Sidekicks host Philadelphia Kixx Friday
Published on February 27, 2003 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Dallas Sidekicks News Release
The Dallas Sidekicks (7-22) return home to face the Philadelphia Kixx (21-8). The Kixx lead the series 3-1 winning all three games in Philadelphia, 8-10 in overtime on October 19, 7-10 on January 4, and 22-2 on February 8. Dallas took the season opener 14-13 September 28 in Dallas. In the last meeting, Philadelphia shut out Dallas for three quarters and beat Dallas by an 11-1 goal differential, the largest in Sidekicks history. The previous record was 8 set at Minnesota March 24, 1987 (8-0) and at Utah October 22, 2001 (9-1). Dallas is 5-10 against the East and 5-1 against the East at home this season. Dallas is undefeated at home when playing a team from Pennsylvania.
The San Diego Sockers (12-19) have a magic number of two to clinch a playoff spot over Dallas. San Diego hosts Kansas City Friday at 9:00 p.m. CT.
NEXT GAMES: Dallas plays their second game of this back-to-back weekend as they face the Kansas City Comets tomorrow, Saturday March 1 at 7:05 p.m. The Sidekicks then host the Cleveland Force Tuesday March 4 at 7:05 p.m. in the game that was postponed from February 16 due to the Sidekicks being stranded in Baltimore.
RADIO: All Sidekicks games are on Fox Sports 1190 AM. They are also available on the internet at www.dallassidekicks.com. All broadcasts begin five minutes prior to listed kickoff and will last three hours. Pete Stein calls the action and John Clemens hosts the halftime and post-game shows.
ALL-STARS: David Doyle and Tatu made the Western Conference All-Star roster and will play in the 2003 MISL All-Star game Sunday March 9 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. This is Tatu's 12th career All-Star selection (MISL 1985, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92; CISL 95, 96, 97; MISL 2002, 03) and Doyle's seventh All-Star selection (MISL 1992; NPSL 1993, 94; CISL 1995, 96, 97; MISL 2003).
PLAYER/HEAD COACH TATU: Tatu is in his 18th season as a player for the Dallas Sidekicks, his fifth as head coach. Tatu led the Sidekicks to the World Indoor Soccer League finals all four years as head coach, winning the 1998 and 2001 titles. In 1998, Tatu replaced Gordon Jago, who retired, as head coach. He has a 61-48 (.560) regular season record, and 7-3 (.700) postseason record. PLAYER: Tatu is in his 21st season in indoor soccer, his 18th with the Sidekicks. Tatu enters the season near the top of the career list in several categories. He is second with 21 seasons played (Victor Nogueira of Milwaukee - 23), seventh with 626 games played (Michael King of Milwaukee - 644), second for goals with 852 (Hector Marinaro - 1201), second in assists with 725 (Zoran Karic - 821), second in points with 1577 (Marinaro - 1886), second in shots with 4365 (Marinaro - 4869), tied for second in game-winning goals with 77 (Marinaro - 99, Steve Zungul - 77), and first with 111 power play goals. He has been part of all four Sidekicks' championship teams, winning titles in 1987, 1993, 1998, and 2001. Tatu is a six-time MVP, 11-time scoring champion, 12-time all-star, and three-time championship series MVP. He also hold Sidekicks franchise records for games - 550, goals - 731, assists - 669, points - 1400, shots - 4151, power play goals - 96, game-winning goals - 68, and overtime goals - 7.
DAVID DOYLE: Doyle is in his 18th indoor season and 11th with the Sidekicks. Doyle is in the top-20 on the career list of almost every offensive category. He is tied for 11th with 18 seasons, eighth in goals with 605 (Michael King of Milwaukee - 644), 17th in assists with 387 (Goran Hunjak of Kansas City - 434, Kevin Smith - 388), tenth in points with 992 (Michael King of Milwaukee - 1007), fourth in power play goals with 83 (Kia - 84), tied for 18th in shorthanded goals with 7, and fourth in game-winning goals with 64 (Tatu - 77, Zungul - 77). He is a seven-time All-Star and has been on three Sidekicks' championship teams, winning titles in 1993, 1998, and 2001. Doyle is near the top of the Sidekicks record book in several categories. He is fifth in games with 283 (Wes McLeod - 321), second in goals with 378 (Tatu - 731), third in assists with 277 (Tatu - 669, Kevin Smith - 299), second in points with 655 (Tatu - 1400), second in shots with 1916 (Tatu - 4151), fourth in blocks with 328 (Smith - 387), second in power play goals with 57 (Tatu - 96), second in game-winning goals with 42 (Tatu - 68), and tied for third in overtime goals with 4 (Mark Karpun - 5, Doc Lawson - 4).
SERIES HISTORY vs. PHILADELPHIA: This is the fourth and final meeting of the season. Game 27 - February 8 at Philadelphia: The Dallas Sidekicks (7-20) fell to the Philadelphia Kixx 22-2 at the First Union Spectrum Saturday night. The Sidekicks were shutout for three quarters for the first time this season. Patrick Shamu scored the Sidekicks' lone goal from Brad Flanagan at 2:35 in the fourth quarter to keep the game from being a shutout. The Philadelphia Kixx (20-5) scored the first 22 points from 11 goals of the game, three from Don D'Ambra, two from Pat Morris, two from Joel Shanker, and two goals from Kevin Sloan. Both of Sloan's goals came on shoot-outs. The first was scored at 4:25 in the third quarter after Jesse Llamas was called for a handball outside of the penalty arc, the second came at 2:15 in the fourth quarter after Leo Pernia was called for holding on a Philadelphia break-away. The 11-1 goal count was the largest goal-differential in Sidekicks history. The previous record was 8 set at Minnesota March 24, 1987 (8-0) and at Utah October 22, 2001 (9-1). Dallas missed player/head coach Tatu due to a stomach virus and starting goalkeeper Sagu due to an ankle injury. Game 21 - January 4 at Philadelphia: The Dallas Sidekicks led the Philadelphia Kixx for three quarters before falling 10-7 at the First Union Spectrum Saturday. The Sidekicks (6-15) took leads of 3-0, 5-2, and 7-4 through three periods. Philadelphia (15-3) rallied with three goals in the fourth to extend their home record to 11-0 on the season and 19 consecutive regular season home victories overall. Pat Morris pulled the Kixx within 7-6 when Goran Vasic assisted at 1:37 of the fourth. Morris then gave Philadelphia the lead at 8:51 of the fourth with Shawn Boney assisting. The Sidekicks stayed within a point and put David Doyle in at sixth attacker with 2:27 of the fourth. Dallas didn't capitalize on the advantage and allowed an Edgar Bartolomeu empty-netter at 14:51 of the fourth for the final margin. The Sidekicks scored first as Doyle hit a three-pointer from Tatu at 13:12 of the first. It was the eighth time this season Tatu has set up a Doyle goal. The assist was Tatu's 718th and moved him into second all-time, passing Pato Margetic. Philadelphia countered with a Chris Handsor tally at 4:43 of the second from Kevin Sloan. Nick Stavrou then gave Dallas a 5-2 advantage when he redirected a Tatu pass into the net at 14:31 of the second. Dallas failed to hold the Kixx for the final 29 seconds of the half as Joel Shanker, Philadelphia's leading scorer, took a Vasic pass and planted it behind Sidekicks' goalkeeper Sagu. The cut the Dallas lead to 5-4 at the half. The Sidekicks looked to re-establish the tone at the start of the third quarter when Brad Flanagan netted a Doyle pass 11 seconds into the period. It was Doyle's 380th assist and moved him to 19th all-time, passing Kevin Hundelt. Tatu's two assists move him to 1570 career points on 851 goals and 819 assists. He is three points behind Zoran Karic for second all-time. Karic finished with 752 goals and 821 assists. Game 5 - October 19, 2002 at Philadelphia: The Philadelphia KiXX (3-1) defeated the Dallas Sidekicks (2-3) 10-8 in the first overtime of the MISL season in front of 3,127 fans at the First Union Spectrum Saturday. KiXX defender Glenn Carbonara scored the game-winning goal at 4:01 in overtime, on an assist from goalkeeper Peter Pappas. Pappas (3-1) e second player to reach the 700 assist plateau (Zoran Karic 821). The Sidekicks trailed 13-12 with 15 seconds left as Tatu took the ball off the boards in the corner. Tatu spun to the middle and deflected a shot off a Philadelphia defender and into the net for the victory. The Sidekicks also had goals from Leo Pernia, Frank Filo, Antonio Sutton, and Armando Valdivia. The Sidekicks took their first lead of the game, 12-11, on a Tatu goal 3:27 into the fourth quarter. The win was the sixth consecutive home-opening win for Dallas. Special teams played a vital role for both teams as each scored a restart. Philadelphia was two of three on power plays and Dallas went one for two with a man advantage. Sidekicks goalkeeper, Sagu, continued to be the Sidekicks best defender as he made 17 saves, including five in the fourth quarter. David Doyle gets the win for the keepers since he was on as a sixth attacker when the winning goal was scored.
SERIES HISTORY vs. KANSAS CITY: This is the fifth meeting of the teams during the regular season, the last at Reunion Arena. They played one preseason game at the Western Conference Preseason Tournament. Game 26 - February 7 at Kansas City: The Dallas Sidekicks defeated the Kansas City Comets 16-13 at Kemper Arena Friday night. The win ends an eight-game losing streak for the Sidekicks. The Sidekicks (7-19) sealed the game when Antonio Sutton scored an empty-net goal with 3 seconds left in the game. David Doyle gave the Sidekicks the lead for good with his diving header at 6:39 in the third. Dallas went on an 8-0 run in the second and third quarters to make the score 14-6 with goals from Armando Valdivia from David Doyle at 10:45 in the second, David Doyle at 11:20 in the second, and Giampaulo Pedroso (power-play goal) at 1:49 in the third. The Comets (12-13) answered with a 7-0 run in the third and fourth quarters with goals from Brian Soell at 10:24 in the third, Jeff Davis at 8:29 in the fourth and Nino DaSilva at 1:29 in the fourth to pull within one. Nick Stavrou started the scoring at 0:21 of the first quarter. David Doyle's assist to Armando Valdivia at 10:45 in the second quarter gave him 385 career assists to pass Preki for 17th all-time. He also got assist 386 and is now two behind long time Sidekick Kevin Smith (388) for 16th. The Sidekicks were without player/head coach Tatu tonight due to a stomach virus. This is the first game Tatu has missed as head coach since taking over in 1998. Rookie Goalkeeper Jesse Llamas earned his first career win after replacing Sagu at 2:46 in the first quarter due to an ankle injury. Game 17 - December 21 at Kansas City: The Dallas Sidekicks defeated the Kansas City Comets 13-8 at Kemper Arena Saturday. It was the Sidekicks first road victory of the season and its first against a western conference opponent. The win also gave the Sidekicks their first three game winning streak of the season. Patrick Shamu scored the game-winning goal at 13:47 of the fourth quarter to drop Kansas City to 0-5 at Kemper Arena. Antonio Sutton scored a three-point empty-net goal to end the scoring for Dallas (6-11). It was a comeback win for the Sidekicks. Dallas trailed the entire game until Jeff Betts dribbled around Comets forward Wes Wade and scored his second goal of the game at 10:30 of the fourth to tie the game at 8-8. Dino Delevski of the Comets scored his 19th goal of the season by catching Dallas goalkeeper Sagu out of his net at 5:07 of the third period. Nikola Corneli also scored his second goal of the game later in the third quarter as the Comets pushed the lead to 8-2. Jeff Betts responded for Dallas by scoring his second goal of the season on a Frank Filo assist at 9:25 of the third period. Filo then pulled the Sidekicks within two by scoring his seventh goal of the season immediately after his boarding penalty expired. Kansas City gave the Sidekicks a chance to get on the board by earning an intentional handball penalty at 1:55 of the second period. David Doyle converted the awarded penalty kick, his 17th goal of the season, to cut the Comets lead to 4-2 at halftime. The score gave Doyle 83 career power play goals, bringing him within one of Kia for third all time. Nino DaSilva opened the scoring with a power play goal at 13:11 of the first period. The penalty had been on Filo of the Sidekicks for holding. Corneli scored 58 seconds later on an assist from Paolo Ceccarelli to give Kansas City a 4-0 lead after one period. Game 12 - November 29 vs. Kansas City: Kansas City forward Goran Hunjak scored the game-winner with 1:46 to play as the Comets defeated the Dallas Sidekicks 12-7 at Reunion Arena. The game was tied at seven when Hunjak scored the go-ahead power play goal after Wes Wade deflected a rebound his way 15-feet from the front of the goal. The power play came on a Sidekicks' team penalty for too many men at 12:53 of the fourth. Wade added an empty-net three-point goal at the buzzer for the final margin. The Sidekicks (3-9) had rallied from a 7-0 deficit to tie the game on a David Doyle three-point power-play goal at 8:02 of the fourth. The first two Sidekicks' scores came in the second when Antonio Sutton scored at 11:15 and Nick Stavrou found the net at 14:19. Kansas City (5-5) gained the early advantage with first quarter goals by Nino DaSilva at 2:41 and a three-pointer by Vlatko Andonovski at 6:08. Chad James added two-points at 9:55 of the second for the 7-0 Comets lead. Game 8 - November 6 vs. Kansas City: The Dallas Sidekicks allowed nine points in the third quarter en route to an 18-12 loss to the Kansas City Comets at Reunion Arena Wednesday afternoon. The Sidekicks (2-6) led 8-6 at halftime before the Kansas City rally. The Comets (2-5) scored nine points on four goals in seven minutes during the third quarter. The onslaught started with a two-point goal by Brian Soell at 4:24 and ended on a two-pointer by Vlatko Andonovski at 11:12 of the third. Jeff Davis added a three-pointer at 6:10 and Dino Delevski found the net at 8:33. The Sidekicks trailed 15-10 when they went to a sixth attacker at 10:50 of the fourth quarter. Nate Houser killed the Sidekicks comeback try with a three-point empty-net goal at 12:03. The Sidekicks added a late goal by Tatu for the final margin. Dallas had closed the gap to 15-10 on a two-point goal by midfielder Nick Stavrou at 2:31 of the fourth quarter. Tatu led Dallas with four points on a two-point goal and two assists. He now has 706 career assists and is 11 behind Pato Margetic for second all-time. Tatu now has 21 points and is sixth in the MISL. Patrick Shamu continues to shine at home, scoring two goals on the day. He now has seven goals in five home games this season. Forward David Doyle also added one goal and one assist. Sagu had 12 saves and now has 1005 as a Sidekick.
He is the third player to reach the millennium mark. Preseason Game 1 - September 14, 2002 vs. Kansas City: The Kansas City Comets defeated the Dallas Sidekicks 15-4 on the first day of the Major Indoor Soccer League Western Conference Preseason Tournament at Inwood Soccer Center. Kansas City won with 10 unanswered points from the 6:49 mark of the second quarter until the end of the game. Dallas had rallied from a 5-0 deficit to within 5-4 before Kansas City took control. The Comets jumped out to a 5-0 lead on two power play goals in the first 10 minutes. Vlatko Andonovski scored a two-point power play goal at 3:34 of the first quarter. Dino Delevski, the 2001-02 MISL scoring champion, followed with a three-point power play goal at 9:29 of the first. The Sidekicks responded at 10:47 as Tatu scored on a penalty kick after being tripped from behind in the penalty box by Nate Houser. David Doyle pulled Dallas within 5-4 with a two-point goal at 14:31 of the first. Doyle scored on his second shot as Comets' goalkeeper Brian Bowes stuffed the first attempt, but couldn't control the ball. Kansas City finished with a pair of two-point goals from both Nino Dasilva and Miodrag Djerisilo. Eric Kuster also contributed a two-point goal.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 27, 2003
- Sidekicks host Philadelphia Kixx Friday - Dallas Sidekicks
- Force Set for Weekend Action - Cleveland Force
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