Storm eliminated from postseason
April 13, 2008 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Chicago Storm News Release
MONTERREY, Mexico - For a second straight season, the Chicago Storm entered Game 2 of their playoff series with a 1-0 lead. But similar to last season's semifinal series against Philadelphia, the Storm dropped Game 2 and the "Golden Goal" game of their Major Indoor Soccer League Championship Series quarterfinal matchup against host La Raza de Monterrey on Sunday, April 13, at Arena de Monterrey.
Fourth-seeded Monterrey routed fifth-seeded Chicago, 17-5, to win Game 2. And La Raza's Jose Birche followed with a three-pointer in the Golden Goal game to catapult Monterrey into the semifinals. Top-seeded Detroit faces La Raza in the semifinals this weekend.
Last season, the Storm topped Philadelphia, 11-8, on April 13, 2007, in Game 1 of the semifinals at the Sears Centre. But the next day, Chicago dropped a 10-6 decision in Game 2 and fell in the Golden Goal game as the KiXX went on to capture an MISL championship crown.
The Storm won Game 1 of the quarterfinal series, 10-8, in overtime Thursday, April 10, at the Sears Centre Arena, but they could not find the offense to stay with Monterrey on Sunday. Host Monterrey broke out of its offensive dry spell the previous two matches against Chicago. La Raza scored twice in the first 4:06 to take a 4-0 lead in the first quarter.
Storm defenseman Randy Soderman scored his fourth career postseason goal and second career three-pointer at the 7:19 mark of the first to cut Monterrey's lead to 4-3. Storm rookie Gabriel Cigliano tallied his first playoff assist.
Then Monterrey blew Game 2 wide open. La Raza scored four straight goals to take a 13-3 advantage. Storm rookie Benjamin Chavolla briefly halted Monterrey's momentum with his first career MISL playoff goal at the 9:39 mark of the second quarter. The goal, off of a Stephen Armstrong assist, cut La Raza's lead to 13- 5.
Monterrey answered Chavolla's goal with a two-pointer just 13 seconds later and went into halftime with a 15-5 lead. La Raza added a third-quarter goal to cap off the Game 2 scoring.
In the net, Storm goalkeeper Jeff Richey made 15 saves, while La Raza's Jose Bontti had 23 saves. Offensively for La Raza, Birche and Ivan Medina had two goals apiece. Former Storm forward Byron Alvarez, Genoni Martinez, Victor Quiroz and Ivan Medina added goals for Monterrey.
Chicago ends its 2007-08 season with a 1-2 postseason record and a 15-15 regular-season mark. The Storm played their quarterfinal series with 15 available players.
It was a season of early highs and late lows for the Storm. Yet despite some nagging, season-long injuries and a 2-8 record heading into the playoffs, Chicago rebounded with a thrilling overtime victory to take Game 1 of the quarterfinals against La Raza. The Storm improved to 2-0 in postseason matches at the Sears Centre.
Early on in the 2007-08 campaign, the Storm flirted with first place for much of the first half of the season. Chicago posted a 7-1 record in its first eight matches for the best start in franchise history. The Storm added another groundbreaking mark by winning their first five road games.
Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 13, 2008
- Storm eliminated from postseason - Chicago Storm
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.
Other Recent Chicago Storm Stories
