Philadelphia splits back-to-back contests over weekend

Published on December 1, 2003 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release


Philadelphia, PA, December 1, 2003 – The Philadelphia KiXX split their second set of back-to-back series this past weekend and now post a 7-3 overall record; the club first earned a 13-8 victory over the Kansas City Comets in Kansas City on November 28, then dropped a 3-2 decision to the San Diego Sockers in San Diego on November 29. The team's 7-3 mark places them in a tie with the defending Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Champion Baltimore Blast for the top spot in the Eastern Division. Philadelphia next enjoys an off-week, before returning to action on Saturday, December 13 when the club welcomes rival Milwaukee Wave to the Wachovia Spectrum.

This Week's Itinerary:

Monday, December 1, Off Day

Tuesday, December 2, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Wednesday, December 3, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Thursday, December 4, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Friday, December 5, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

*all times are Eastern Standard and subject to change

Injury Report:

Player Injury Status

Stuart Dobson Ankle Questionable

KiXX by the Numbers: The Philadelphia KiXX offense currently sits atop the nine-team League, recording 69 goals in 10 contests this season. The 6.9 average goals scored per contest is tied for second with the Kansas City Comets and trails only Milwaukee's 7.5 average goals per contest. The team's defense has allowed 51 goals to rank fifth in the MISL, allowing an average of 5.1 goals per contest, also ranking fifth in the League. The complete breakdown of the team's goals per game is listed below.

Goals per Game 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT TOTAL

KiXX 20 18 16 15 0 69

Opponents 13 9 10 19 0 51

Top and Bottom on Power Play: The KiXX have connected on six-of-their-10 power-play opportunities, including a perfect two-for-two in Kansas City (11/28), this season for a MISL-high 60.0 percent. The team was blanked in their only one-man advantage opportunity in San Diego (11/29). Philadelphia, however, has fallen victim to the power-play opportunities, turning away only three-of-the-nine situations they have defended the power play for a League-worst 33.3 percent. The complete breakdown of the team's power-play percentages are as follows:

KiXX Power Play: KiXX Penalty Kill:

GP PPG OPP SHGA PCT GP PPG SAVES OPP SHG PCT

10 6 10 1 60.0 10 6 3 9 0 33.3

Back-to-Back: This past weekend, the Philadelphia KiXX split their second of nine back-to-back series this season; the club first downed the Kansas City Comets, 13-8, in Kansas City on November 28 and then dropped a 3-2 decision in San Diego on November 29. The team also split their first set of back-to-back games, earning a 7-3 victory over the Steamers in St. Louis (11/14) and dropping an 11-9 decision to the Kansas City Comets at the Wachovia Spectrum on November 15. Overall, the team posts a perfect 2-0 mark in the first game of the set and a 0-2 record in the latter contest. Last season, the club posted a 4-2 record in both the first and second game of their six back-to-back series. Listed below are all of the back-to-back contests scheduled this season.

Date Opponent W/L Date Opponent W/L

11/14 at St. Louis W, 7-3 11/15 vs. Kansas City L, 11-9

11/28 at Kansas City W, 13-8 11/29 at San Diego L, 3-2

12/26 at Baltimore 7:35 pm 12/27 at Cleveland 7:05 pm

1/10 at Kansas City 8:35 pm 1/11 vs. Dallas 1:05 pm

1/24 vs. Monterrey 7:05 pm 1/25 at Dallas 7:05 pm

2/7 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm 2/8 at Milwaukee 2:05 pm

2/21 at St. Louis 8:05 pm 2/22 vs. Milwaukee 1:05 pm

3/27 vs. Baltimore 7:05 pm 3/28 vs. Dallas 1:05 pm

4/2 at Milwaukee 8:05 pm 4/3 vs. Cleveland 7:05 pm

*all times Eastern Standard and subject to change

KiXX Selected to Represent United States: Four members of the current roster have been selected to represent the United States on the country's National Futsal Team. Player/coach Don D'Ambra, captain Kevin Sloan, defender Pat Morris and forward Joel Shanker will join the U.S. National Team for the Futsal Goal Cup in Anaheim, California this weekend, December 5-7. Morris will make his third consecutive appearance, while D'Ambra, Shanker and Sloan are all making their Futsal debuts. Former KiXX player/coach Omid Namazi has also been selected to the squad, his second consecutive appearance. The U.S. Team, which again will be led by Milwaukee Wave Head Coach Keith Tozer, will compete against futsal teams from Canada, Mexico and Guatemala during the three-day international tournament. The complete three-day tournament schedule is as follows:

Date Contest Time*

Friday, December 5 Guatemala vs. Mexico 6:30 pm

Canada vs. USA 8:15 pm

Saturday, December 6 Canada vs. Mexico 6:30 pm

Guatemala vs. USA 8:15 pm

Sunday, December 7 Canada vs. Guatemala 3:00 pm

Mexico vs. USA 5:00 pm

*all times are pacific standard and are subject to change

Best of the Best: The Philadelphia KiXX currently feature four members ranked in the MISL's top 15 in scoring this season. Forward Goran Vasic sits atop the MISL leaderboard with 24 points on seven goals and a League-best 17 assists. Captain Kevin Sloan is tied for third in the League with 17 points, forward Joel Shanker ranks tied for 11th with 13 points, and player/coach Don D'Ambra is tied for 14th with 12. Sloan's 12 goals this season is a MISL-best. Defender Pat Morris leads the nine-member League with three restart goals.

Scorin' Goran: KiXX forward Goran Vasic continues to be red hot this season, registering a team-high six points in the club's back-to-back contests this past weekend. The native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia connected on three goals and one assist for four points in Kansas City on November 28 and recorded a team-high two points, both assists, in the club's loss to the Sockers in San Diego on November 29. For his efforts in the back-to-back series, Vasic was named the MISL Offensive Player of the Week for the seven-day period ending November 30. The six-year veteran currently sits atop the MISL leaderboard with 24 points on seven goals and League-high 17 assists and is in the midst of a 13-game point streak (dating back to the 2002-03 campaign).

Oh Captain, My Captain: Philadelphia captain Kevin Sloan currently sits second on the club, tied for third MISL, with 17 points on a League-high 12 goals and five assists. The Columbia, Maryland native bagged three points on one goal and two assists in the club's back-to-back games this past weekend. The 37-year old midfielder has also recorded three power-play goals, ranking tied for fourth in the MISL and is in the midst of a nine-game points streak that dates back to last season. The 12-year veteran finished the 2002-03 campaign third on the team with 61 points, despite playing in only 28 of the team's 36 regular season contests.

Permanent Fixture: Philadelphia native Pat Morris has become a permanent fixture for the KiXX backline. The five-year veteran defender has appeared in 157 of the team's 176 total contests since he first stepped onto the floor as a rookie in the 1999-00 season. Morris did not miss a single game in both the 2000-01 and the 2002-03 campaigns and he is currently in the midst of a 75 consecutive games played streak.

Still Atop the Leaderboard: KiXX goalkeeper Peter Pappas split the club's two decisions this past weekend, first earning a 13-8 victory in Kansas City on November 28, then dropping a 3-2 decision in San Diego on November 29. The six-time all-star collected a season-high 23 saves on 31 shots faced versus the Comets, then stopped 13 of 16 chances from the Sockers. The Toronto, Ontario native currently ranks first in the MISL in wins (7) and saves (145), second in minutes played (583) and fourth in goals against average (4.73). The Philadelphia University graduate was named the MISL Goalkeeper of the Week for consecutive weeks to open the 2003-04 campaign and the League Goalkeeper of the Month for his play in October.

Last Time Out:

KiXX 13, Comets 8 (11/28): Philadelphia jumped to an early 5-1 lead after the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 13-8 victory over the Comets in Kansas City on Friday, November 28. Don D'Ambra bagged the game winner at 10:28 of the second quarter and finished with a season-high five points on four goals and one assist. Joel Shanker and Goran Vasic each chipped in with three goals of their own, as the KiXX produced their best offensive output of the 2003-04 campaign. Dino Delevski paced the Comets with three points on a pair of goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Peter Pappas (7-2) earned the victory in net, turning away a season-high 23 of the 31 shots he faced, while rookie netminder Josh Schrek dropped to 1-1 with the loss for Kansas City.

Sockers 3, KiXX 2 (11/29): The Philadelphia KiXX were shut-out in a complete half of action for the first time this season, as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the San Diego Sockers in front of 3,573 fans at the San Diego Sports Arena on Saturday, November 29. San Diego forward Mark Ughy connected on the only goal of the first half at 9:51 of the first quarter. Robbie Aristodemo finally ended the two-quarter scoring drought with a tally at 5:18 of the fourth. The KiXX finally struck the board at 11:57 of the final quarter when Pat Morris buried a restart pass from MISL points-leader Goran Vasic, but Ughy sealed the Sockers' victory with his second notch of the contest at 12:39. Vasic added his second assist of the night on a dish to captain Kevin Sloan at 13:21, but proved to be too little, too late, as the Sockers hung on to earn the victory. Peter Pappas (7-3) recorded the loss in net for Philadelphia, stopping 13 of the 16 shots he faced, while Victor Noguiera (3-5) earned the win for the Sockers, turning away 15 of 17 chances.

Milestones Approaching: Ongoing Streaks:

Player Milestone Needs Player Streak Games

Don D'Ambra 250 goals with the KiXX 2 Pat Morris Games Played 75

Kevin Sloan 450 career goals 2 Goran Vasic Scoring 13

Goran Vasic 200 career games 2 Kevin Sloan Scoring 9

300 career points 3 Pat Morris Scoring 8

Joel Shanker 250 career points 3

Nikola Vignjevic 150 career goals 3

Goran Vasic 150 career assists 6

Joel Shanker 100 career assists 7

Shawn Boney 100 career goals 8

KiXX on the MISL Leaderboard (as of 12/1):

#9 Joel Shanker

Tied 11th MISL with 13 points

#10 Goran Vasic

1st MISL with 24 points

1st MISL with 17 assists

#17 Pat Morris

4th MISL with 19 blocks

#22 Peter Pappas

1st MISL with seven victories and 145 saves

2nd MISL with 583 minutes played

3rd MISL with a 0.759 save percentage

4th MISL with a 4.73 goals against average

#37 Kevin Sloan

1st MISL with 12 goals

Tied 3rd MISL with 17 points

Tied 4th MISL with three power-play goals

Future Games: Philadelphia returns to action on Saturday, December 13 to entertain Central Division leader, the Milwaukee Wave. The contest is scheduled to kick-off at 7:05 pm ET at the Wachovia Spectrum. For ticket information, contact the club's Executive Office at 1-888-888-KiXX (5499) or log onto the team's official website, www.kixxonline.com.

The Philadelphia KiXX are a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League, a single-entity organization that features a coast-to-coast presence across the United States. The club is entering its eighth season of play in the Wachovia Spectrum located in Philadelphia, PA.

KiXX RECORD:

Overall: 7-3

Home: 3-1

Road: 4-2

vs. Eastern Division Opponents: 3-0

vs. Central Division Opponents: 2-1

vs. Western Division Opponents: 2-2

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

11/28 @ Kansas City – W, 13-8

11/29 @ San Diego – L, 3-2

THIS WEEK'S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled

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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from December 1, 2003


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