Philadelphia sweeps doubleheader weekend; closes out 2004 in Baltimore Dec. 26
Published on December 20, 2004 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release
Philadelphia, PA, December 20, 2004 âThe Philadelphia KiXX, fresh off a two-game sweep this past weekend, close out 2004 with a trip south to battle Eastern Division foe and the two-time defending Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Champion Baltimore Blast on Sunday, December 26. Game-time at the 1st Mariner Arena is scheduled for 6:05 pm ET, with all the action available live via webcast at www.wbcm.com.
This Week's Itinerary:
Monday, December 20, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tuesday, December 21, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, December 22, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, December 23, Off Day
Friday, December 24, Off Day
Saturday, December 25, Off Day
Sunday, December 26, KiXX @ Baltimore Blast, 1st Mariner Arena, 6:05 pm
*all times are Eastern and subject to change
Injury Report:
Player Injury Status
Edgar Bartolomeu Knee Questionable
Don D'Ambra Hamstring Doubtful
Joel Shanker Abdominal Out
KiXX vs. Blast
2004-05 Series: 2-0 (home 1-0, away 1-0)
Overall: 33-23 (home 19-10, away 15-13)
The December 26 contest is the third 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 ... Baltimore's new goalkeeper Sagu (MISL Dispersal Draft acquisition) took the loss in net, turning away seven of the 15 shots he faced in the contest ... 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 assists ... Cabral led Baltimore with a pair of goals ... the Blast will be without the services of Denison Cabral and Carlos Garcia, both of whom suffered knee injuries a few weeks ago ... last season, the clubs split the six total meetings, with each team winning their home series, two-games-to-one.
Sudden Power Surge: After opening the season with a season-high 11 goals versus the Force in Cleveland (10/23), the team's offensive production sputtered and dropped as low as fifth in the nine-team League ... the KiXX' offense has seemed to once again find it's grove as the club lit the lamp nine times in two consecutive contests versus the Chicago Storm (12/12, 12/17) and then added six scores versus the Milwaukee Wave on December 18 ... that production has propelled the team to a 6.1 goals per game average, good enough for second in the MISL, trailing only the Wave's 6.8 mark.
Nusum Continues Hot Streak: Philadelphia newcomer John Barry Nusum continues to standout in his rookie season ... the native of Devonshire, Bermuda currently sits third on the MISL leaderboard with 20 points on a team-high (2nd MISL) 13 goals and seven assists ... his 20-point output trails only St. Louis player/coach Daryl Doran (22 points) and former MISL Most Valuable Player Dino Delevski (21 points) ... the 23-year-old forward has already registered a pair of hat tricks (three goals) and has scored at least one point in nine of the 12 games he played this season ... Nusum is also enjoying a four-game point streak.
Pappas, Morris Honored: The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) announced today that Philadelphia KiXX defender Pat Morris and goalkeeper Peter Pappas have been honored with Players of the Week accolades for the seven-day period ending December 19 ... Morris was named the League's Defensive Player-of-the-Week, his second consecutive and fourth overall this season, after notching a pair of points and one block in each of the club's contests this past weekend ... the Philadelphia native also recorded the 300th block of his six-year career ... Pappas received the Goalkeeper of the Week honor for the second time in 2004-05 for earning a pair of victories, improving his overall record to 6-4 this season ... the seven-time all-star turned away 33 of the 40 shots he faced in the two games combined, lowering his goals against average to 4.59 (fourth in the MISL).
Among the League Leaders: Philadelphia is represented well on the MISL Leaderboard this season ... newcomer John Barry Nusum headlines the team's roster, ranking third in the League with 20 points ... forward Goran Vasic trails close behind at 10th with 16 points, while sitting tied for first in the nine-team MISL with 12 assists ... Philadelphia native Pat Morris currently ranks third with 18 blocks and tied for 11th with 15 points ... not to be outdone, seven-time all-star Peter Pappas is ranked among the League's leaders in nearly every goalkeeper category ... the Toronto, Ontario native is second in saves (133) and minutes (600), tied for second in wins (6), third in save percentage (.743) and fourth in goals against average (4.59).
KiXX 6, Wave (12/18): After a scoreless first period, defender Drew Kopp finally got Philadelphia onto the scoreboard with a right-footed blast past Milwaukee goalkeeper Dan Green and into the back of the net to give the KiXX a 1-0 advantage at 9:08 of the second quarter. Newcomer Gary Brooks registered the assist on the play. Milwaukee's Johnny Torres ended the Wave's scoring drought and tied the game, 1-1, with a score from Marcelo Fontana at 13:07. Less than two minutes into the third stanza (1:51), Pat Morris connected with teammate Goran Vasic to give the KiXX a 2-1 advantage. The club then added to their lead when Kopp took a pass from Damien Pottinger and slid the ball past Green at 4:18. Kevin Burk registered a score that deflected off KiXX defender Jeremy Aldrich to cut Philadelphia's advantage to one, 3-2 at 13:34 of the period. Morris notched his second tally of the evening on a dish from teammate Shawn Boney to extend the club's lead back to two, 4-2, at 2:53 of the fourth quarter. Less than two minutes later (4:39), Philadelphia rookie Jeff Moore stripped the ball from Green and blasted a goal into the back of the net to further lengthen the team's advantage, 5-2. Vasic then lofted a ball over Wave defender Chris Morman that found the back of the net to extend the KiXX' advantage to four, 6-2, at 9:35; forward John Barry Nusum recorded the assist. Morman was in net for Milwaukee after Green received a five-minute misconduct penalty at 4:39. Marcelo Fontana pulled Milwaukee back within three on a feed from Pat White at 12:17, but Philadelphia held on to earn a 6-3 victory. Morris also blocked one shot in the contest, marking the 300th block of his six-year career. Peter Pappas (6-4) earned the victory between the posts for Philadelphia, turning away 18 of the 21 shots he faced, while Green (2-3) took the loss for the Wave with 18 saves on 23 chances.
KiXX 9, Storm 4 (12/17): Philadelphia jumped to a 3-0 lead, before defender Costea Decu registered the Storm's first goal at 14:12 of the first quarter. Philadelphia native Pat Morris opened the scoring on an assist from teammate Les Lunsford at 2:28, followed by a tally from player/assistant coach Kevin Sloan on a dish from defender Drew Kopp at 4:12. Shawn Boney concluded the team's first-period scoring with a score from newcomer Jeff Moore at 13:50. KiXX rookie John Barry Nusum extended the club's advantage to three, 4-1, on a pass from Morris at 1:52 of the second stanza. Decu then tallied a power-play goal, his second score of the contest, at 8:44 to pull Chicago within two, 4-2 at 8:44. The Storm received the one-man advantage after midfielder Ze Roberto was called for a two-minute tripping infraction. Philadelphia then notched a power-play goal of their own, as Boney found the far post on a feed from Sloan at 13:35; Chris Carrier received a two-minute tripping penalty to give the KiXX the power-play opportunity. Gaston Pernia pulled the Storm back within two, 5-3, on a dish from his brother, Leo Pernia, at 5:50 of the third quarter. Philadelphia responded with four unanswered tallies to take a 9-3 advantage into the final period of play. Nusum struck for his second goal of the night on a pass from the team's assist leader Goran Vasic at 9:13, before Sloan followed suit with his second of the game on a feed off the boards from Morris at 12:21. Boney then found the back of the net for the third time of the evening on a dish from newcomer Chris Fehrle at 13:29. Nusum concluded the third, completing his hat trick with an unassisted breakaway score at 14:21. Chicago's Byron Alvarez registered a score on an assist from former KiXX midfielder Andy Guastaferro at 3:49 of the fourth quarter, but Philadelphia held on to earn a 9-4 victory. Peter Pappas earned the victory between the posts for Philadelphia, turning away 15 of the 19 shots he faced, while Danny Waltman took the loss the Storm with 10 saves also on 19 chances.
KiXX RECORD:
Overall: 8-5
Home: 5-3
Road: 3-2
vs. Eastern Division Opponents: 3-2
vs. Central Division Opponents: 3-2
vs. Western Division Opponents: 2-1
PREVIOUS RESULTS:
12/17 @ Chicago Storm â W, 9-5
12/18 vs. Milwaukee Wave â W, 6-3
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
12/26 @ Baltimore Blast â 6:05 pm ET
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from December 20, 2004
- Wave maintains MISL's best record going into holiday break - Milwaukee Wave
- Philadelphia sweeps doubleheader weekend; closes out 2004 in Baltimore Dec. 26 - Philadelphia KiXX
- Morris, Pappas Named MISL Players of the Week - Philadelphia KiXX
- MISL names players of the week - MISL 2
- Orf Thankful For 21 Years But Calls It Quits After 2004-05 Season - Cleveland Force
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