Philadelphia looks to rebound with back-to-back home games this weekend
Published on December 6, 2004 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 2004 âThe Philadelphia KiXX prepare for a set of back-to-back home games at the Wachovia Spectrum this weekend, kicking-off on Saturday, December 11 as the club entertains former player/coach Omid Namazi and Eastern Division foe, the Cleveland Force. The series concludes with a meeting versus the Chicago Storm on Sunday, December 12. Saturday's contest is slated for a 7:05 pm ET start time, while Sunday's kick-off is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, December 6, Off-Day
Tuesday, December 7, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, December 8, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, December 9, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, December 10, Practice, Wachovia Spectrum, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday, December 11, KiXX vs. Cleveland Force, Wachovia Spectrum, 7:05 pm
Sunday, December 12, KiXX vs. Chicago Storm, Wachovia Spectrum, 1:05 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
**Please note that practices, Wednesday through Friday, will be held at the Wachovia Spectrum. Tuesday's training, however, will be held at the team's practice facility, Tri-State Sports.
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Edgar Bartolomeu Knee Doubtful
Ze Roberto Knee Doubtful
KiXX vs. Force:
2004-05 Series: 1-1 (home 0-0, away 1-1)
Overall: 32-24 (home 17-10, away 15-14)
This is the third of eight meetings between Philadelphia and the Cleveland Force this season, but the first in the City of Brotherly Love ... the KiXX defeated Cleveland, 11-8, at the Convo in the team's season opener on October 28 thanks to a four-point, three-block performance from Philadelphia native Pat Morris ... for his efforts, Morris was named the MISL's Defensive Player of the Week ... former KiXX members Gary DePalma and Chris Handsor each notched a pair of points for the Force ... Cleveland dominated the second meeting on November 26, leading from start to finish and earning a 6-3 victory ... nine different players rang the bell in the contest, with Philadelphia getting goals from newcomers Damien Pottinger and Gary Brooks and seven-year veteran Goran Vasic ... DePalma, who was acquired in a three-team trade that also involved the St. Louis Steamers and the Milwaukee Wave, while Handsor was added via a trade with the Baltimore Blast ... Omid Namazi, former KiXX player/coach, re-signed as Cleveland's head coach after signing as player midway through the 2003-04 campaign ... Namazi then finished the season as the club's player/coach ... all three (DePalma, Handsor, Namazi) were members of Philadelphia's championship team in 2001-02 ... the Force also added all-star defender Wendell Regis via a trade with Baltimore ... last season, the clubs split the six total meetings, with each team winning the series, two-games-to-one on their home turf.
KiXX vs. Storm
2004-05 Series: 0-1 (home 0-1, away 0-0)
Overall: 0-1 (home 0-1, away 0-0)
The KiXX and the Chicago Storm met for the first time in franchise history on Sunday, November 14 ... the Storm walked away with a 7-4 victory thanks to a three-point (two goals, assist) performance from forward Novica Marojevic ... former KiXX midfielder Andy Guastaferro also registered a goal, his first of the season ... John Barry Nusum and Goran Vasic led the KiXX, each with a pair of points ... the Storm were officially introduced as a MISL expansion team on May 25 ... Chicago acquired Guastaferro and defender Mauricio Vincello in the 2004 MISL Expansion Draft, but only Guastaferro agreed to a contract ... to date this season, the native of Canandaigua, NY has appeared in eight contests and notched two goals and five blocks ... the two clubs will square-off a total of four times this season.
Back-to-Back: The club partakes in their third series of back-to-back games this season with pair of home games versus the Cleveland Force (12/11) and the Chicago Storm (12/12) ... the club competes in a total of 10 back-to-back sets this season ... two of the series consists of a pair of home games, while a pair of the sets are played away from the Wachovia Spectrum ... last season, the club posted a 3-6 record in the first game of the series and a 5-5 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 7:05 pm 12/12 vs. Chicago 1:05 pm
12/17 at Chicago 8:35 pm 12/18 vs. Milwaukee 7:05 pm
1/8 vs. Kansas City 7:05 pm 1/9 at Cleveland 3:05 pm
1/21 at Baltimore 7:35 pm 1/22 vs. St. Louis 7:05 pm
2/25 at Chicago 8:35 pm 2/26 vs. Cleveland 7:05 pm
3/12 at San Diego 10:05 pm 3/13 at Monterrey 6:05 pm
4/2 at St. Louis 8:05 pm 4/3 vs. Baltimore 1:05 pm
4/23 at Kansas City 8:35 pm 4/24 at San Diego 8:05 pm
Penalty-Kill Tops in MISL: Despite allowing three power-play goals to their opponents this weekend, Philadelphia's penalty-killing unit remains atop the League with a 70 percent kill rate ... the San Diego Sockers connected on both of their opportunities on Friday, December 3, while St. Louis was held to one-of-three on Sunday, December 5 ... overall, the KiXX penalty-killing unit has allowed three goals on 10 opportunities this season ... in contrast, the team's power-play unit is fourth in the MISL, thanks for a two-for-two performance in St. Louis (12/5) ... the squad has connected on 54.5 percent (six-of-11) of their one-man advantage opportunities.
Overtime: Philadelphia was forced to overtime for the first time this season in St. Louis (12/5) ... after the KiXX rattled off three unanswered goals to tie the score at 5-5 and force the extra stanza, defender Nate Houser notched the game-winning goal for the Steamers at 11:59 ... with the loss, the KiXX are now 15-11 when forced to overtime in the club's nine-year history .
Scorin' Goran: KiXX forward Goran Vasic failed to record a point versus the Steamers in St. Louis on December 5, snapping his point streak at eight games ... the native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia had registered at least one point in each of the club's first eight contests this season ... the seven-year veteran is currently tied for second on the team with nine points on two goals and a team-high seven assists ... the 32-year-old forward led Philadelphia in both points (48) and assists (34) last season.
Offense Woes Continue/Defensive Problems Emerge: Philadelphia notched a season-high 11 goals in the team's season-opener versus the Cleveland Force on October 23 ... since that contest, the team's offensive production has slowly diminished; prior to the KiXX-Storm contest on November 14, Philadelphia led the MISL in goals per game, but the average has quickly dropped to tied for fifth in the nine-team League at 5.6 goals per game ... the team concluded last season with a 5.4 goals per game average, fifth in the MISL ... meanwhile, the team's defense has also shown signs of trouble, allowing an average of 5.8 goals per game (fourth MISL).
Veteran Presence: Philadelphia is currently on a three-game skid and desperately seeking a veteran presence ... 13-year veteran Kevin Sloan proved his value as the team's player/assistant coach with a season-high four-point performance in St. Louis on December 5 ... despite his efforts, the KiXX fell, 6-5, to the Steamers in overtime ... to date this season, the native of Columbia, MD is tied for second on the team with nine points on five goals and four assists and first on the club with 32 shots ... player/coach and 11-year veteran Don D'Ambra ranks second with 29 shots and tied for fifth with eight points (six goals, two assists).
Sockers 6, KiXX 3 (12/3): San Diego opened the scoring with a power-play goal from Braeden Cloutier on a dish from teammate Paul Wright at 4:13 of the first quarter; the Sockers received the one-man advantage after Pappas was called for a two-minute tripping penalty at 3:12. Just over a minute later (5:44), newcomer Damien Pottinger tied the score, 1-1, on an assist from player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan. Sockers' midfielder Ryan Mack put San Diego back ahead one, 2-1, with an unassisted tally at 7:50 of the period. With KiXX forward Goran Vasic in the penalty box serving a two-minute tripping infraction (received at 14:44 of the first period), Paul Wright extended San Diego's advantage to two, 3-1, with an unassisted score at 1:08 of the second stanza. Herculez Gomez lengthened San Diego's lead, 4-1, with a goal from forward Steve Butcher at 10:30. Philadelphia player/coach Don D'Ambra cut the club's deficit to two, 4-2, with a restart goal from Vasic at 14:23 of the quarter. After nearly 12 minutes of scoreless action in the third period, Wright connected on his second tally of the contest to further extend San Diego's lead, 5-2. Forward Mark Ughy gave San Diego a four-goal advantage, 6-2, with a score from Cloutier at 7:38 of the fourth quarter. Sockers' defender Nevio Pizzolitto was called for a two-minute tripping infraction inside the goalkeeper's box, giving Philadelphia a penalty-kick opportunity. KiXX forward Shawn Boney converted to pull the team within three, 6-3, at 7:59, but San Diego held on to earn the victory. Peter Pappas (3-2) took the loss, turning away eight of the 13 shots he faced, while Victor Nogueira (3-4) earned the victory with nine saves on 12 chances for the Sockers.
Steamers 6, KiXX 5 OT (12/5): Steamers forward Shaun David tallied the only goal of the opening quarter with an unassisted score at 2:45 to give St. Louis an early 1-0 advantage. After seven minutes of scoreless action in the second period, KiXX player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan knotted the score even, 1-1, on a dish from newcomer Gary Brooks at 7:43. Sloan then registered his second goal of the evening, connecting on a shoot-out opportunity after St. Louis' Ibrahim Kante was called for a two-minute tripping penalty inside the goalkeeper's box. The Steamers responded with a pair of unanswered goals (Jeff DiMaria, Sterling Wescott) to close out the half, leading 3-2. St. Louis continued their offensive attack with two tallies to open the third quarter; Kante connected with teammate Nate Houser at 1:38, before Wescott recorded his second goal of the contest, this one on the power play at 3:38. The Steamers received the one-man advantage after defender Drew Kopp was called for a two-minute hand-ball infraction. Philadelphia rookie Jeff Moore finally ended the team's scoring drought with a notch from Sloan to pull the KiXX back within two, 5-3, at 5:08 of the quarter; the goal was the first of Moore's professional indoor career. Defender Les Lunsford cut the team's deficit to one with his second goal of the season on an assist from teammate Damien Pottinger at 7:51. After Steamers defender Matt Caution received a two-minute tripping penalty, Pottinger recorded a power-play goal from Sloan (14:16) to knot the game at 5-5 after three quarters of play. Both defenses tightened to preserve the 5-5 score at the end of regulation play, forcing the game into overtime; the first time this season the KiXX needed an extra stanza to determine a winner. At 11:59 of overtime, Houser knocked the game winner from Wescott past Pappas and into the back of the net to give St. Louis a 6-5 victory. Peter Pappas (3-3) took the loss for Philadelphia with 20 saves on 26 chances, while Brett Phillips (4-2) earned the victory for the Steamers, turning away 11 of the 16 shots he faced.
KiXX RECORD:
Overall: 5-4
Home: 3-2
Road: 2-2
vs. Eastern Division Opponents: 3-1
vs. Central Division Opponents: 0-2
vs. Western Division Opponents: 2-1
PREVIOUS RESULTS:
12/3 vs. San Diego Sockers â L, 6-3
12/5 @ St. Louis Steamers â L, 6-5 OT
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
12/11 vs. Cleveland Force â 7:05 pm
12/12 vs. Chicago Storm â 1:05 pm
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from December 6, 2004
- Wave getting ready for another tough weekend - Milwaukee Wave
- Philadelphia looks to rebound with back-to-back home games this weekend - Philadelphia KiXX
- MISL names players of the week - MISL 2
- Blast to Host Milwaukee Friday Night; Travel to Chicago on Saturday - Baltimore Blast
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