Steamers close in on Comets with 5-3 win
Published on February 20, 2004 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
St. Louis Steamers News Release
(St. Louis, Feb. 20, 2004) -- The St. Louis Steamers registered a major 5-3 road victory over MISL Central Division rival Kansas City Friday night at Kemper Arena. Red-hot Steamers forward Steve Butcher had two goals and an assist to lead St. Louis. Butcher, who will play in the MISL All-Star Game Feb. 29 in St. Louis, now has five goals in his past two games and 26 tallies on the season.
With the victory, the Steamers (9-15) have won three of their past four games and trail the Comets (11-16) by just ½ game in the hunt for the sixth and final MISL playoff berth. The MISL teams with the top six records qualify for the playoffs. The Steamers have 12 games remaining this season, including a 7:05 p.m. battle Saturday night (Feb. 21) against the Philadelphia KiXX at The Family Arena. St. Louis leads the season series with Kansas City, 3-2, with one regular-season matchup remaining: March 19 at The Family Arena.
Butcher staked St. Louis to a 1-0 lead at three minutes, five seconds of the first quarter on an assist from fellow All-Star Daryl Doran. Kansas City tied the game 1-1 on an unassisted goal by Sandre Naumoski at 9:11 of the second quarter and the game remained tied at halftime. The Steamers scored three straight goals in the third quarter â Mike Apple at 3:13, Aaron Susi at 8:35, and Butcher at 10:09 â to open a 4-1 lead through three periods.
Comets standout forward Dino Delevski scored his 32nd and 33rd goals of the year at 26 seconds, and 1:09 of the fourth to make it 4-3. However, Sterling Wescott scored on an assist from Sipho Sibiya at 12:30 of the fourth to seal the 5-3 triumph for the Steamers.
Philadelphia (16-8) enters Saturday night's matchup as the hottest team in the MISL. The KiXX have won five straight games and trail defending MISL champion Baltimore by one game in the Eastern Division. The Steamers and KiXX have split two previous games this season; Philadelphia defeated St. Louis 7-3 Nov. 14 at The Family Arena; the Steamers returned the favor by beating the KiXX, 9-5 Jan. 3 at Philadelphia.
The first 1,500 fans age 14 and under who attend the Feb. 21 game against Philadelphia receive a free mini-ball. Single-game tickets ranging from $7 to $15 are available for all Steamers home games by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111, or by visiting metrotix.com. Single-game tickets also are available at The Family Arena box office. For general information on Steamers tickets or group outings, call 636-410-0388, ext. 501; toll free at 1-866-STL-KICK (1-866-785-5425); or visit the Steamers Web site www.stlsteamers.com. All-Star Game and All-Star Weekend tickets may be purchased at The Family Arena box office, by phone (314-534-1111 or 1-800-293-5949), at more than 40 area MetroTix outlets, and online at www.metrotix.com.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 20, 2004
- Steamers close in on Comets with 5-3 win - St. Louis Steamers
- Sidekicks defeat Milwaukee, 4-3 - Dallas Sidekicks
- Steamers Mini-Ball Night February 21 - St. Louis Steamers
- MISL Injury Report - MISL 2
- Steamers play two crucial games before Feb. 27-29 MISL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis - St. Louis Steamers
- KiXX Prepare for Back-to-Back Action - Philadelphia KiXX
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
