Philadelphia boasts win in Baltimore; hosts St. Louis in back-to-back games this weekend

January 24, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release


The Philadelphia KiXX earned a 9-4 victory versus the two-time defending Major Indoor Soccer League Champion Baltimore Blast at the 1st Mariner Arena on January 21, then had their second match of the doubleheader weekend, a visit from the St. Louis Steamers on January 22, postponed due to inclement weather. That contest was rescheduled for Sunday, January 30 and will be played as the second game of a back-to-back set versus the St. Louis Steamers at the Wachovia Spectrum. Philadelphia will also entertain the Steamers on Saturday, January 29. Saturday's match-up will kick-off at 7:05 pm ET, while Sunday's outing is slated for a 5:05 pm ET start time.

All tickets purchased for the January 22 contest will be honored on the rescheduled date. In addition, the first 3,000 patrons, 14 and under, on January 30 will receive a complimentary Don D'Ambra Bobblehead Doll, courtesy of EwingCole.

This Week's Itinerary:

Monday, January 24, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Tuesday, January 25, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Wednesday, January 26, Off Day

Thursday, January 27, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Friday, January 28, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Saturday, January 29, KiXX vs. St. Louis Steamers, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm

Sunday, January 30, KiXX vs. St. Louis Steamers, Wachovia Spectrum, 5:05 pm

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

Injury Report:

Player Injury Status

Shawn Boney Foot Out

KiXX vs. Steamers

2004-05 Series: 0-1 (home 0-0, away 0-1)

Overall: 2-3 (home 1-1, away 1-2)

The Philadelphia KiXX and the St. Louis Steamers met for the first time in franchise history on November 14, 2003 ... the club defeated the Steamers, 7-3, in that contest and split last season's overall series (2-2) ... the Steamers, who entered the 2004-05 campaign with new ownership, edged past Philadelphia, 6-5, in overtime in their first match-up this season on December 5, despite a game-high four-point performance (two goals, two assists) from player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan ... Sterling Wescott led the Steamers with three points on a pair of goals and one assist ... the two teams were slated to meet at the Wachovia Spectrum on January 22, but the contest was postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled for Sunday, January 30 ... the two teams will meet a total of four times this season.

Mr. 4,000: KiXX all-star goalkeeper Peter Pappas become the newest member of the 4,000-save club, eclipsing the plateau with 12 saves in the team's 9-4 victory in Baltimore on January 21 ... with the milestone, the native of Toronto, Ontario become just the 15th player in indoor soccer history to record 4,000 career saves ... Pappas, a graduate of Philadelphia University, posts a 10-4 overall record and a 4.73 goals against average ... he ranks among the League leaders in nearly every goalkeeper category, including first in wins and saves (208), second in minutes (952), and fourth in goals against average.

Philly Native Having a Ball: Philadelphia native Pat Morris is enjoying arguably the best season of his seven-year indoor career ... the 27-year-old defender is currently ranked tied for ninth in the MISL in scoring with 23 points (14 goals, nine assists) and is second in the seven-team League with 30 blocks ... Morris, a graduate of Northeast Catholic High School and Philadelphia University, is also enjoying a 10-game point streak and has recorded at least one point in 15 of the 16 contests he has appeared ... the three-time all-star concluded last season with 34 points (21 goals, 13 assists) and 66 blocks and second behind only Monterrey's Genoni Martinez in the MISL Defender of the Year balloting.

All-Star Veteran Returns to Form: Forward Joel Shanker returned to action in Milwaukee (1/14) after missing the team's previous 10 contests with a groin injury ... the three-time all-star quickly made his presence known, notching Philadelphia's first goal of the evening on a pass from defender Pat Morris at 5:50 of the second quarter ... Shanker's tally snapped the Wave's unanswered streak of five goals ... the native of St. Louis, MO then added a pair of goals in the team's 9-4 victory in Baltimore on January 21 ... to date this season, he has registered five points on four goals and one assist in only seven appearances.

Rookie Presence: Philadelphia entered the 2004-05 season with seven rookies featured on the roster, the most in the club's recent history ... newcomer John Barry Nusum continues to standout above not only the newcomers, but also seasoned veterans ... the native of Devonshire, Bermuda currently sits tied for first on the MISL Leaderboard with 30 points on 18 goals (1st MISL) and 12 assists ... the 23-year-old forward has already registered a pair of hat tricks (three goals) and has scored at least one point in 14 of the 18 games he has played this season ... forward Damien Pottinger and Gary Brooks are the only other newcomers with a double-digit point total; Pottinger has recorded 12 points, while Brooks has registered 11 ... Gloucester Township, NJ native Jeff Moore and Holy Ghost Prep graduate Chris Fehrle have each chipped in five ... defenders Ptah Myers and Devlin Barnes have recorded four and two points, respectively this season ... Myers (18) and Fehrle (15) also currently rank second and third, respectively, on the team in blocks this season ... in all, the club's rookies have accounted for 69 of the team's 194 total points for 35.6% of the team's production this season ... the seven newcomers have also recorded 41.7% (78-of-the-187) of the team's blocks.

Back-to-Back: The club defeated the Baltimore Blast, 9-4, on January 21 in the first game of their sixth set of back-to-back games this season ... the series' latter contest, a visit from the St. Louis Steamers on January 22, was postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled for Sunday, January 30 ... that date now becomes the second game of a back-to-back series versus St. Louis ... the Steamers are also in town on January 29 with the contest slated to kick-off at 7:05 pm ET ... to date, the KiXX post a 5-1 record in the first game of their back-to-back series and a 4-1 mark in the latter contest ... listed below are all of the back-to-back sets, with their outcomes, scheduled in the 2004-05 campaign:

Date Opponent W/L Date Opponent W/L

11/5 at Baltimore W, 8-7 11/6 vs. Baltimore W, 6-5

11/13 vs. San Diego W, 4-2 11/14 vs. Chicago L, 7-4

12/11 vs. Cleveland L, 5-6 12/12 vs. Chicago W, 9-5

12/17 at Chicago W, 9-4 12/18 vs. Milwaukee W, 6-3

1/8 vs. Kansas City W, 4-3 1/9 at Cleveland W, 6-5 OT

1/21 at Baltimore W, 9-4 1/22 vs. St. Louis PPD

1/29 vs. St. Louis 7:05 pm 1/30 vs. St. Louis 5:05 pm

2/19 at Kansas City 8:35 pm 2/20 at Cleveland 3:05 pm

2/25 at Chicago 8:35 pm 2/26 vs. Cleveland 7:05 pm

4/2 at St. Louis 8:05 pm 4/3 vs. Baltimore 1:05 pm

4/8 at Milwaukee 8:05 pm 4/8 vs. Milwaukee 7:05 pm

Scorin' Goran: KiXX forward Goran Vasic continues to roll this season ... after his eight-game point streak was snapped in St. Louis (12/5), the native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia responded with a six-game point streak that snapped after he failed to record a point versus Kansas City on January 8 ... some highlights in that scoring spree include a three-point (goal, two assists) performance versus the Cleveland Force (12/11) and a season-high four-point (goal, three assists) game in Kansas City (1/1) ... the all-star forward then posted a four-assist performance in Cleveland (1/9), added one goal in Milwaukee on January 14, and posted a two-point (goal, assist) performance in Baltimore (1/21) ... Vasic has now registered at least one point in 17 of the team's 19 contests this season ... Vasic is currently second on the team (tied 3rd MISL) with 27 points on eight goals and a team-high 19 assists (1st MISL) ... the 32-year-old forward led Philadelphia in both points (48) and assists (34) last season.

Last Outing:

KiXX 9, Blast 4 (1/21): After a scoreless first period, Blast defender Scott Schweitzer registered a restart goal on a dish from teammate Danny Kelly to give Baltimore a 1-0 advantage just under a minute (:59) into the second quarter. KiXX player/coach Don D'Ambra knotted the score, 1-1, as he buried a rebounded shot from rookie Gary Brooks into the back of the net at 5:10 of the stanza. Veteran midfielder Kevin Sloan provided Philadelphia with their first lead of the night, 2-1 (8:07), capitalizing on a penalty-kick opportunity after Sagu was sent to the penalty box for a two-minute tripping infraction. A mere 22 seconds later (8:29), defender Drew Kopp extended the club's advantage to two, 3-1, connecting on a pass from John Barry Nusum. Philadelphia continued to roll, as D'Ambra notched his second score of the quarter on an assist from captain Pat Morris at 10:41. The Blast responded with three unanswered goals in a span of only one minute, 111 seconds to pull back even, 4-4, entering the half. Allen Eller (13:24), Guiliano Celenza (14:13) and Marco Chantel (14:13) concluded the second-quarter scoring for Baltimore. Philadelphia bolted out of the gates, recording a pair of goals (separated by on 13 seconds) in the first 90 seconds of play in the third quarter. Forward Goran Vasic struck first on a pass from Nusum at 1:14 of the period, followed by an unassisted score from Brooks at 1:27. Joel Shanker then lengthened the team's lead to four, 8-4, with back-to-back goals; the nine-year veteran registered an unassisted tally at 3:13, and then connected with Vasic for a restart goal at 6:50. KiXX defender Edgar Bartolomeu recorded the only goal of the fourth quarter, a tally from D'Ambra at 12:45, to seal the team's 9-4 victory. Peter Pappas earned the victory for Philadelphia, stopping 12 of the 16 shots he faced, while Sagu took the loss for the Blast with eight saves on 16 chances.

KiXX RECORD:

Overall: 12-7

Home: 6-3

Road: 6-4

PREVIOUS RESULTS:

1/21 @ Baltimore Blast – W, 9-4

1/22 vs. St. Louis Steamers - PPD

THIS WEEK'S GAMES:

1/29 vs. St. Louis Steamers – 7:05 pm ET

1/30 vs. St. Louis Steamers – 5:05 pm ET

MISL STANDINGS (through games of 1/23)

TEAM W L PCT GB STREAK

Philadelphia KiXX 12 7 .632 --- Won 1

St. Louis Steamers 12 6 .632 --- Lost 1

Milwaukee Wave 11 6 .647 1.0 Lost 2

Kansas City Comets 7 7 .500 2.5 Won 2

Baltimore Blast 9 10 .474 3.0 Lost 1

Cleveland Force 7 9 .438 3.0 Won 1

Chicago Storm 8 12 .400 4.5 Won 2



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 24, 2005


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