Sidekicks Ready to Battle Force Sunday
Published on February 20, 2003 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Dallas Sidekicks News Release
The Dallas Sidekicks (7-21) visit the Cleveland Force (13-14) Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. CT. The series is split 1-1 with the Sidekicks taking the first game 13-4 in Dallas on December 15, and the Force taking the second game 16-8 on January 3 in Cleveland. The teams will meet again in Dallas Tuesday March 4 at 7:05 p.m. to make up for the game from February 16 that was postponed when the Sidekicks were strnded in Baltimore due to the snow storm in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The San Diego Sockers (12-19) have a magic number of three to clinch a playoff spot over Dallas. The Kansas City Comets (13-14) also have a magic number of three to clinch a playoff spot over the Sidekicks. San Diego does not play this weekend while Kansas City host Baltimore (12-15) Friday and Milwaukee (23-5) Saturday.
Tatu needs one point to become the second player in history with 1400 for one team. Hector Marinaro of Cleveland has 1702 with the Crunch/Force (2).
NEXT GAME: The Sidekicks face the Force again on Sunday, February 23 at 2:05 pm in Cleveland. 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. The game at Milwaukee February 15 at 1: 05 p.m. will be tape delayed. Air time will be that evening, but the time is not yet determined.
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 61-47 (.565) 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 625 games played (Michael King of Milwaukee - 642), second for goals with 852 (Hector Marinaro - 1201), second in assists with 724 (Zoran Karic - 821), second in points with 1576 (Marinaro - 1886), second in shots with 4362 (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 - 549, goals - 731, assists - 668, points - 1399, shots - 4148, 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 - 643), 17th in assists with 387 (Gorna Hunjak of Kansas City - 434, Kevin Smith - 388), tenth in points with 992 (Michael King of Milwaukee - 1005), fourth in power play goals with 83 (Kia - 84), tied for 18th in shorthanded goals with 7, and and Pedroso to pull within two. Nevio Pizzolitto added a Force score at 6:03 of the second to make it 10-6 at the half. Cleveland added three more goals in the second half. Anthony Maher tallied at 13:36 of the third. Doyle interrupted the Force with a Sidekicks goal at 13:51. Chris Stathopolous and Kiley Couch finished the scoring at 4:44 and 14:08 of the fourth, respectively. Game 16 - December 15 vs. Cleveland: The Dallas Sidekicks routed the Cleveland Force 13-4 at Reunion Arena Sunday. The Sidekicks improved to 5-11 and is on its two-game winning streak of the season. Nicks Stavrou led the Sidekicks with three goals, including one empty-net three-pointer. David Doyle also scored twice, including a shorthanded goal that broke the game open. The Force (8-6) struck first with a goal from Chris Stathopoulos 35 seconds into the game. The Sidekicks then scored 10 unanswered points over the next 55 minutes to win the game going away. Stavrou started the Dallas scoring at 2:50 of the first. Doyle followed with a penalty kick at 4:42 after Cleveland's Nevio Pizzolitto was called for intentional handball in the penalty area. That was the first penalty kick converted for Dallas since the 1989-90 season. Antonio Sutton scored the Sidekicks third goal in less than four minutes when he took a Jeff Betts pass and planted in the net. Stavrou added his second goal of the night on a power play with 20 seconds left in the first half to give Dallas an 8-2 advantage at the break. Dallas stretched the lead to 10-2 when Doyle scored the Sidekicks' second shorthanded goal of the season. Brad Flanagan stole the ball in the Sidekicks' end and passed the ball to Doyle, who scored on the breakaway. It was the first shorthanded goal for Doyle since the 1996 season. Hector Marinaro scored a sixth attacker goal for Cleveland on a Stathopoulos assist at 11:11 of the fourth. Stavrou gave the final margin of 13-4 by hitting the empty-net with 19 seconds remaining.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 20, 2003
- Don't Miss Out on the Best Giveaway of the Year - San Diego Sockers
- Sidekicks Ready to Battle Force Sunday - Dallas Sidekicks
- MISL Injury Report - MISL 2
- Force Set To Cool Heat in Key Eastern Conference Game - Cleveland Force
- Force Legend To Take Different Role - Cleveland Force
- Sloan Replaces Marinaro on All-Star Team - MISL 2
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