Silver Knights Dominate Roar in Green Jersey Game
February 23, 2014 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)
Syracuse Silver Knights News Release
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse Silver Knights (11-8 #4 MISL) hosted the Pennsylvania Roar (1-17 #7 MISL) on Sunday afternoon with their Specialty Green Jersey Event sponsored by Kitty Hoyne's Irish Pub & Restaurant & Carlsberg. The Green Jerseys were auctioned off following the game to benefit the 2014 Syracuse St. Patrick's Day Parade. The Silver Knights have had much success against the Roar this season, winning all four confrontations and outscoring their opponents 76-36. The Silver Knights in the end kept that momentum going, dominating the Roar 24-7.
The Silver Knights controlled the game in the opening minutes. The air of superiority was evident. The Silver Knights pinned the Roar back, overloading the box and often only leaving one player behind to defend.
"It was both the team we played and the coach's instructions who wanted to us to kill the game off early," said Marcos Chantel. "The Roar made it a little easier for us because they didn't push too hard but the midfield helped us a lot too."
The Silver Knights' offensive pressure soon paid off. Nelson Santana ran from deep through midfield, played a good one-two with Machel Millwood before slipping in Kenardo Forbes, who confidently finished (8') for the opening goal.
Millwood quickly added to the Silver Knights' lead in the second quarter. Santana played him through on goal and the Syracuse forward cleverly finished (16') past Scott Krotee.
Santana was enjoying a very good first half. He pulled the strings for his team and effectively destabilized the Roar's packed defense with his late runs and dribbling. The Silver Knights captain marked the half with a memorable goal, picking up the ball in midfield and skipping past three challenges before slotting home (22').
"Pennsylvania dropped back so it gave me the opportunity to go forward and use our speed and quickness," said Santana. "I was trying to break apart the defenders and today it worked."
The two teams exchanged blows just before halftime. Chris Williams fired through a forest of legs (26') as his shot slipped past Brian O'Quinn. Forbes restored the six-point lead minutes after. The dynamic forward ghosted in at the near-post to convert Nate Bourdeau's cross (29').
The Silver Knights thus went in at halftime leading 8-2. They were by far the dominant side, shown both in the score line and the statistics as they outshot the Roar 37 to 10.
The Silver Knights raced to a 14-2 lead in a four-minute blitz on their return from halftime. Antonio Manfut tapped in Forbes' cross at the back-post (33') from the restart. Bourdeau completed a good collective movement from right to left, converting Domenico Vitale's cross (36'). Manfut then grabbed his second of the night, finishing a move he himself started by turning in the rebound (37') from Neto's shot. The Silver Knights really turned on the flair as they took their commanding lead into the final quarter. Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Millwood really showed their class, linking up well and applying some clever touches in-and-around the area.
"At 8-2 anything could happen so I wanted to make sure we came out of the locker room ready to go," said Silver Knights head coach Tommy Tanner. "We passed and moved very well, and we took out chances when they came."
The two Knights in fact combined early in the final quarter, with Ubiparipovic converting Millwood's assist (47') to widen the gap at 16-2. Manfut capped off the night by completing his hat-trick. Neto found him wide in the area and Manfut rifled in his shot past Krotee (54').
Although the Roar snuck in a couple goals, including Maret's three-point effort (55') that deflected in and over O'Quinn head, both Cory Elenio (51') and Vitale (52') added goals of their own on top of Maret's own goal (58').
It was a dominant display from the Silver Knights, who not only flexed their muscles with a resounding 24-7 win but also got a good morale boost ahead of the playoffs.
"This is what a team in the playoffs need to do against a team not in the playoffs," Tanner said. "We needed to go out there and not make it a game and kill it off early. It is a good thing to win ahead of the playoffs, score 24 points, and get some guys some quality minutes."
The Syracuse Silver Knights return home next Sunday, March 2nd for their Pink Teal Jersey Event in support of Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer. The Silver Knights will wear a specialty Pink & Teal Jersey to benefit Hope 4 Heather and the Crouse Health Foundation . The jerseys will be auctioned off immediately following the game. Playoff tickets for the March 7th Home Semi-Final Game are on sale through the Silver Knights office. Call the Silver Knights office at 315-303-7261 and get your tickets today.
Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from February 23, 2014
- Silver Knights Dominate Roar in Green Jersey Game - Syracuse Silver Knights
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