steamers maintain a 2.5 game lead over the second-place Wave.
* Joe Reiniger has 599 pro indoor goals.
* Have an edge in the season series with each of their MISL opponents.
* In 24 games, only three have been decided by one goal (Steamers are 2-1).
* Lead season series with Milwaukee 2-1.
* Sixth (final) season meeting on April 1.

Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 24, 2006

• Steamers to Play Milwaukee This Weekend - St. Louis Steamers
• KiXX Entertain Fourth-Placed Chicago on Saturday, March 25 - Philadelphia KiXX
• Cougars Make it Five in a Row With Dramatic Defeat of Baltimore, 5-4 - California Cougars
• MISL weekly - MISL 2

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