Philadelphia downs Force in double overtime; reclaims top spot in the MISL Standings

February 7, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release


Philadelphia, PA, February 7, 2005 –The Philadelphia KiXX defeated the Cleveland Force by a score of 7-6 in double overtime at the Wachovia Spectrum on February 5. The victory, combined with a St. Louis Steamers loss in Baltimore, moves Philadelphia back into the top spot in the Major Indoor Soccer League standings with a 14-8 overall record. The team returns to action with a trip west to battle the Kansas City Comets at the Kemper Arena on Wednesday, February 9. The school-day game is slated to kick-off at 11:35 am ET. The KiXX then return home on Saturday, February 12 to entertain the defending MISL Champion Baltimore Blast. Game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET, with the doors opening at 6:00 pm ET.

This Week's Itinerary:

Monday, February 7, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Tuesday, February 8, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Wednesday, February 9, KiXX @ Kansas City Comets, Kemper Arena, 11:35 am

Thursday, February 10, Off Day

Friday, February 11, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Saturday, February 12, KiXX vs. Baltimore Blast, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm

Sunday, February 13, Off Day

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

Injury Report:

Player Injury Status

Shawn Boney Foot Out

Gary Brooks Eye Doubtful

John Barry Nusum Illness Doubtful

Ze Roberto Knee Out

KiXX vs. Comets

2004-05 Series: 2-0 (home 1-0, away 1-0)

Overall: 15-14 (home 8-6, away 7-8)

The Philadelphia KiXX and the Kansas City Comets rang in the New Year with the first of six meetings between the two clubs on Saturday, January 1... the KiXX left Kemper Arena with a 7-5 victory, thanks to four-point effort from seven-year veteran Goran Vasic ... newcomer John Barry Nusum also chipped in with three points ... former MISL Most Valuable Player Dino Delevski and Vlatko Andonovski each tallied two points for Kansas City ... Philadelphia then edged past the Comets, 4-3, at the Wachovia Spectrum on April 8 ... Ze Roberto led all scorers with a pair of goals ... the two teams were originally scheduled to square-off only four times this season, but a pair of road dates (February 9 and 19) were added after San Diego and Monterrey ceased operations ... the KiXX had their postseason ended abruptly last season when the visiting Comets defeated the KiXX, 8-5, in the MISL Quarterfinal match at the Wachovia Spectrum on April 10, 2004 ... player/coach Don D'Ambra registered four of the club's five goals in the contest ... veteran defender Jeff Davis led Kansas City with three points on a pair of goals and one assist, while stabilizing the team's defense with three blocks ... the Comets claimed the season series in 2003-04, three-games-to-one, including a two-game sweep in the City of Brotherly Love.

KiXX vs. Blast

2004-05 Series: 3-1 (home 1-0, away 2-1)

Overall: 34-24 (home 19-10, away 16-14)

Saturday's contest is the fifth of eight total meetings between Philadelphia and the Baltimore Blast this season ... the club knocked-off the defending champs, 8-7, on November 5 at the 1st Mariner Arena, thanks to a career-high five-point performance from midfielder Ze Roberto ... Denison Cabral, Carlos Farias, Lee Tschantret and Neil Gilbert each tallied two points to lead the Blast ... Philadelphia then earned a 6-5 victory versus the Blast on November 6 ... newcomer John Barry Nusum led all scorers with four points on three goals and one assist, while Cabral led Baltimore with a pair of goals ... the Blast rebounded to defeat Philadelphia, 7-4, at the 1st Mariner Arena on December 26 ... player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan led the KiXX with a pair of goals, while Allen Eller paced Baltimore with three points (two goals, assist) ... in the most recent meeting on January 21, Philadelphia cruised to a 9-4 win in Baltimore ... five KiXX members posted at least two points, while Machel Millwood was the only Blast player to record a pair ... last season, the clubs split the six total meetings, with each team winning their home series, two-games-to-one.

Going the Distance: The KiXX defeated former player/coach Omid Namazi and the Cleveland Force, 7-6, in double overtime on February 5 ... the 82 minutes and 13 seconds needed to decide the outcome marked only the second time the club has been forced into the second extra stanza ... Philadelphia dropped their first double overtime decision, 8-6, to the Milwaukee Wave in Milwaukee on March 10, 2001 ... that decision needed 83 minutes and four seconds to determine a winner, edging this season's battle with Cleveland by a mere 51 seconds.

Veteran Comes Up Big: Philadelphia player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan is thoroughly enjoying himself as of late ... the 38-year-old forward registered his second consecutive hat trick, en route to a five-point (three goals, two assists) performance in the team's 7-6 double overtime victory versus the Cleveland Force on February 5 ... the Columbia, Maryland native has now accounted for six of the club's 14 total goals in the team's last two outings, and with the two assists included, he has had his hand in eight of the team's 14 tallies (57 percent) ... overall this season, Sloan is ranked third on the team (tied 11th MISL) with 26 points on 19 goals (tied 1st team, tied 4th MISL) and seven assists.

Block Party: Northeast Catholic graduate Pat Morris continued the Philadelphia tradition of block parties with a season-high seven-block performance in the team's 7-6 double overtime win versus Cleveland on February 5 ... the three-time all-star defender, who also blocked six shots in the KiXX' last outing versus St. Louis on January 30 has accounted for 13 of the team's 23 blocks in club's last two contests ... the 28-year-old Philadelphia University product currently leads the MISL with 44 blocks, while ranking tied for ninth on the circuit (tied 2nd team) with 27 points.

2005 Citizens Bank KiXX Kamps: The 2005 Citizens Bank Philadelphia KiXX Summer Soccer Kamp program is approaching quickly ... the KiXX Kamp program , which operates from mid-June through August, offers area children the opportunity to receive professional soccer instruction at approximately 35 different locations throughout the Tri-State area ... online registration at www.kixxonline.com will be available soon, but you can request an official camp brochure via mail by calling the KiXX Office at 1-888-888-KIXX (5499).

Last Outing:

KiXX 7, Force 6 2OT (2/5/05): Cleveland bolted to an early 1-0 lead, as forward Sipho Sibiya connected on a pass from teammate Rene Rivas for a restart goal just 39 seconds into the opening quarter of play. Sibiya registered his second tally of the evening, an unassisted goal to extend the Force advantage to two, 2-0, at 4:20 of the second quarter. KiXX player/coach Kevin Sloan finally broke the club onto the scoreboard with a big right-footed power-play goal on a dish from Philadelphia native Pat Morris at 6:42 of the stanza; the team received the one-man advantage courtesy of a two-minute tripping infraction called on Rene Rivas. Just 34 seconds later (7:16), rookie forward Damien Pottinger knocked-in a dish off the boards from teammate Edgar Bartolomeu to knot the score at 2-2. Sloan then provided Philadelphia with their first lead of the night, 3-2, with his second notch of the contest on a feed from player/coach Don D'Ambra at 10:21. Force forward Antonio Sutton registered a score on a pass from former KiXX midfielder Gary DePalma to retie the action, 3-3 at 3:26 of the third period, but Sloan responded with his third tally of the night at 4:23. The 38-year-old native of Columbia, Maryland added his fourth goal of the night, tying his high as member of the KiXX, to lengthen the club's lead to two, 5-3, at7:36. Cleveland's Kyt Selaidopoulos concluded the third stanza with an unassisted score (10:50) to cut the Force's deficit back to one, 5-4. DePalma connected with teammate John Ball to again knot the score, 5-5, just under the 10-minute mark (9:58) of the final period of play. Selaidopoulos registered his second notch of the game to provide the Force with a one-point lead at 11:49, but Philadelphia's Joel Shanker answered a mere 24 seconds later with a tally on a dish from Sloan and force the game into overtime. KiXX midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu registered an unassisted goal at 7:13 of double overtime to provide Philadelphia a 7-6 victory. The 82 minutes and 13 seconds of action marked the second longest contest in KiXX franchise history; the team's longest game (83:04) occurred in Milwaukee on March 10, 2001. Peter Pappas (12-7) earned the victory between the posts for the KiXX, turning away 12 of the 18 shots he faced, while Jim Larkin took the loss for Cleveland with 18 saves on 25 chances.



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 7, 2005


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