Steamers stomp KiXX, 8-3, for third straight win
February 21, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
St. Louis Steamers News Release
(St. Louis, Feb. 21, 2004) -- The St. Louis Steamers beat the Philadelphia KiXX 8-3 Saturday night at The Family Arena, bringing an abrupt halt to Philadelphia's five-game winning streak. In the process, the Steamers notched their third straight win and fourth in the past five games heading into the Feb. 27-29 MISL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis.
Steve Butcher, Daryl Doran, and Sipho Sibiya each scored two goals for the Steamers, who broke open a 1-1 halftime tie with seven second-half goals. St. Louis goalkeeper Brett Phillips was outstanding throughout the game and was credited with the victory.
The Steamers (10-15) trail Milwaukee by eight games in the MISL Central Division, but are now just ½ game behind San Diego and Kansas City for the sixth and final MISL playoff berth. Following Sunday's MISL games featuring Baltimore at Cleveland and Milwaukee at Philadelphia, the league breaks for the third annual MISL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis.
Philadelphia, which entered the matchup as the hottest team in the MISL, falls to 16-9 with the loss. The KiXX were playing without injured regulars Peter Pappas (goalkeeper), St. Louis native Joel Shanker, and Sean Boney. The Steamers were without standout forward Mark Thomas, who suffered a mild concussion in the team's 5-3 win over Kansas City Feb. 20.
Following a scoreless first quarter, recently acquired St. Louis midfielder Franck M'Bemba scored his first goal as a Steamer to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 11:50 of the second. On the goal, M'Bemba took the ball from the Steamers' side of midfield, streaked upfield, and beat Philadelphia goalkeeper Stuart Dobson to the low right corner.
Philadelphia player/coach Don D'Ambra scored his 28th goal of the year to tie the game 1-1 at 13:13 of the second and the scored remained 1-1 through halftime. Butcher scored a power play goal at 4:28 of the third to give the Steamers a 2-1 lead, but Philadelphia jumped ahead 3-2 shortly thereafter on goals by Pat Morris (5:47 of the third) and Jeremy Aldrich (6:47). Butcher tied the game 3-3 on a goal off a restart with the assist to Doran. The tally was Butcher's seventh in the past three games and 28th of the season.
Doran scored a power play goal at 14:02 of the third and Sibiya added a goal at 14:36 to give St. Louis a 5-3 lead through three quarters. Doran, Sterling Wescott, and Sibiya scored fourth-quarter goals for the 8-3 final.
Doran, who battled a series of injuries in the first half of the season, now has 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in his past five games. Doran and Butcher will represent the Steamers in the Feb. 29 All-Star Game at The Family Arena. 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.
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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from February 21, 2004
- Steamers stomp KiXX, 8-3, for third straight win - St. Louis Steamers
- Philadelphia's five-game winning streak snapped at The Family Arena - Philadelphia KiXX
- Force Falls To Baltimore In First Game Of Back-To-Back Series - Cleveland Force
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