Steamers roll Comets, 10-4

March 19, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
St. Louis Steamers News Release


(St. Louis, March 19, 2004) -- Sipho Sibiya scored four goals and Franck M'Bemba added three as the St. Louis Steamers rolled over intrastate rival Kansas City 10-4 Friday night at The Family Arena. With the victory, the Steamers (13-17) notched their fourth win in the six-game season series between the MISL Central Division rivals and moved to within ½ game of the Comets (15-18) in the MISL standings.

Teams with the top six records – regardless of division finish – qualify for the MISL playoffs. Following Friday night's contest, the Comets are fifth overall in the MISL standings and the Steamers are sixth. The Comets have three games remaining this season, while the Steamers have six more games, including a 6:05 p.m. (CST) game March 20 against the Philadelphia KiXX at the Wachovia Spectrum. Of the Steamers' final six games, five are on the road.

On Friday night, Kansas City jumped to a 2-0 first quarter lead on goals by Craig Scheer (5 minutes) and Anthony Maher (8:51). Sibiya – who was forced to leave the game midway through the third with an ankle injury – scored his first of four goals unassisted at 12:18 of the first to make it 2-1. M'Bemba made it 2-2 just 11 seconds into the second quarter with an assist to Sterling Wescott, and Matt Caution scored at 4:15 to give the Steamers a 3-2 advantage. Sibiya scored two more times in the second quarter (at 8:34 and 14:03) to give St. Louis a 5-2 halftime lead.

M'Bemba, Sibiya, and Daryl Doran scored in the third quarter to open the lead to 8-2. Jeff DiMaria and M'Bemba also had goals in the fourth for the Steamers. Maher finished with two goals and Dino Delevski had two assists to lead Kansas City offensively. Brett Phillips saved 14 of 18 shots faced to register the victory for St. Louis.

The Steamers offensive output was especially encouraging after the team learned Friday that leading scorer Steve Butcher – among the top goal-scorers in the MISL with 31 – will be out for eight weeks with a broken bone in his right foot. Butcher suffered the injury during the Steamers' 8-3 loss to Dallas March 17. Sibiya injured his left ankle in the third quarter of Friday night's game and his status is being evaluated for Saturday's game.

On Saturday, March 20, the Steamers travel to Philadelphia to take on the MISL Eastern Division KiXX. The 6:05 p.m. (CST) game at the Wachovia Spectrum concludes the season series between the Steamers and Philadelphia. St. Louis has won two of the three meetings between the teams this season. The Steamers play their final home game of the season March 27 at 1:05 p.m. against Milwaukee. The game is "Fan Appreciation Day."

TICKET INFORMATION: Single-game tickets ranging from $7 to $15 are available at The Family Arena box office; by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111; or by visiting metrotix.com. For general information on the Steamers, visit www.stlsteamers.com, or call 1-866-STL-KICK (1-866-785-5425).



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from March 19, 2004


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