Sidekicks host San Diego March 22
March 20, 2003 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Dallas Sidekicks News Release
The Dallas Sidekicks (8-26) face the San Diego Sockers (14-20) at Reunion Arena for the final time this season. The Sockers lead the series 5-0 this season and 9-2 all time. The Sidekicks then host the Baltimore Blast (16-18). Baltimore leads the season series 3-1, but the Dallas win came in Baltimore's most recent trip to Reunion Arena; a 17-10 final December 14.
This is the final weekend for #9 Tatu who will retire after the Baltimore Blast game on March 23, 2003. He concludes his 21-year career, including all 18 seasons of the Dallas Sidekicks. Sunday is Tatu t-shirt night presented by Dr. Pepper.
David Doyle became the tenth player to reach 1000 points for his career with a power-play goal at 0:53 seconds in the second quarter on March 15, 2003 at Milwaukee. With that power play goal, Doyle also tied Kia for third all time with 84. Tatu is the all-time leader in power play goals with 112. He has 97 with the Sidekicks and could be the first player to 100 with a single franchise. Steve Zungul is second with 89 total.
The Dallas Sidekicks will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1990-91 MISL season. This is the third time in franchise history the team has missed the postseason. The others were the inaugural 1984-85 season when Dallas went 12-36 and finished last in the seven-team Western Division and the 1990-91 season when the Sidekicks finished 20-32 and in last of the four-team Western Division.
NEXT GAMES: The Sidekicks finish the 2002-2003 MISL season tomorrow as they face the Baltimore Blast on Sunday March 23 at 6:05 p.m. This is the final game of Tatu's 21-year career.
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.
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 62-52 (.544) 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 is near the top of the career list in several categories. He is second with 21 seasons played (Victor Nogueira of Milwaukee - 23), seventh with 631 games played (Michael King of Milwaukee - 648), second for goals with 854 (Hector Marinaro - 1201), second in assists with 728 (Zoran Karic of Cleveland - 824), second in points with 1582 (Marinaro - 1886), second in shots with 4385 (Marinaro - 4869), tied for second in game-winning goals with 77 (Marinaro - 99, Steve Zungul - 77), and first with 112 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 seasons - 18, games - 555, goals - 733, assists - 672, points - 1405, shots - 4171, power play goals - 97, 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 609 (Michael King of Milwaukee - 646), 16th in assists with 391 (Goran Hunjak of Kansas City - 437, Kim Roentved - 437), tenth in points with 1000 (Michael King of Milwaukee - 1013), tied for third in power play goals with 84 (Steve Zungul - 89, Kia - 84), tied for 18th in shorthanded goals with 7, and fourth in game-winning goals with 65 (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 288 (Wes McLeod - 321), second in goals with 382 (Tatu - 733), third in assists with 281 (Tatu - 672, Kevin Smith - 299), second in points with 663 (Tatu - 1405), second in shots with 1951 (Tatu - 4171), fourth in blocks with 334 (Smith - 387), second in power play goals with 58 (Tatu - 97), 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. SAN DIEGO: The Sidekicks are 2-9 against the current San Diego Sockers, including 0-5 this season. The Sidekicks went 18-37 against the original Sockers. The 2001 championship was the third time these teams met in the finals. San Diego defeated Dallas 4-2 in the best of seven 1992 MISL championship, Dallas won the best-of three CISL title series 2-1 in 1993, and Dallas won the 2001 WISL title two games to one. Game 25 - February 1 vs. San Diego: Tatu scored one goal and had two assists to pass Zoran Karic for second all-time in points, but the Dallas Sidekicks lost to the San Diego Sockers 11-10 at Reunion Arena on Saturday night. Tatu tied now has 852 goals and 723 assists for 1575 points. Karic finished his career with 1,573 on 752 goals and 821 assists. Tatu tied Karic with a goal 4:21 into the first quarter when he gave the Sidekicks a 2-0 lead. Tatu then took sole possession of second with his assist of Nick Stavrou at 14:29 of the second. Hector Marinaro of Cleveland is the all-time leader with 1,886 points. The Sidekicks (6-19) were unable to rally from an 11-8 third quarter deficit even though they had nine shots in the final quarter. David Doyle did find the net to pull Dallas within a point at 4:06 of the fourth. San Diego (11-16) managed to stop the final seven Dallas shots, including three in the final minute. San Diego took the 11-8 lead with third quarter goals from Carlos Farias and Paul Wright. Before that, Dallas had an 8-7 edge after consecutive goals by Stavrou and Larry Dube. The Sidekicks jumped out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Tatu and Armando Valdivia in the first 6:47 of the game. San Diego then scored seven unanswered points that started with a penalty kick from Mariano Bollella at 11:47 of the opening stanza. Jimmy Wang followed with a three-pointer at 13:32 before and Farias found the net 57 seconds into the second. Game 23 - January 12 at San Diego: The Dallas Sidekicks surrendered a 10-5 lead and eventually fell 15-12 to the San Diego Sockers at the San Diego Sports Arena Sunday. The Sidekicks (6-17) led 10-5 when Giampaulo Pedroso scored his first of two goals at 8:03 of the third. San Diego then went on a 10-0 run from 12:57 of the third until 14:52 of the forth quarter. Mariano Bollella started the rally with a goal at 12:57 of the third period. Chris Fimbres followed with a three-point restart goal at 13:24 to tie the game at 10-10. Robbie Aristodemo finished the scoring for San Diego with a three-pointer at 2:30 of the fourth and an empty-net score at 14:22 of the final quarter. The Sidekicks jumped out to a 4-0 lead as Nick Stavrou scored twice in the first quarter. Stavrou tallied on a Larry Dube assist at 2:47 of the first and off a David Doyle assist at 9:14 of the opening period. The assist was number 384 of Doyle's career, that ties him with Preki for 17th all-time. He is four behind longtime Sidekick Kevin Smith for 16th all-time. Alejandro Cardenas pulled San Diego (9-12) within 4-3 when he scored from beyond the arc at 5:23 of the second. Dallas then extended the lead to 8-3 on goals by Brad Flanagan and Armando Valdivia. Flanagan scored shorthanded at 7:57 of the second quarter. That set the Sidekicks team record of five this season. The previous team record was four shorthanded goals during the 1985-86 season. Tatu assisted Valdivia and is now at 1571 points on 851 goals and 720 assists. He is two behind Zoran Karic (1573) for second all-time. Game 10 - November 10 at San Diego: The Dallas Sidekicks (2-8) accumulated 17 penalty minutes in an 8-4 loss to the San Diego Sockers (5-4) at the San Diego Sports Arena Sunday. It was the Sidekicks seventh consecutive loss, extending the longest streak since the 10 and 11 game skids of the 1984-85 season. The Sidekicks were in the game until Gaston Pernia scored against the Dallas sixth attacker with 56 seconds left in the game. The Sidekicks seemed to grab momentum in the third. Trailing 6-4 in the third, the Sidekicks killed a five-on-three penalty in the third quarter with Sagu in the penalty box and David Doyle playing in goal. Sagu was called for two consecutive five-minute misconduct penalties at 2:14. At the same time, Antonio Sutton was called for elbowing and Brad Flanagan was serving a five-minute penalty following a confrontation with the Sockers' Pernia earlier in the third. The Flanagan and two Sagu misconducts added a two-minute penalty for accumulation of three misconducts. Giampaulo Pedroso served the two minutes. The Sockers had several opportunities during the super power play, but Doyle recorded four saves in the last 40 seconds of the five-on-three to keep the margin at two. The Sidekicks pulled within two points on Antonio Sutton's ninth goal of the season at 3:13 of the third. Leo Pernia assisted the goal. It was the only goal of the second half until Gaston Pernia scored in the final minute. The Sockers added to their first half advantage when Gaston Pernia scored on a diving header. Carlos Farias fed the ball across the goal mouth on the restart. The Sockers led after one quarter on goals by Shawn Beyer and Shandley Phillips. Phillips started the scoring at 1:14. Then Tatu assisted Nick Stavrou as he tied the game for the Sidekicks with a two-point goal, his fifth of the season, at 2:51. Game 9 - November 9 vs. San Diego: The Dallas Sidekicks (2-7) lost 15-10 to the San Diego Sockers (4-4) Saturday night in front of 10,024 fans at Reunion Arena. The loss, the team's sixth in a row, is the longest losing streak since an 11 game skid during the inaugural 1984-85 season. David Doyle opened the 3rd quarter scoring with a long shot that deflected off a San Diego player and into the net, cutting the score to 9-4. Dallas took advantage of a holding penalty by the Sockers' Tony Valazquez, as Antonio Sutton rebounded a Nick Stavrou shot past DJ Horvath making the score 9-6 at 8:29. Horvath blocked a Shamu blast from just inside the three-point arc to end the period. San Diego's Carlos "Chilie" Farias recorded a hat trick. The second quarter was a very physical affair with almost as many fouls committed as shots taken. Both teams pressured the goals, but neither team could score until Shawn Beyer scored his second goal of the game on a Farias assist at 12:04 of the period. Shamu opened the scoring at 5:43 of the first quarter rebounding a David Doyle shot behind Sockers goalie DJ Horvath at 5:43 of the first quarter. Shawn Beyer answered for the Sockers with an unassisted power play goal at 11:56, the result of a tripping penalty to Nick Stavrou. Anthony Farace lofted a three-point "Hail Mary" shot into the Sidekicks net from beyond his yellow line as the horn sounded to end the first quarter. The Sockers increased their lead in the fourth quarter to 11-8, but Doyle answered for Dallas at 9:48 with a goal of his own. The Sockers put the game away with two goals, including an empty net goal by Farias at 14:19. Nick Stavrou completed the scoring with a power play goal at 14:47 of the fourth. Tatu assisted the Stavrou goal. Game 2 - October 5, 2002 at San Diego: The Dallas Sidekicks lost 7-4 to the San Diego Sockers at the San Diego Sports Arena. Anthony Farace of the Sockers (1-1) scored the game-winner 30-seconds into the second quarter. The three-point goal gave San Diego a 5-0 lead. The Sidekicks put David Doyle in as the sixth attacker with three minutes left in the fourth, but had to put Sagu back in net when Doyle received a two-minute penalty for catching the ball outside the penalty area. The Sidekicks killed the Sockers' power play and had a pair of three-point shots that didn't find the net as time ran out. The Sidekicks out shot San Diego 41 to 28. The two goals is the lowest for the Sidekicks since the season finale at San Diego last season, which was a 5-0 loss for Dallas. The Sidekicks trailed 5-2 at the half. Both Dallas points came on a goal by Giampaulo Pedroso at 6:41 of the second quarter. Pedroso's goal was an even strength goal, but came just two seconds after the power play expired. Tatu had the assist. The Sidekicks fall to 1-1 on the season, which is one game back of the Milwaukee Wave (2-0) and tied with San Diego for second in the Western Conference of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Dallas was 2-4 against San Diego last season, but won the best of three championship series two games to one as Armando Valdivia scored the game-winner shorthanded 2:11 into overtime of game three. These teams renewed the rivalry in the first game of the 2001 WISL season as they met for the inaugural sporting event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas August 19. The Sidekicks came back from a 5-3 deficit with less than a minute to play, and won on a Marco Coria goal in overtime. The game set a new Dallas attendance record with 17,710 fans.
SERIES HISTORY vs. BALTIMORE: This is the fifth meeting for the two teams this season. Dallas was 17-37 against the original Baltimore Blast. The Sidekicks defeated three games to two in the best-of-five 1987 MISL Division Semifinal. Game 28 - February 15 at Baltimore: The Dallas Sidekicks lost 10-7 to the Baltimore Blast at First Mariner Arena Saturday night. The Sidekicks (7-21) led 3-2 entering the fourth quarter of the defensive battle. The finals stanza saw three lead changes with Baltimore (12-15) sealing the victory on a restart goal by Danny Kelly with 46 seconds left. Kelly's two-point goal took the score to 10-5 Blast. Antonio Sutton added a sixth-attacker goal on a Tatu assist with four seconds remaining for the final margin. Billy Nelson started the fourth-quarter scoring at 2:53 for Baltimore's second lead of the game at 4-3. Nick Stavrou countered for the Sidekicks at 8:22 for a 5-4 edge. It was Stavrou's 18th goal of the season. Dewan Bader then scored for Baltimore at 9:51 of the fourth and Tarik Walker followed at 10:29 forn an 8-5 Blast lead. Kelly finished the Blast scoring at 14:14 of the final period. Baltimore scored first when Giuliano Celenza hit a buzzer beater with two seconds left in the first quarter. The 2-0 margin held until Eric Dade scored his first goal of the season, a three-pointer, at 5:21 of the second to give Dallas the 3-2 lead. Dallas held the advantage until Nelson found the net in the fourth. Tatu's assist to Sutton gives him 1399 points as a Sidekick. His next point will make him the second player in history to 1400 with one team. Hector Marinaro of Cleveland has 1702 with the Crunch/Force. David Doyle assisted Stavrou in the fourth and has 387 assists for his career. He is one behind longtime Sidekick Kevin Smith for 16th in history. Game 22 - January 10 at Baltimore: Giampaulo Pedroso tied a Sidekicks record with four second-half goals as the Sidekicks fell 16-11 to the Baltimore Blast at the First Mariner Arena Friday. The Sidekicks trailed 14-2 at the half before Pedroso started his charge with a power play goal at 11:16 of the third quarter. Pedroso took a Doyle pass and planted it past Blast' goalkeeper Scott Hileman. Andy Wells responded for Baltimore 16 seconds later, but that was it for the Blast. Pedroso also scored at 13:39 of the third, then added his second power play goal at 10:43 of the fourth and a sixth attacker score at 14:15 of the fourth. The four goals is a career best for the tenth season veteran. Sidekicks' fourth season defender Michael Curtis got the first point of his career when he assisted Pedroso's second goal. Pedroso tied the club record of four goals in a half held by David Doyle at Monterrey August 7, 1993 and Tatu at San Jose August 10, 1994. Baltimore (7-13) took control of the game with twelve points in the second quarter, including nine points on four goals in a stretch of 2:48. The run started with a Giuliano Celenza three-point power play goal at 11:18. Billy Nelson followed at 11:51 and Lee Tschantret scored at 12:20 and 13:52. That run set Sidekicks records for shortest time to allow three goals, 1:08, and four goals, 2:48. Baltimore started the quarter with a three-pointer from Rich Daughtridge at 14 seconds. David Doyle had three assists for the Sidekicks. He now has 383 for his career and moves past Jan Goossens (381) for 18th all-time. Doyle assisted Antonio Sutton's opening score as well as Pedroso's first and fourth goals. Doyle is now one behind Preki (384) for 17th all-time. Dallas (6-16) falls three games behind San Diego (8-12) for the third and final playoff spot in the western conference. The Sidekicks play at San Diego January 12 and host the Sockers February 1. Game 15 - December 14 vs. Baltimore: The Dallas Sidekicks defeated the Baltimore Blast 17-10 Saturday at Reunion Arena. David Doyle and Tatu led the Sidekicks. Doyle had two goals and one assist, while Tatu scored one goal and assisted three others. The Sidekicks led all the way, building an 8-2 lead on a Tatu goal at 1:17 of the second. The teams traded goals the rest of the way as Dallas improved to 4-11. The Sidekicks built the early advantage on first quarter goals by Doyle at 5:19, Jeff Betts at 6:43, and Patrick Shamu at 9:53. Baltimore's (5-10) had first half goals from Tarik Walker at 7:11 of the opening period and Sean Bowers netted a three-pointer at 2:24 of the second to pull the Blast within 8-5 at the half. The teams traded goals in the first half of the third period. Nick Stavrou scored a Dallas restart goal off a Doyle pass 2:23 into the third for a 10-5 advantage. Lance Johnson tallied for Baltimore at 7:55 of the period. Dallas then stretched the lead to 12-7 with goals from Armando Valdivia and David Doyle. Valdivia found the net at 11:12 of the third and Doyle scored a power play goal at 3:06 of the fourth. Tatu had the assist on both scores. Bowers pulled Baltimore within 14-10 on a three-pointer with three minutes to play, but Brad Flanagan sealed the Dallas win with an empty-net three pointer at 13:47. Valdivia assisted the Flanagan goal, which gives him 100 assists for his career. Doyle's first goal at 5:19 of the first quarter gave him 972 career points (combined goals and assists). The moved him past Branko Segota and into sole possession of tenth all-time. Michael King of Milwaukee is ninth all-time with 990 points. Doyle finished the evening at 974 points after scoring again at 3:06 of the fourth and assisting Nick Stavrou at 2:23 of the third quarter. Tatu's three assists give him 714 for his career. That puts him three behind Pato Margetic, 717, for second all-time. Game 4 - October 13, 2002 vs. Baltimore: The Baltimore Blast rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Dallas Sidekicks 13-9 at Reunion Arena. Lee Tschantret and Gino DiFlorio paced the Baltimore comeback, with DiFlorio netting the game-winner off Danny Kelly's assist at 9:03 of the third quarter. Paul Wright contributed two assists. Although Denison Cabral scored from long range to give the Blast an early 3-2 advantage, Baltimore trailed 7-4 before the first intermission, and didn't pick up any ground until Tschantret's deuce at 12:58 of the second quarter. Jason Dieter beat netminder Sagu unassisted to equalize with eight seconds left in the half, and Tschantret gave the Blast a 9-7 lead at 7:59 of the third. David Doyle's second goal of the game tied the score 9-9, but DiFlorio helped Baltimore put the game away with the deciding goal and an assist on P.J. Wakefield's insurance tally at 6:20 of the final stanza. The Sidekicks played with Doyle as sixth attacker for most of the fourth quarter, but were unable to close the gap. Doyle, whose first goal was a three-pointer, was the game's high scorer with five points. Only eight Dallas shots got through to Baltimore 'keeper Scott Hileman, who stopped four to post the win. Sagu turned away 10 of 16 for Dallas, and Doyle was unchallenged in his 9:29 stint as sixth attacker.
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