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MASL Chicago Mustangs

Mustangs Play Pair this Weekend

February 13, 2015 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Chicago Mustangs News Release


Hoffman Estates, IL- The Chicago Mustangs, proud members of the Major Arena Soccer League (www.MASLSoccer.com), have a big back-to-back this weekend as they travel to play the Detroit Waza Flo on Saturday Night and then return home for a quick turnaround against the Syracuse Silver Knights Sunday afternoon.

After receiving a well-timed chance to rest due to having no games scheduled last weekend, the Mustangs look to take their rejuvenated roster and stampede into the weekend with a full head of steam. Their first matchup will see Chicago hit the road to challenge local foe the Waza Flo. Detroit, having seen its' fair share of struggles and even recently trading their owner to the Las Vegas Legends, snapped an 8-game losing streak this past weekend against the Harrisburg Heat and look to take that momentum, play spoilers, and salvage the end of their season. While things haven't been ideal for the Waza Flo, they have proven time and again that when it's all clicking, they can be a very good team as they played significantly better in all phases of the game against the Heat.

Syracuse, currently second in the Eastern Division, will travel to Chicago to face the Mustangs on Sunday afternoon. The Silver Knights are currently 8-7 and have been a hard team to gauge all year. While they have had impressive wins against quality teams, they are also featured in one of the statistically weakest divisions. Despite the fact that they have had the fortune of beating up on the bottom of their division all season, Syracuse has also shown that they can run with the bigger teams as well and Sunday's matchup has all the makings of a great back-and-forth between two teams trying to solidify their identities as the playoffs close in.

TonCar 3 Keys of the Weekend!

1) Find your identity and own your role. It always seems like when everybody is on, everything looks great. When one piece of the machine is broken, you can see a noticeable difference and it tends to unravel over the length of the game. With several new key faces making an immediate impact and some youth being interweaved within the strong veteran presence, it will be important for the team to get the machine firing on all cylinders properly. While you always want your team to play as one beating heart, you never want to live and die as a squad completely. The Mustangs have done a great job of spreading the ball around lately and getting important points from their depth as opposed to the usual suspects and it will be extremely important to have every player on that roster be ready to step up and know exactly what their role is within the system so when one piece of the machine is broken, another one is ready to pick up the slack. While the new faces have stepped in and looked comfortable thus far, this team will be infinitely more fun to watch when they complete the feeling-out process and settle in and this weekend couldn't be a better time.

2) Maintain Focus. The most common belief among the Mustangs players and coaches was that the Missouri game was neck-and-neck until the focus level dropped off and dumb mistakes were made. While you don't enjoy the fact that it was something so simple that derailed a valiant effort against the league's best team, you can learn a lot from it and carry it into this weekend's games and the rest of the season. There's always comfort in knowing that such a simple fix like staying focused until the last seconds run off the clock can allow you to hang with the big dogs as the playoffs loom near. Should the team stay focused, that focus turns into positive performance which turns into confidence and a confident Mustangs team is a dangerous Mustangs team.

3) Don't fall into the trap. Much like any game against a struggling opponent, beware of the mighty trap game. While Chicago has beaten Detroit twice this season, you never want to let your guard down...especially when you play against a team with something to prove. Coming off of a huge losing-streak snapping win, Detroit is going to come in guns blazing and look to stick it to Chicago in true Waza Flo fashion. As stated earlier, when they're on, they're on and will have all the confidence in the world in their locker room which makes them a very dangerous opponent no matter what their record is. Chicago needs to make sure to not think of this as an easy night before a big game and treat it just as important as they will Syracuse the following night. While a loss to Detroit wouldn't mean

Players to keep an eye on

Chicago Mustangs:

1. Hewerton, Forward - Hewerton is coming off of a 4 point weekend in which he scored 2 goals and had 2 assists against Missouri and Wichita. Always the entertainer, Hewerton provided us with a few more highlight reel goals and helped the Mustangs offense make a big statement. He also scored 2 points in Chicago's last matchup with Detroit and has exuded a contagious confidence that is quickly spreading among his teammates.

2. Miguel Vaca, Forward - Vaca has quietly had himself a quality season as he is second on the team in points with 23. Looking fresh as ever during a back-to-back weekend, Vaca utilized his speed and constantly outhustled and outran his opponents on the way to a 1 goal, 2 assist performance against Wichita. Vaca has 14 goals on the year, the most on the team, and has excelled on both sides of the ball all season long using a deadly, fast-paced offensive attack and a steady, fundamentally sound defense.

Detroit Waza Flo

1. Daniel Martini Mattos, Forward - Mattos had a goal in the big win for Detroit last week and has 3 goals on the year against the Mustangs, all coming in their December 20 matchup. Mattos is second on the team in goals despite having a much smaller shot total than the rest of the big shooters on the Waza Flo roster with 13 on the year. He will look to have similar success against Chicago in their final showdown.

2. Miki Djerisilo, Midfield - Djerisilo leads the team in points with 24 and has found plenty of success against Chicago with 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists across their matchups. While he had a fairly quiet game against Harrisburg last weekend, Djerisilo is the engine that keeps the offense moving in the right direction and he hopes to settle in just as well as he did the first 2 times around.

Syracuse Silver Knights

1. Elmo Neto, Forward - It has been Elmo's world in Syracuse all season long. The team leader in points (31) is coming off of a 3 goal performance against Rochester bringing his total up to 24. Neto is the unquestioned leader of the Silver Knights' offense and looks to ride his hot streak into the Sears Centre Arena. Neto is also a huge threat on the powerplay, having netted 4 power play goals on the season thus far.

2. Nelson Santana, Defense - While Neto is the life-blood of the Syracuse offense, Santana is the heartbeat that keeps the defense ticking. Santana poses a threat on offense as he has 8 goals and 15 assists totaling 23 points on the year including 3 power play goals, but his ability to be in the right place at the right time on the other end is what makes him so valuable. Santana has 18 blocked shots and looks to come into Chicago and frustrate the Mustangs' skill players.

The Mustangs return home Sunday, February 15 at 3:05pm at the Sears Centre Arena against the Syracuse Silver Knights. 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.

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