Philadelphia clinches playoff berth
April 4, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2005 â The Philadelphia KiXX secured a berth to the 2005 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Playoffs after splitting a pair of games this past weekend. The KiXX, who have now qualified for the postseason in each of their nine years of existence, next prepare for a home-and-home series versus the Milwaukee Wave. The club first battles the League leaders at the U.S. Cellular Arena on Friday, April 8, before returning to the City of Brotherly Love to entertain the Wave at the Wachovia Spectrum on Saturday, April 9. Friday's contest is scheduled for 8:05 pm ET and will webcast live at www.milwaukeewave.com, while Saturday's contest is slated for a 7:05 pm ET start and will webcast live at www.Pennlive.com.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, April 4, Off Day
Tuesday, April 5, Visit to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 10:00 am (No Practice)
Wednesday, April 6, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, April 7, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, April 8, KiXX at Milwaukee Wave, U.S. Cellular Arena, 8:05 pm
Saturday, April 9, KiXX vs. Milwaukee Wave, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm
Sunday, April 10, Off Day
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Edgar Bartolomeu Ankle Out
Shawn Boney Foot Out
John Barry Nusum Ankle Questionable
KiXX vs. Wave
2004-05 Series: 1-3 (home 1-1, away 0-2) Overall: 15-21 (home 13-5, away 2-16)
This weekend's home-and-home series is the fifth and sixth meetings between the two clubs, respectively, this season ... Philadelphia enters the doubleheader trailing the Wave by two games for the top spot in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) standings with four games remaining in the regular season ... the KiXX claimed the first match, 6-3, at the Wachovia Spectrum on December 18, thanks to two-point performances from forward Goran Vasic and defenders Drew Kopp and Pat Morris ... Milwaukee, led by Head Coach Keith Tozer, rebounded to knock-off the KiXX, 7-5, at the U.S. Cellular Arena on January 14 ... Michael King paced the Wave with two points, while Morris notched a pair of assists for Philadelphia ... in all, the game witnessed 11-different goal scorers ... Milwaukee then pounded the KiXX, 6-2, in the club's 10th Annual School Day Game at the Wachovia Spectrum on February 16 ... the match-up was not on the original 2004-05 schedule, but was added after Monterrey and the San Diego Sockers ceased operations ...the KiXX then dropped a 6-5 overtime heartbreaker in Milwaukee in the clubs' most recent meeting on March 6 ... rookies John Barry Nusum and Ptah Myers led Philadelphia with three and two points, respectively ... the all-time meetings between the two clubs have been primarily dominated by the home team; Philadelphia is 13-5 when hosting the Wave, but are only 2-16 when playing away from the City of Brotherly Love, giving Milwaukee the slight advantage overall, 20-16.
Hunt for the Playoffs: With the fifth-placed Chicago Storm dropping a 7-5 decision to the St. Louis Steamers on April 3, both the League-leading Milwaukee Wave and the Philadelphia KiXX have clinched a berth in the 2005 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Playoffs ... the KiXX have now qualified for postseason play in each of their nine years of existence ... the final two postseason spots are still up for grabs with the remaining five teams all still mathematically alive and separated by only four games ... the two-time defending MISL Champion Baltimore Blast currently occupy the cellar, but are only three and one-half games out of the fourth and final playoff spot.
Individual Accolades: The MISL announced today that defender Pat Morris has been named the League's Defensive Player of the Week for the seven-day period ending April 3 ... the accolade is the sixth such honor for the Philadelphia native this season, the most by a single player in the MISL this season ... Morris received his latest honor after registered three points and five blocks in the team's two games this past weekend ... listed below are the KiXX members and the weekly accolades they received this season:
Player Weekly Accolade
Don D'Ambra Offensive POW for seven-day periods ending January 30, February 13
Drew Kopp Defensive POW for the seven-day period ending March 27
Pat Morris Defensive POW for seven-day periods ending Oct. 24, Nov. 7, Dec. 12, Dec. 19, Jan. 30, Apr. 3
John Barry Nusum Offensive POW for seven-day period ending November 7
Back-to-Back: The club next prepares for a home-and-home series versus the Milwaukee Wave this weekend, their 11th and final set of back-to-back games this season ... the team first battles the League leaders in Milwaukee on April 8, before returning to entertain the Wave at the Wachovia Spectrum on April 9 ... to date, the KiXX post a 6-4 record in the first game of the back-to-back series and a 5-4 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 L, 5-6 OT 1/30 vs. St. Louis W, 7-3
2/19 at Kansas City L, 0-4 2/20 at Cleveland L, 2-8
2/25 at Chicago L, 5-6 2/26 vs. Cleveland W, 7-6 OT
4/2 at St. Louis W, 7-3 4/3 vs. Baltimore L, 3-4 OT
4/8 at Milwaukee 8:05 pm 4/8 vs. Milwaukee 7:05 pm
Overtime: The KiXX were forced to the extra stanza for the seventh time this season versus the Baltimore Blast on April 3 ... the club, which dropped a 4-3 decision in the contest, fell to 3-4 in overtime ... Philadelphia defeated the Cleveland Force in three overtime sessions (1/9, 2/5, 2/26), but fell to every other club when forced to the extra stanza this season ... in addition to the loss to the Blast, the team also dropped a pair of overtime decisions to the St. Louis Steamers on December 5 and January 29.
Among the League Leaders: Philadelphia is well represented on the MISL Leaderboard this season ... rookie forward John Barry Nusum ranks sixth on the circuit with 44 points, while player/coach Don D'Ambra, veteran midfielder and player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan, and forward Goran Vasic each sits tied 10th with 40 points ... all-star defender Pat Morris trails close behind, at 16th with 38 points ... Vasic, a native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, also sits atop the League leaders in assists with 29 dimes, and Morris ranks first in blocks with 82 ... not to be outdone, seven-time all-star goalkeeper Peter Pappas ranks among the MISL leaders in nearly goalkeeping category including second in minutes (1,850), saves (393), goals against average (4.42), and wins (17), and third in save percentage (.740).
Last Week's Outing(s):
Blast 4, KiXX 3 OT (4/3): After nearly 10 minutes of scoreless action (9:58) in the opening quarter, KiXX player/ coach Don D'Ambra knocked in a pass from teammate Ze Roberto to give Philadelphia an early 1-0 advantage. Just over 30 seconds later (10:31), Baltimore knotted the game at 1-1 as Celenza found the back of the net on an assist from defender Danny Kelly. D'Ambra and Roberto connected again, this time at 13:55 of the stanza, to close out the quarter with the KiXX holding a 2-1 advantage. Rookie forward Gary Brooks extended the club's lead, 3-1, with a right-footed blast off a feed from D'Ambra just 28 seconds into the second period, but Blast defender Scott Schweitzer quickly cut the advantage back to one, 3-2, connecting on a restart goal at 1:36. Kelly notched the only score of the third quarter, a tally on an assist from forward Sipho Sibiya at 8:36, to knot the game at 3-3 entering the final period of play. Neither team could muster any offense in the final period, as the clubs entered overtime tied, 3-3. Baltimore's Tschantret finally ended the stalemate, connecting on a pass from Celenza at the 12-minute mark of the extra stanza.
KiXX 7, Steamers 3 (4/2): Philadelphia KiXX (20-14) gained some breathing room and secured their hold on second place in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) standings with a 7-3 victory versus the St. Louis Steamers at the Savvis Center tonight. D'Ambra opened the scoring, 1-0, with a restart goal on a pass from forward Goran Vasic at the one-minute mark of the first quarter. With the assist, Vasic, who currently leads the MISL in dimes this season, extends his point and assist streaks to seven games. Defender Jeremy Aldrich tallied his third score of the season on a dish from Morris to extend the club's advantage to two, 2-0, at 1:39 of the second period, but St. Louis' Mariano Bollella quickly cut the lead back to one, 2-1, with a notch from Phillips at 3:53. KiXX midfielder Joel Shanker, in his first action after missing the club's previous eight outings with a hamstring injury, concluded the second period scoring, connecting on a feed from Vasic at 12:17 of the stanza. Marco Lopez pulled the Steamers back within one, 3-2, with a restart goal on a pass from teammate Joe Reininger at 2:46 of the third quarter. D'Ambra regained Philadelphia's two-point advantage, 4-2, with his second tally of the evening on a dish from Morris at 9:21. Just over a minute later (10:39), Reiniger blasted a penalty-kick goal past Pappas to again cut the Steamers' deficit to one, 4-3; St. Louis received the penalty-kick opportunity after D'Ambra received a two-minute tripping infraction. Philadelphia native Daniel Antoniuk then finished a feed from Morris, 5-3, with 13 seconds (14:47) remaining in the period. The assist was Morris' third of the contest, marking his season-high in assists this season. Philadelphia added a pair of scores versus the sixth attacker in the final minutes of the fourth period to seal a 7-3 victory. Midfielder Ze Roberto struck first on a feed from Drew Kopp at 13:48, followed by an unassisted tally from player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan at the 14-minute mark. Sloan's goal extended his scoring streak to seven games.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 4, 2005
- Milwaukee Wave Weekly - Milwaukee Wave
- Force Makes Two Roster Moves Prior To MISL Roster Freeze Deadline - Cleveland Force
- Philly Native Pat Morris Receives Sixth Weekly Honor - Philadelphia KiXX
- Philadelphia clinches playoff berth - Philadelphia KiXX
- Two former Force players jump to MLS - Cleveland Force
- MISL names players of the week - MISL 2
- This week with the Force - Cleveland Force
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