Mustangs Overtaken at Syracuse
February 19, 2015 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Chicago Mustangs News Release
Syracuse, NY- The Chicago Mustangs, proud members of the Major Arena Soccer League (www.MASLSoccer.com), using multi-point scoring, lost an exciting back-and-forth matchup with the Syracuse Silver Knights 23-16 Thursday night.
The Mustangs, looking to avenge their loss to Syracuse on Sunday, got on the board early Thursday night when 30 seconds into the game Wilo Martinez drew Syracuse goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer out of the net and then passed it over to Taylor Bond who used a backwards heel kick into an open net to give Chicago the early advantage. Syracuse answered back 5 minutes later when Slavisa Ubiparipovic, marked aggressively by a defender, tapped it past his defender and by an unsuspecting Jesus Flores. Chicago re-gained the advantage a minute and a half later on a reset when Wilo Martinez beat Pflasterer upper-90 to the left side to make the score 4-2 Mustangs. Much like Pflasterer in Chicago, Flores brought his A-game to New York as he made several incredible saves on several great Syracuse opportunities. After a quiet second quarter, Syracuse forward Elmo Neto received a pass from Ubiparipovic right in front of Flores as he spun and flared it over the Chicago goalkeeper to even the score at 4-4 with just 2:30 to go in the half.
Chicago was the first to score in the second half when newcomer Ephraim Beard scored his first goal as a Mustang as he fired one across Pflasterer to take a 6-4 advantage. 2 minutes later, Bond scored his second of the night as he beat Pflasterer on the near post to double the lead. Syracuse chipped away at the lead with 6 minutes to go in the third when Kenardo Forbes blasted a questionable 3-point goal on a pass from Bo Jelovac past Flores to make the score 8-7. The Mustangs, with 5 minutes to go in the quarter, extended the lead again when Wilo took a Douglas Nicolau pass, planted, and blasted it past Pflasterer to give Chicago a 10-7 advantage. With less than a minute to go in the third quarter, Syracuse cut the lead to 1 when Antonio Manfut swatted a bouncing ball out of the air and past Flores to make it 10-9 Chicago to close out the quarter.
Less than 30 seconds into the 4th quarter, the Silver Knights scored on a rebound off of Flores when Chicago broke their back-side coverage and Nate Bordeau followed up with a shot and a goal to give Syracuse an 11-10 lead. Chicago took the lead right back 2 minutes later when Bogar Moreno took a bouncing ball off of the wall and drilled it off of the hands of Pflasterer to give Chicago a 12-11 lead. 30 seconds later, Jelovac had a tap-in goal making it 13-12 when Flores was out of the net and Chicago had a miscommunication on the defensive end leading to a turnover and easy Syracuse goal. In the true fashion of the game, Chicago answered back 1 minute later to re-gain the 1 goal advantage 14-13. The goal, scored by Wilo, gave him a hat-trick for the night and allowed Chicago to stifle some of the momentum Syracuse was trying to build up on the fluke Jelovac goal. Corey Elenio gave Syracuse another lead with 8 minutes to go in the game when he fired a 3-point goal through traffic and past Flores to make the score 16-14 Silver Knights. Syracuse extended their lead with 2 seconds left on a Chicago penalty kill when Forbes fired an absolute bullet upper 90 and skimming the post to make the score 18-14. Chicago was able to cut the deficit to 2 points when Trajche Lostovski answered with an upper 90 goal of his own to make the score 18-16. The goal was Loki's first as a Mustang. While Chicago saw a few opportunities to tie it up late, Syracuse scored the dagger with 45 seconds to go when Neto beat Flores high for a 4-point advantage at 20-16. Forbes added another goal with 2 seconds to go on an empty net to make the final score 23-16 Syracuse.
Offensive Player of the Game: Wilo Martinez, forward - 3 goals, 1 assist
Defensive Player of the Game: Trajche Lostovski, Ephraim Beard - Both scored first goals as Mustangs players.
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The Mustangs return home for the playoffs Thursday, February 26 at 7pm at the Sears Centre Arena against the Milwaukee Wave. Visit the Sears Centre box office, call the Mustangs front office at (847) 805-6633 or visit us on the web at www.chicagomustangspro.com for all of your ticket needs.
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from February 19, 2015
- Silver Knights Knock off the Mustangs in a 23-16 Thriller - Syracuse Silver Knights
- Lancers Set Record; Defeat Heat 33-5 - Rochester Lancers
- Mustangs Overtaken at Syracuse - Chicago Mustangs
- Playoff Bound Wave Wrap Regular Season Saturday Night in Hot Wheels Game - Milwaukee Wave
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