NPSL weekly notes
by NPSL Press Release
Published on March 26, 2001 under National Professional Soccer League (NPSL)
NPSL weekly notes
NPSL Press Release
NPSL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive
Hector Marinaro -- Forward, Cleveland Crunch- (three games: two 3-point goals, three 2-point goals, five assists, 17 points)
The Cleveland Crunch forward earns NPSL Offensive Player of the Week honors after posting five goals and five assists in helping his club stay alive in the race for the American Conference's fourth and final playoff berth.
Marinaro opened his week by notching an assist vs. Buffalo on Tuesday, March 22. The six-time NPSL Most Valuable Player then recorded six points (3-point goal, 2-point goal, assist) in leading the Crunch to a come-from-behind 16-15 victory over the Baltimore Blast on Thursday, March 23. Marinaro saved his best for last, however, posting 10 points on a 3-point goal, two 2-point goals, and three assists during the Crunch's Sunday, March 25, outing vs. Detroit.
Marinaro, 36, is currently leading the NPSL in scoring with 160 points in 32 games played while pacing the league in 2-point goals (45) and points per game average (five). The native of Toronto, Canada, also ranks among the NPSL leaders in restart goals (tied for 1st - 11), game-winning goals (2nd - six), total goals (2nd - 63), and assists (5th - 40).
Defensive
Peter Pappas -- Goalkeeper, Philadelphia Kixx- (three games: 3-0, 9.74 points-against average, 33 saves on 48 shots faced, .717 save percentage)
The Philadelphia goalkeeper is the NPSL Defensive Player of the Week after posting three victories for a Kixx side, which rebounded from a previous three-game losing streak to post a 3-0 last week.
Pappas opened the week by stopping 13 of 16 shots faced in a 24-8 victory over Toronto at the Sovereign Bank Arena on Thursday, March 22. The Philadelphia University product then posted nine saves on 12 shots faced in leading the Kixx to a 22-5 triumph over the Kansas City Attack at the First Union Spectrum on Saturday, March 24. Pappas concluded his week with an 11-save performance in Philadelphia's key 20-15 win vs. Baltimore at the Sovereign Arena on Sunday, March 25.
Pappas, 28, is currently 21-14 on the season while owning a 10.47 points-against average and a .724 save percentage. The five-year NPSL veteran is currently ranked second in the league in both points-against average and wins while ranking fourth in save percentage and minutes played (2,029).
THIS WEEK'S NPSL SCHEDULE (all times local)
THUR, MARCH 29- Philadelphia at Buffalo (10:35 a.m.)
Detroit at Wichita (7:35 p.m.)
FRI, MARCH 30- Cleveland at Milwaukee (7:05 p.m.)
Baltimore at Harrisburg (7:35 p.m.)
Toronto at Kansas City (7:35 p.m.)SAT, MARCH 31- Baltimore at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m.)
Buffalo at Cleveland (7:35 p.m.)
Detroit at Kansas City (7:35 p.m.)
Toronto at Wichita (7:35 p.m.)
SUN, APRIL 1- Detroit at Milwaukee (1:05 p.m.)
Philadelphia at Buffalo (2:05 p.m.)
NPSL GAME RECAPS (03/19-03/25)
GAMES OF 03/20/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) Detroit 15 2-11-0-2 2,045 44 2 2-2 Shepherd (14-24) BALTIMORE 12 4-2-4-2 47 4 0-0 Hileman (21-36)
Domenic Mobilio (2-point goal, 1-point goal, assist) and Joel Shanker (2-point goal, two assists) combined for eight points as the Detroit Rockers defeated the Baltimore Blast, 15-12, at the Baltimore Arena on Tuesday, March 20. Detroit trailed, 4-2, after one quarter of play, but used an 11-2 second quarter run to push ahead for good. Paul Shepherd earned the win in goal for Rockers, making 19 saves. Scott Hileman took the loss for Baltimore, stopping 21 Detroit shots. Denison Cabral paced the Baltimore offense with six points (three 2-point goals). The victory marked Detroit's fourth in a row and sixth in its last seven games. With the win, the Rockers moved within one game of fourth place Kansas City and the final National Conference playoff berth.
GAMES OF 03/22/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) PHILADELPHIA 24 4-3-11-6 1,591 46 0 2-2 Pappas (13-16) Toronto 8 4-0-2-2 28 4 0-0 Zagar (22-30)
The Philadelphia Kixx broke open a 4-4 first quarter tie with a 12-0 run over the second and third frames to defeat the Toronto ThunderHawks, 24-8, at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ, on Thursday, March 22. Peter Pappas earned the win in goal for the Kixx, stopping 13 Toronto shots while Goran Hunjak led the Philadelphia attack with six points (three 2-point goals). Jocelyn Roy paced the T-Hawks with four points on two 2-point goals. Theo Zagar suffered the loss in goal for Toronto, despite a 22-save effort. The Philadelphia victory snapped a Kixx three-game losing streak.
GAMES OF 03/22/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) BUFFALO 12 6-0-2-4 3,322 22 0 0-0 Finnerty (12-15) Cleveland 6 0-4-0-2 33 0 0-0 Orf (9-15)
Doug Miller recorded eight points (three 2-point goals, two assists) and Bryan Finnerty made 12 saves as the Buffalo Blizzard defeated the Cleveland Crunch, 12-6, at the HSBC Arena on Thursday, March 22. Two Miller tallies and a Matt Caution 2-point goal pushed Buffalo ahead, 6-0, after one quarter of play as the Blizzard never looked back on its way to the six-point victory. The triumph was Buffalo's eighth in nine games and moved the Blizzard two full games ahead of Cleveland in the race for the American Conference's fourth and final playoff berth. Scott Schweitzer, Goran Vasic, and recently acquired Henry Gutierrez recorded 2-point goals for the Crunch.
GAMES OF 03/22/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) Wichita 11 2-1-1-7 3,066 26 18 0-1 Damico (12-18) KANSAS CITY 10 7-2-1-0 20 13 0-0 Westcoat (13-18)
The Wichita Wings erased a 9-3 halftime deficit to defeat the Kansas City Attack, 11-10, at the Kemper Arena on Thursday, March 22. In a physical contest that featured 31 minutes in penalties, the Wings used an 8-1 second half run to record the one-point victory. Vlatko Andonovski paced the Wichita offense with four points (2-point goal, two 1-point goals) while Chris Damico stopped 12 of 18 shots faced to earn the win in goal for the Wings. Clovis Simas led Kansas City with four points on two 2-point tallies. The victory moved Wichita three and a half games ahead of Kansas City in the race for third place in the National Conference standings.
GAMES OF 03/23/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) TORONTO 11 0-2-4-5 2,502 41 2 0-1 Ceccarelli(19-21) Wichita 4 0-0-2-2 33 2 0-1 Larkin (23-31)
The Toronto ThunderHawks used a 9-4 second half run to transform a 2-0 halftime lead into an 11-4 victory over the Wichita Wings at the Hershey Centre on Friday, March 23. T-Hawks goalkeeper Paolo Ceccarelli was sharp in goal, stopping 19 of 21 shots faced in earning the win while Jocelyn Roy (3-point goal, assist), Jimmy Glenn (two 2-point goals), and Mauro Biello (2-point goal, two assists) paced the Toronto offense with four points apiece. Toronto native Jim Larkin took the loss in goal for the Wings, despite a 23-save performance, while Dino Delevski paced the Wichita offense with three points (2-point goal, assist). The Toronto victory clinched the club home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs and assured the T-Hawks of no worse than a second place finish in the franchise's first NPSL campaign.
GAMES OF 03/23/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) Milwaukee 10 2-2-2-4 3,467 24 5 0-0 Nogueira (22-25) DETROIT 6 0-0-4-2 47 0 0-0 Placek (10-14)
Milwaukee goalkeeper Victor Nogueira stopped 22 of 25 shots faced as the Wave cooled a hot Detroit Rockers club, 10-6, at the Compuware Sports Arena on Friday, March 23. Milwaukee, which led 4-0 at the half and 6-4 through three quarters while never trailing in the contest, received four points (two 2-point goals) from Joe Reiniger and three points from Sipho Sibiya (2-point goal, assist). Detroit, which fell for the first time in five games, received goals from Tim Ernst, Dennis Brose, and Martin Nash. Allen Placek (10 saves) suffered the loss in goal for the Rockers, who fell one full game behind idle Kansas City for the fourth and final National Conference playoff berth.
GAMES OF 03/24/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) Cleveland 16 0-0-9-7 7,433 42 9 0-0 Orf (19-27) BALTIMORE 15 2-2-7-4 36 0 1-2 Hileman (23-39)
The Cleveland Crunch overcame a 9-0 deficit to defeat the Baltimore Blast, 16-15, in front of a crowd of 7,433 fans at the Baltimore Arena on Saturday, March 24. Cleveland, which trailed 4-0 at the half and 9-0 with five minutes gone in the third quarter, scored nine consecutive points in a span of 5:07 during later third quarter action to tie score at nine. Then, after falling behind 13-9 with 56 seconds gone in the fourth, the Crunch went on a 6-0 to take the lead for good in recording the one-point victory. Henry Gutierrez, playing in his second game of the season with Cleveland, scored the game-winning 2-point goal for the Crunch while Hector Marinaro led the Cleveland comeback with six points (3-point goal, 2-point goal, assist). Otto Orf earned the victory in goal for Cleveland with a 19-save effort. Danny Santoro led the Baltimore offense with six points (three 2-point goals) while Scott Hileman suffered the loss in goal for the Blast, despite a 23-save performance.
GAMES OF 03/24/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) HARRISBURG 14 (OT) 2-4-4-2-2 6,848 32 0 0-0 Petras (19-25) Buffalo 12 6-0-4-2-0 35 0 0-0 Dobson (9-16)
Wendell Regis' 2-point goal with 56 seconds gone in overtime lifted the Harrisburg Heat over the Buffalo Blizzard, 14-12, in front of 6,848 fans at the Farm Show Arena on Saturday, March 24. A Mike Henning game-tying 2-point tally with just 1:36 left in regulation made Regis' heroics possible. Gino DiFlorio paced the Harrisburg attack with six points on two 2-point goals and two assists while Matt Little (two 2-point goals) and Rick Titus (2-point goal, two assists) led Buffalo with four points apiece. Doug Petras (19) notched the win in goal for the Heat while Stuart Dobson (nine saves) took the loss between the pipes for the Blizzard. The victory clinched home field advantage for Harrisburg in the first round of the playoffs while assuring the franchise no worse than a second place finish in the American Conference standings.
GAMES OF 03/24/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) Milwaukee 9 2-0-2-5 4,135 29 0 0-0 Nogueira (13-16) WICHITA 6 0-2-2-2 29 0 0-0 Damico (13-17)
The Milwaukee Wave used a 13-save performance from Victor Nogueira to defeat the Wichita Wings, 9-6, at the Kansas Coliseum on Saturday, March 24. Nogueira allowed just three 2-point goals on the night while improving to 19-11 on the season. Brian Loftin (3-point goal) and NPSL rookie Greg Howes (2-point goal, assist) led the Wave offense with three points each while Aaron Susi paced Wichita with three points on a 2-point goal and an assist. Chris Damico was the tough-luck loser in goal for the Wings, despite allowing just four goals and nine points.
GAMES OF 03/24/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) PHILADELPHIA 22 5-2-15-0 6,650 37 2 1-2 Pappas (9-12) Kansas City 5 2-1-2-0 28 4 0-1 Westcoat (14-25)
The Philadelphia Kixx used a 15-2 third quarter run to transform a 7-3-halftime advantage into a 22-5 victory over the Kansas City Attack in front of a crowd of 6,650 at the First Union Spectrum on Saturday, March 24. Philadelphia scored six goals during its decisive third quarter run after Kansas City had moved within two at 7-5 with 29 seconds gone in the second half. Kevin Sloan paced the Kixx offense with six points (three 2-point goals) while Peter Pappas stopped nine of 12 shots faced to earn the victory in goal for the home team. Clovis Simas (2-point goal, 1-point goal) and Dane Skaric (2-point goal, assist) led the Attack offense while Warren Westcoat suffered the loss in goal for a Kansas City club which saw its hold on fourth place in the National Conference shrink to one half game over idle Detroit.
GAMES OF 03/25/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) DETROIT 17 5-6-2-4 3,526, 46 4 0-0 Placek (12-18) Cleveland 13 4-3-2-4 38 0 0-2 DiCello (28-36)
Domenic Mobilio continued his recent tear with seven points (three 2-point goals, assist) and Martin Nash added five points on a 3-point goal and 2-point tally as the Detroit Rockers defeated the Cleveland Crunch, 17-13, at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday, March 25. The Detroit victory, coupled with a Kansas City loss vs. Milwaukee, moved the Rockers into fourth place in the National Conference. Hector Marinaro enjoyed a 10-point night for the Crunch on a 3-point goal, two 2-point goals, and three assists. Alan Placek (12 saves) earned the win in goal for Detroit while Nick DiCello (28 saves) took the loss between the pipes for Cleveland.
GAMES OF 03/25/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) PHILADELPHIA 20 7-4-6-3 2,870 32 4 0-2 Pappas (11-26) Baltimore 15 5-6-2-2 37 4 1-2 Hileman (13-31)
Don D'Ambra notched seven points (three 2-point goals, assist) including the game-winning goal and defender Scott Henderson added five points on a 3-point goal and a 2-point lamp-lighter as the Philadelphia Kixx defeated the Baltimore Blast, 20-15, at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ, on Sunday, March 25. The victory clinched a playoff berth for Philadelphia for the fifth consecutive season while moving the Kixx ahead of Baltimore and into second place in the American Conference standings. Denison Cabral paced the Blast attack with six points (two 2-point goals, 1-point goal, assist). Peter Pappas (11 saves) earned the win in goal for Philadelphia while Scott Hileman (13 saves) suffered the loss in net for Baltimore. The Kixx, which earned a half-game lead over the Blast with the victory, will host Baltimore in the final meeting of the season between the two teams on Saturday, March 31.
GAMES OF 03/25/2001 (Home CAPS) SCORING ATTN SHOTS PIM PP W/L GOALIE (SV-SF) Milwaukee 13 1-3-6-3 3,631 28 0 0-0 Green (24-26) KANSAS CITY 4 0-4-0-0 37 2 0-0 Westcoat (11-15)
Joe Reiniger triggered a 9-0 Milwaukee second half run with five points (3-point goal, two assists) to lead the Wave to a 13-4 victory over the Kansas City Attack at the Kemper Arena on Sunday, March 25. Dan Green allowed just two goals on 26 shots faced in earning the victory in net for Milwaukee while Warren Westcoat (11 saves) suffered the loss in goal for Kansas City. Novi Marojevic and Clovis Simas recorded 2-point goals for the Attack. With the victory, Milwaukee clinched first place in the National Conference while assuring the franchise home-field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
LEAGUE NOTES
- As the NPSL enters its final week of regular season action, six of the eight playoff berths have been secured; the Harrisburg Heat, Philadelphia Kixx, and Baltimore Blast have clichéd playoff invitations in the American Conference while the Milwaukee Wave, Toronto ThunderHawks, and Wichita Wings have secured National Conference playoff appearances; the Buffalo Blizzard and Cleveland Crunch are competing for the final American Conference playoff berth while the Detroit Rockers and Kansas City Attack battle for the final National Conference invite
- Cleveland hosts Buffalo while Detroit travels to Kansas City on Saturday, March 31, in contests featuring the four teams competing for the final two NPSL playoff berths
- The Harrisburg completed its worst-to-first turnaround by clinching the American Conference regular season crown last week; the Heat, which is 24-15 on the current campaign, completed the 1999-00 season with the worst record in the American Conference at 16-28
- The defending NPSL Champion Milwaukee Wave Milwaukee went 3-0 last week to clinch the National Conference's regular season title; Milwaukee (22-16) has gone 20-9 since opening the season with a 2-7 record
- Milwaukee forward Joe Reiniger recorded points in each of the Wave's three outings last week to extend his scoring streak to 72 games; Reiniger's run is the second longest in NPSL history; current Kansas City Attack forward Zoran Karic recorded a point in 159 consecutive contests (1992-97) while playing with the Cleveland Crunch
- Harrisburg goalkeeper Doug Petras set two Heat franchise records last week; Petras established a franchise single-season wins record (23) and save mark (680)
- The Philadelphia Kixx finished the 2000-01 season with a 5-0 record at its alternate home, the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ;
- With one week of play remaining in the 2000-01 regular season, Cleveland forward Hector Marinaro (160 points) has opened a 21-point lead over Harrisburg forward Gino DiFlorio (139 points) in the NPSL scoring race; Marinaro is in search of his eighth scoring title in the last nine seasons
- The Philadelphia Kixx went 3-0 last week and averaged 22 points per victory after going 0-3 in its previous three games and combining for 22 points (7.33 points per game average)
- Philadelphia forward Don D'Ambra recorded his 600th career point on Saturday, March 24 vs. Kansas City
- The Harrisburg Heat enjoyed a season-high crowd of 6,848 during the team's 14-12 (OT) victory vs. the Buffalo Blizzard on Saturday, March 24
- Kansas City Attack captain Wes Wade will cut his trademark red hair at the end of the Attack's contest vs. Detroit at the Kemper Arena on Saturday, March 31; Wade will then donate the hair to Locks for Love, a Florida-based non-profit organization that makes wigs for children suffering from Cancer; Wade plans on having at least 10 inches of his hair cut in conjunction with the event
- The Detroit Rockers have gone 8-5 since acquiring Domenic Mobilio on February 20; Mobilio has posted 24 goals, eight assists, and 51 points in this time; the Rockers had gone 5-20 prior to Mobilio's arrival
- The Harrisburg Heat held its annual jersey auction following the team's March 24 contest vs. Buffalo; the event, which benefits Special Olympics, raised over $8,000
National Professional Soccer League Stories from March 26, 2001
- NPSL weekly notes - OSC Original by NPSL Press Release
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