Sports stats



Restart opportunity

by Steve De Rose
November 2, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Chicago Storm


Stop me if you have heard this one before.

Is this a "changing of the guard," or is the Major Indoor Soccer League actually accomplishing its "turn back the hands of time" gambit?

The American Indoor Soccer Association played its inaugural season twenty years ago. After an optimistic expansion into the southeast U.S.A. (with the reborn Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1986-87), the League contracted from eight teams that season back to four in 1987. The season was divided. The first half featured Canton, Fort Wayne, Memphis, and Milwaukee. The Memphis Storm (!) won the regular season with a 16-8 record.

The A.I.S.A. attempted something different with the second half. It marshaled a "Challenge Cup" playoff tournament in which indoor soccer franchises could "dip their toes" to see if they could handle the tasks associated with a professional league, but with a minimum number of matches, dates, and expenses. The four A.I.S.A. teams were joined in this escapade by the Jacksonville Generals and the Dayton Dynamo. The Canton Invaders won the 12-game playoffs, taking the crucial match versus the Fort Wayne Flames in Fort Wayne by 5-4 on the last day of the schedule.

The A.I.S.A. made two bold moves in the summer of 1988. It accepted Dayton's application to join the circuit and also admitted a new franchise for Chicago: the Chicago Power. Then, it made a rule change which altered the landscape of professional soccer in the U.S.A.

It adopted a multi-point scoring scheme. Depending on the number of players on the field, or the distance from which a shot originated, a goal could be worth one, two, or three points.

The 1988-89 season brought in the two biggest arenas the A.I.S.A. had everseen. The Power were to play in the 16,000-seat Rosemont Horizon, and the Milwaukee Wave were moving into the new 17,000-seat Bradley Center.

Milwaukee wanted its first game in their new arena to be a memorable one. Someone in the team's administration thought it would be a good idea to bring in the expansion Chicago team as the first visitor.

For their part, the Power were playing their first five games on the road. After opening in Fort Wayne, the game in Milwaukee was the second on their schedule.

As far as the attendance went, the Wave did all right on Sunday night, November 6, 1988. But what they did not do well was account for the skill level of the visiting Chicago team. The Power, with Karl-Heinz Granitza, had an 8-6 lead late in the fourth quarter when the Wave went to Greg Willin as sixth attacker. The move detonated in their face. After a key defensive thwart, Chicago found Oscar Albuquerque one-on-one with a Wave field player in the Wave defensive midfield. Albuquerque got a step on his mark and rolled a shot into the vacant net for the first three-point goal in A.I.S.A. history. The Wave stayed in sixth-attacker mode, but the Power was the only side to score in this episode. They added two more goals to make the final 15-6.

The Power defeated the Wave 10-8 in their home opener on Saturday, November 26. Supposedly, after this game, Karl-Heinz uttered that the Wave could not beat the Power if they brought in a voodoo doctor.

This led to the fabled "Wisconsin Dells Voodoo Doctor" game, which was held at the Wisconsin Center Arena on December 9.

When the Power rallied from a 1-7 deficit, having Albuquerque score the winning goal on sixth attacker, and topping it off with ex-Wave player Lito Zabala, having signed a contract that day, scoring the vacant net three-point goal to make the final 11-7, the Wave's attempted exorcism instead saw the demon get into their bloodstream.

The 1988-89 Wave finished the season with a record of 24-16, good for second place, one game behind the Canton Invaders. But they went 1-7 versus Chicago.

Guess who they had to face in the playoffs? Yes. The Power won their home game in the best-of-three semi-finals. A close game twoin Milwaukee had its defining moment with under ninety seconds to play. With the Wave leading by 12-10, a Power player was held in the Wave penalty box, and a penalty kick was given to Chicago. Karl-Heinz took the PK - and failed to put it on the net. Needing two points to level the score, but having to spend the next minute playing for only a one-point goal, the Power faltered and the Wave scored the vacant net goal this time.

However, this meant there would be a third game. A third game in which Karl-Heinz could redeem himself. A "second chance", if you will.

The team was redeemed. In game three, the Power blew out the Wave by a score of 20-4. This game is still in the Wave's record book as their largest margin of defeat in the League playoffs, surpassing even the Baltimore Blast's ripping of them in game one of last year's Major Indoor Soccer League Finals. The Power scored twelve goals to the Wave's two.

Step out of the time capsule. It is Halloween weekend 2004. The Milwaukee Wave are having their home opener at the Wisconsin Center Arena. Someone (the League?) decided that the Wave should contend the expansion Chicago team, the Storm. This was Chicago's second game of the season. How good is the skill level of this new team?

One change had already occurred. Inaugural game captain Ted Chronopoulos was now on the fifteen-day disabled list. Novica "Novi" Marojevic was named captain in his place. Ex-Chicago Fire (Major League Soccer) player Ryan Futagaki was signed to a five-game contract as a replacement.

The Storm did not look too good in their first game. Chronopoulos aggravated his injury (left plantar fascitis) in the second quarter. After closing to within 3-4 in the third quarter, GK Jeff Richey allowed a bad goal 25 seconds thereafter, and the Storm could not reassert themselves, losing by 3-8.

What was potentially spooky for this game was the decision by Storm management to have this be the first on the team's television contract with Comcast® SportsNet Chicago. Last season, the Kansas City Comets opted to televise a game from Milwaukee at roughly this time of year. Dino Delevski was under team suspension at the time, but even that could not completely exonerate the team's (lack of) performance in that game. Thirty minutes into the telecast, Kansas City was trailing five to zero. It ballooned out to 8-1 before an hour on the clock had passed. If the Comets had believed that televising this game would boost ticket sales for future home games for themselves, they instead had a bitter dish served to them.

The Comets were an experienced, cohesive team, with a veteran coach. The Storm was playing its second-ever game, had been forced to make a roster change, was being guided by a rookie coach, and was facing a team which had lost both of their home games in last season's Finals, before a crowd anxious to see them get back on the good foot.

May I write "fraught with hazard" for the Storm?

If they were to get blown out rapidly by the Wave, would somebody viewing the game, and contemplating buying a ticket to one of their home games, junk that notion?

Both teams changed goalkeepers. The Wave went with Dan Green in the net, and the Storm started Danny Waltman, on-loan from the Seattle Sounders of the A-League.

It started harshly for the Storm. They kicked the ball over the side glass at the Arena eight seconds in, giving the Wave a midfield restart.

A note here about the glass this season in the Arena. There are no "battlezone" sections. Plexiglass encases the playing field. It is the standard height around the sides and at each end. The three glass partitions directly above each goal, however, extend an additional two feet higher than all other partitions.

The Wave took the restart, passed the ball into the Storm defensive zone, and played a cross into the box which surprised a Storm defender. It struck him and deflected into the net at the twenty-three second mark. Matt Schmidt was credited with the goal.

Waltman seemed to have some jitters. In the first minutes, he was reacting to off-target caroms, and leaping for balls which were not near the net, and in so doing, putting himself out of position should those refract back to a Wave player. What settled him was a shot by the Wave's Johnny Torres from the right wing center in the fourth minute, on which he leaped low to his left and saved.

One aspect on which the Storm definitely need to work is for the players (and coaches) to read the revised rule book. Waltman kicked the ball over two lines infrequently. They attempted to change players on restarts after fouls. Head coach Frank Klopas stepped onto the field enough times for the team to be assessed a yellow card and a five-minute penalty. They even improperly brought a player (Jonah Long) back onto the field after the trainer had been summoned out onto the pitch to treat his injury before there had been a legal substitution opportunity.

The Wave scored two man-advantage goals due to these snags.

Still, Chicago was hanging in there. The Wave made the move to stamp the game into their "W" column by extending the lead to three-to-zero on good goals from Michael King, and Troy Dusosky. But the three-goal lead did not last long.

The Storm's Jorgé Vallé took advantage of a defensive lapse to knock the ball past Green sixty-six seconds after the Troy goal. The first quarter ended 3-1.

In that quarter, the Storm's Costea Decu (ex-Detroit Rockers) accumulated three fouls. An individual player's fourth foul of the half engenders a two-minute penalty for him, and a man-advantage for the opposition. After the horn sounded, Chicago's Andy Rosenband did something which garnered him a five-minute misconduct. So, for the second quarter, Sandré Naumoski got playing time in their steads.

The game began to be shaken by the Storm when, on a back pass to Green, Andy Guastaferro challenged for it. Green hastened, and the Wave was forced to kick the ball upfield to the Storm.

The Storm came back down the field and sunk a goal. Chris Carrieri dribbled down the left wing where he made a fine square cross along the turf into the path of a transitioning Leo Pernia. Pernia's shot was low to Green's right.

The Storm was not the only side exhibiting rulebook amnesia. After this goal, the Wave called time-out. The "official" (read "T.V.") time-out was less than a minute away. This was the last time-out allocated to the Wave for the first half.

A visible beacon that things were going to be different that night was when Chicago leveled the game. A ball was switched onto the left wing for Naumoski. He opted to volley a first-time shot, but hit it horribly. The shot was slicing away toward the right-wing corner kick spot, probably twelve feet wide of the goal. The ball struck a retreating Wave defender, and deflected into his own net.

Todd Dusosky put the Wave ahead again when he got a half-step on his mark, pivoted 180 degrees clockwise, and zipped a shot high over Waltman's left shoulder. But his pivot may have induced the back spasms which put him out of the game in the second half.

The Storm was given a penalty kick in the twelfth minute when Pat White tripped a Storm forward trying to collect a ball caroming off the end boards. Byron Alvarez (on-loan from the Portland Timbers of the A-League) took the PK and sunk it, going left as Green guessed right.

The Wave had three very good opportunities to retake the lead before the end of the half. With the Storm seemingly now aware that they could not change players on restarts for fouls, even if they had possession, they restarted play, and then attempted to bring on four new players. But the Storm player to whom the restart was directed believed he should change as well. The Wave got the ball, and moved toward the Chicago zone with only one Storm player accompanying Waltman. For some reason, Milwaukee passed the ball to the left wing, which was closer to the Storm bench. Three electrified players off the bench rushed toward Kevin Burk, and he pushed a shot toward the net. The ball struck Waltman on his lower arm, but he was still inside the penalty area.

They received a kick-in from six feet out from the left wing corner kick spot with ten seconds remaining and played the ball into the mixer. It hit the leg of a Chicago player and bounced into the arms of Waltman. This was judged to be a deliberate back pass to the GK, one on which he could not use his hands. Milwaukee was going to have a restart opportunity from the top of the arc with seven seconds left.

They called time-out, but they did not have any time-outs remaining in this half.

When a team calls for a time-out when it has none, the opponent gets the restart. The Storm got to halftime level at four.

Chicago would get a chance to take the lead in the third quarter when King tripped Vallé as he was sprinting through midfield. "Novi" tried to pull out the Milwaukee penalty-killers by taking a long shot from near the yellow line. He was inaccurate, and the Wave did not alter their penalty-killing strategy. With 23 seconds left on the man-advantage, the Storm played the ball into the mixer to try and get a pinball goal. They were called for a foul. Someone on the Storm bench tried to change, and this was detected. Another two-minute penalty was bestowed on the Storm, and the Wave scored on this one. Troy D.'s shot was repelled by Gaston Pernia, but the ball kicked back to Greg Howes, and he ripped a shot which found the left corner of the net.

Chicago would respond 28 seconds later. On a Milwaukee defensive zone restart on the center of the left wing, Decu hit his first shot into the defensive wall. It bounded back to him, and he shot again. This was also blocked, and the ball bounced over to Lazo Alavanja. With players from the wall reacting toward him, he let go a shot which got through them, and then passed behind the partially-screened Green.

The Wave retorted 21 seconds later. They received a restart deep on the right wing in the Storm zone. Johnny Torres's shot missed the net, hitting the glass high to the right of the goal. Because of its angle, the ball caromed all the way over to the left wing edge of the penalty box, where an unmarked Troy was in position to shoot the ball into a half-vacant net.

After this goal was signaled, something transpired between Howes and Pernia. Each was given a five-minute misconduct.

The Wave would receive another man-advantage episode when Pernia wiped out Burk. They scored on this opportunity also via Chris Morman.

The Storm would get another man-advantage opportunity, on a generous tripping penalty accessed against the Milwaukee's Joe Hammes, but they could not capitalize.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, the Wave held a two-goal lead.

The satisfactory element of the game so far for Chicago was that they were competing. They were responding to each Wave goal with more dedicated play. Not many people would be tuning away from the game on television.

The Wave should have been able to shut down the game by now, but the Storm's intensity was causing them to commit fouls. Most of them were not in solid goal-scoring areas of the field, but one would be. On this restart, from near the top of the arc, the Milwaukee wall would act as a sieve. It redirected and slowed the ball as it passed through two players. The ball went left, struck the end boards, and was easily tapped into the uncovered left corner of the net by Chicago's Vallé.

The Wave nearly got this goal back. King collected an end board carom, faked toward the net, stepped away from it, and then turned 270 degrees counter-clockwise to shoot. He shot it right into Waltman.

The Storm would capitalize on a stunning defensive miscue by ex-Chicago Stinger Lovelace Ackah. Ackah attempted a switch of wings in his own defensive zone. His pass was intercepted by Chicago's Alavanja on the right wing. He crossed the ball to an open Vallé, who should have sunk it into the net first-time, but he mis-hit it. He banged the ball off the end boards to the left of the net. He was fading to his left, and Green was roaring over to the left. The ball rebounded off the end boards back to Vallé who shot again. It still missed the net, striking the end boards again. This time the angle of the shot caused it to glance over to where Green was lunging to try and cover the left post. The ball hit Green in his back and dinked into the net. The Storm had leveled the score with 17 seconds remaining in the quarter.

King gave another good try when, after intercepting a back pass intended for Waltman, he tried to dribble around him. Waltman, utilizing his outdoor goalkeeping skills, threatened a foot sweep of the ball. King tried to chip Waltman, and the ball hit him in the arm, but his arm was inside the penalty area.

Both teams were now getting offensive opportunities on restarts. With 1:19 remaining, Waltman committed a GK two-line kick infraction. Milwaukee took its last time-out. The restart from the yellow line was placed over the side glass by Vallé, giving the Wave a top of the arc restart.

On the ensuing play, they scored when the ball was sent left of center by Morman to Troy. His shot from near the yellow line got into the net by a screened Waltman. The Wave had an 8-7 lead with 44 seconds remaining.

The Storm went with "Novi" as the sixth attacker. Nine seconds later, he kicked the ball from the Storm defensive midfield into the Wave defensive zone. He was the GK, and this was a GK two-line kick infraction. Milwaukee had a yellow-line restart far away from their goal with 35 seconds left.

The play they wanted to execute was a ball back toward their yellow line to a central defender, and from there to Green outside the penalty area. He would then send a ball to an open Wave player to maintain possession.

When the ball was played back on this restart, though, it did not go to a central defender. It went directly back to Green in the penalty area. He was rushed by a Storm forward. His clearance landed on the legal side of midfield, but the Storm took possession. They sent everybody forward. A high ball to the right edge of the penalty box by the corner kick spot was headed back toward the center. Decu took a shot from there. It hit the glass over the net. Green swatted the ball as it rebounded off over to the right wing. From twenty feet out on the right wing, Chicago's Carrieri forayed a 45° bicycle kick shot. It found the upper left corner of the net, stunning everyone in the Arena. I believe most players do not practice bicycle kicks for indoor soccer. Did I forget to add that Carrieri is on-loan from the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League?

With ten seconds left, the Storm had evened the score again at eight.

The Wave seemed more composed in the overtime, and they had the first three shots of the period. Interestingly, none of them were from the players you would expect to be taking the shots. Nino Marcantonio dribbled on a slight angle toward the Storm goal (right to left) and then tried a cutback shot to the right. Waltman saved it, and then called the Storm's only allocated time-out of the overtime.

For a defensive time-out, this worked.

The Storm received a restart from the top of the arc in the Wave's defensive zone when Ackah collided with the Storm's Alvarez in the penalty box. I thought the call might go the other way, but the foul was judged to be unintentional. Penalty kicks are given only for intentional fouls receiving a blue card in the area.

On this, Decu played the ball off to the right wing for Alavanja whose shot was deflected out for a left-wing corner kick. The corner was sent to Alavanja on the left edge of the penalty box, and his shot hit the glass to the left of the net. Chicago got to the rebound and looped the ball into the mixer. The Milwaukee defense seemed to have the ball squelched, but Alvarez managed to nudge it away from the Wave. It squirted back to where the Storm's Ryan Futagaki was able to get his right foot on it. The ball bled through two players, and Green was able to get his body down onto it, but he could not keep it from going across the goal line. Improbably, 4:33 into overtime, the Storm had taken their first lead of the season - when it mattered. They had won by 9-8.

The cutting remark about this game came from the Wave's head coach. In their last three matches at the Wisconsin Center Arena, the Wave has allowed twenty nine goals. He hinted at defensive changes for the team, whose next match is Saturday, November 6 versus the Kansas City Comets.

It could be that, despite what some prognosticators have voiced, the Wave is not the same team they were when Victor Nogueira was backstopping them to success. Victor made the saves when the defenders ahead of him made otherwise glaring errors. Yet, by 2002, not even he could keep the Wave from losing the Championship at home to the Philadelphia KIXX.

On this October evening in Milwaukee, the Wave defense night was worn down by a bunch of young, inexperienced guys with grit and desire.

Is there a deeper message? Maybe.

Is this match going to be an illustration to other League teams as to how to defeat Milwaukee?

Is this a resumption of Chicago's "hex" over Milwaukee?

We shall have to wait and see.

We finally have a resolution in Monterrey. On Friday the 29th, the League announced that the operational rights to the Monterrey franchise had been reassigned to a group which also owns the Monterrey Tigres of the Mexican Football League (F.M.F.). The team will compete as the Tigres. As all the players are signed to the League, the Fury players were summarily transferred to this new franchise. The team played their first game that evening in San Diego, losing to the Sockers by 10-2.

A plausible report has the team postponing their November home games, and having their first home game on Sunday, 12 December.

• Discuss this story on the Major Indoor Soccer League 2 message board...

Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from November 2, 2004


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Chicago Storm Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central