Philadelphia sweeps doubleheader weekend; takes to the road to battle the Wave on Jan. 14

Published on January 10, 2005 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Philadelphia KiXX News Release


Philadelphia, PA, January 10, 2005 –The Philadelphia KiXX, after a doubleheader sweep this past weekend, take to the road to battle the Milwaukee Wave on Friday, January 14. Game-time at the U.S. Cellular Arena is slated for 8:05 pm ET, with the action available live via webcast at www.milwaukeewave.com. The KiXX then square-off versus the Baltimore Blast at the 1st Mariner Arena on Friday, January 21, before returning home to entertain the St. Louis Steamers on Saturday, January 22. The first 2,500 patrons to enter the gates on January 22 will receive a complimentary Don D'Ambra Bobblehead Doll, courtesy of EwingCole. 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, January 10, Off Day

Tuesday, January 11, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

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

Thursday, January 13, Practice, Tri-State Sports, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Friday, January 14, KiXX @ Milwaukee Wave, U.S. Cellular Arena, 8:05 pm

Saturday, January 15, Off Day

Sunday, January 16, Off Day

*all times are Eastern and subject to change

Injury Report:

Player Injury Status

Shawn Boney Foot Out

Joel Shanker Abdominal Questionable

KiXX vs. Wave

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

Overall: 15-18 (home 13-4, away 2-14)

Friday's contest is the second of six meetings between the KiXX and the Milwaukee Wave this season ... Philadelphia 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, enters the contest riding a three-game losing streak ... reigning MISL MVP Greg Howes leads the team and sits tied for 11th in the League with 19 points ... Howes is accompanied on the MISL Leaderboard by Troy Dusosky (14th with 18 points), and his twin brother Todd Dusosky (tied 16th with 16 points) ... for the second consecutive season, the Wave are utilizing the goalkeeping tandem of Dan Green and Nick Vorberg ... Vorberg is second in the League with a 3.92 goals against average and holds a 8-2 record, while Green posts a 4.92 average and 2-4 record ... the match-ups between the two clubs have been primarily dominated by the home team; Philadelphia is 13-4 when hosting the Wave, but are only 2-14 when playing away from the City of Brotherly Love, giving Milwaukee the slight advantage overall, 18-15.

Club Continues to Roll in 2005: The Philadelphia KiXX have welcomed the New Year with open arms ... since January 1, the team is enjoying a three-game winning streak and is currently ranked second in the MISL with an 11-6 overall record ... the KiXX trail only the St. Louis Steamers by one-half of a game in the League standings ... the club kicked-off the New Year with a 7-5 victory in Kansas City (1/1), then defeated the Comets by a score of 4-3 at the Wachovia Spectrum on January 8 ... the team concluded their doubleheader weekend with a 6-5 overtime victory in Cleveland on January 9 ... Philadelphia posted a 8-6 mark in 2004.

Goalkeeper Honored for Third Time: KiXX goalkeeper Peter Pappas earned a pair of victories between the posts for Philadelphia this past weekend, en route to his third MISL Goalkeeper of the Week accolade this season; he was also honored for the seven-day periods ending November 22 and December 19. The native of Toronto, Ontario earned a 4-3 win versus Kansas City (1/8) with four saves on a season-low seven shots faced, before registering a 6-5 overtime victory with 17 saves on 22 chances in Cleveland (1/9). Pappas is currently ranked first among MISL goalkeepers in wins (nine), second in minutes played (836) and saves (181), third in save percentage (.736) and fourth in goals against average (4.66).

Rookie Making his Mark: Philadelphia newcomer John Barry Nusum continues to standout in his rookie season ... thanks to a three-point performance in Cleveland on January 9, the native of Devonshire, Bermuda currently sits tied for first on the MISL Leaderboard with 27 points on 17 goals (also tied 1st MISL) and 10 assists ... the 23-year-old forward has already registered a pair of hat tricks (three goals) and has scored at least one point in 12 of the 16 games he has played this season ... Nusum failed to record a point versus Kansas City (1/8), snapping his point streak at six games.

Tracking the Offense: After opening the season with a season-high 11 goals versus the Force in Cleveland (10/23), the team's offensive production has sputtered and dropped to as low as fifth in the nine-team League ... the KiXX' offense 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 ... however, the team's production dropped down with a four-goal effort in Baltimore on December 26, but quickly responded with a 7-5 victory in Kansas City on January 1 ... with the 4-3 win versus Kansas City (1/8) and the 6-5 overtime victory in Cleveland (1/9), the club is now fourth in the MISL with a 5.9 goals per game average.

Scorin' Goran: KiXX forward Goran Vasic continues to roll this season ... after his eight-game point streak was snapped in St. Louis (12/5), the native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia responded with a six-game point streak that snapped after he failed to record a point versus Kansas City on January 8 ... some highlights in that scoring spree include a three-point (goal, two assists) performance versus the Cleveland Force (12/11) and a season-high four-point (goal, three assists) game in Kansas City (1/1) ... the all-star forward then posted a four-assist performance in Cleveland (1/9) to begin yet another scoring streak ... Vasic has now registered at least one point in 15 of the team's 17 contests this season ... Vasic is currently second on the team (tied 3rd MISL) with 25 points on six goals and a team-high 19 assists (1st MISL) ... the 32-year-old forward led Philadelphia in both points (48) and assists (34) last season.

Offensive Standings

Team Goals Scored per Game

Kansas City Comets 6.2

Cleveland Force 6.1

St. Louis Steamers 6.0

Philadelphia KiXX 5.9

Milwaukee Wave 5.6

Baltimore Blast 5.5

Chicago Storm 5.5

Defensive Standings

Team Goals Allowed per Game

Milwaukee Wave 4.6

St. Louis Steamers 5.1

Philadelphia KiXX 5.3

Baltimore Blast 5.9

Cleveland Force 6.1

Chicago Storm 6.7

Kansas City Comets 6.8

Power Plays

Team PPG OPP PCT

Philadelphia KiXX 10 20 50.0

St. Louis Steamers 11 25 44.0

Chicago Storm 11 27 40.7

Milwaukee Wave 12 30 40.0

Kansas City Comets 7 18 38.9

Baltimore Blast 11 29 37.9

Cleveland Force 7 19 36.8

Penalty Killing

Team PPG SAVES OPP PCT

Milwaukee Wave 5 15 20 75.0

Philadelphia KiXX 7 14 21 66.7

St. Louis Steamers 10 15 25 60.0

Baltimore Blast 11 12 23 52.2

Chicago Storm 17 17 34 50.0

Cleveland Force 8 7 15 46.7

Kansas City Comets 15 13 28 46.4

KiXX 4, Comets 3 (1/8): Kansas City jumped to an early 1-0 lead after Comets midfielder Stefan Stokich broke through the Philadelphia defense to force Pappas out of the box and set up teammate Casey Stevens for the only goal of the opening quarter at 1:19. Philadelphia native Pat Morris knotted the score, 1-1, splitting the Comets' defense and blasting a shot past Sanaldo and into the right corner of the net. Defender Edgar Bartolomeu recorded the assist on the play, as Morris extended his scoring streak to seven games. After 14 minutes of scoreless action in the third period, Roberto notched an unassisted goal to provide Philadelphia a 2-1 advantage entering the final period of play. Comets forward James Koehler connected on a dish from teammate Casey Barton to tie the score, 2-2 at 9:34 of the fourth stanza. KiXX player/coach Kevin Sloan drilled a restart goal into the top left corner to put Philadelphia back on top, 3-2, at 12:53 of the period. Roberto tallied his second notch of the night to lengthen the club's lead to two, 4-2, at 13:13. Kansas City's Justin Evans netted a score from Vlatko Andonovski to pull the Comets within one at the 14-minute mark, but the KiXX held on to earn a 4-3 victory. Peter Pappas (8-5) earned the victory in net for Philadelphia, turning away four of the seven shots (season-low) he faced, while Sanaldo (1-2) took the loss for the Comets with 13 saves on 16 chances. The crowd of 5,877 is the second largest home crowd for the KiXX this season, trailing only the home-opening number of 7,248.

KiXX 6, Force 5 OT (1/9): Cleveland's Wendell Regis registered the only score of the opening quarter on an assist from Adauto Neto at 14:32. Philadelphia's scoreless first period marked the third time this season the Force has held the club without a goal in the opening stanza. The Force extended their advantage to 3-0 with a pair of unanswered tallies to open the second quarter. Neto struck first off a dish from defender John Ball at 1:05, followed by a header from Ball at 5:39 of the period. KiXX defender Pat Morris finally broke the team's scoring drought with the final goal of the half, a blast from outside the yellow line off a pass from rookie forward John Barry Nusum at 10:02. The club exchanged scores in the third period, giving the Force a 4-2 lead entering the final period of play. Sibiya connected for Cleveland at 9:38 of the quarter, before defender Chris Fehrle buried a long shot into the back of the net at 14:53. Forward Goran Vasic registered the assist on the play. Nusum pulled the KiXX within one, 4-3, on a feed from Gloucester Township, NJ native Jeff Moore at 6:21 of the fourth stanza. Cleveland answered right back when Neto broke the Philadelphia defense and beat KiXX goalkeeper Peter Pappas for the unassisted goal at 7:15. Defender Drew Kopp again cut the team's deficit to one, 5-4, with an unassisted score at 10:02. Less than a minute later (10:58), KiXX rookie Damien Pottinger then slipped the ball through Jim Larkin's legs to knot the score, 5-5. Both defenses held to force the game into overtime, only the second time this season the KiXX have needed an extra session to determine a winner. Philadelphia capped their comeback, 6-5, as Morris registered his second goal of the day on a feed from Vasic just 26 seconds into the extra session of play. Pappas improved to 9-5 between the posts for the KiXX, turning away 17 of the 22 shots he faced, while Larkin (4-6) took the loss for the Force with 21 saves on 27 chances.



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from January 10, 2005


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