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Storm travel to Baltimore, face 'healthy' Blast

January 31, 2008 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Chicago Storm News Release


HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - The Chicago Storm (11-6) look to get back in the win column when they travel to Baltimore to take on the Blast at 7 p.m. (CST) Friday, Feb. 1, at 1st Mariner Arena. This marks the Storm's first match against the Blast (9-7) this season, and Baltimore is in the midst of a three-game winning streak.

"The bottom line is they're healthy," Storm head coach Steve Morris said of the Blast. "It's not always about the X's and O's. They have gotten healthy. They have (forward Adauto) Neto healthy (coming back from a right foot injury) and they're playing well again. It's definitely a big boost for them."

The Storm, coming off a loss to Milwaukee, won the last two times against Baltimore in March of 2007. The most recent was a dominant 21-6 victory at the Sears Centre Arena on March 31, 2007. The Storm are 9-8 against Baltimore overall as they enter the weekend one game behind the first-place Detroit Ignition.

On Saturday, Feb. 2, the Storm host the New Jersey Ironmen (10-7) for a 7 p.m. match at the Sears Centre. This is the second meeting between Chicago and expansion New Jersey, with the Ironmen taking the first 2007-08 meeting in overtime. The fun-filled Saturday includes the Storm's annual Mascots vs. Media Game at halftime. Cheer on Striker and his friends (including the Chicago Fire's Sparky and the Chicago Bulls' Benny the Bull) when they take on Chicago-area sportswriters and radio personalities!

STORM UPDATE - Points leaders: Two Storm players rank in the MISL's top 20 in points heading into this weekend's matches. Matthew Stewart is tied for ninth place with 37 points. Stewart leads the Storm with 16 goals this season (all two-pointers) and five assists. Carlos "Chile" Farias is tied for 18th place with 33 points. Farias has 11 goals (two three-pointers) and nine assists. - Hidden accomplishment: Within the mix of the Storm's 19-9 loss to Milwaukee on Sunday, Jan. 27, veteran Jim Larkin reached a significant milestone Sunday against Milwaukee. The Chicago goalkeeper made 19 saves, the last of which gave him 3,000 career regular-season saves. This season, Larkin (3-3) has made 87 saves in six starts and nine matches. - Blast from the past: Chicago's Chile Farias helped the Blast win the MISL championship in 2003-04, playing in 35 games for Baltimore that season. Farias ranked first in the league with 43 assists and third in points with 65. He was named to the MISL All-Star Team and to the All-MISL First Team. - Storm draft five: Chicago participated in Tuesday's 2008 MISL College Draft, which included one territorial pick and four other draft picks. The Storm's territorial pick was midfielder/forward Vangel Nacovski out of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Nacovski was Summit League Offensive Player of the Year and is IUPUI's first-ever men's soccer player of the year winner. Chicago's first-round pick was Fresno Pacific's Amaury Nunes, who was named to the 2007 NSCAA/adidas NAIA All-America First Team. Other picks included the University of Cincinnati's Amir Ikner, Bradley University's Stephen Brust and the University of Louisville's Frank Jonke.

BLAST UPDATE - Riding a new wave: It has been a roller coaster ride for the Blast this season. Baltimore opened the 2007-08 season with a five-game winning streak, followed by a five-game losing streak. The Blast currently are in the midst of a three-game winning stretch and sit 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Detroit Ignition. - Striking with seven: Baltimore's P.J. Wakefield had only 14 points heading into the Blast's most recent match against the Milwaukee Wave. He upped that total to 21 after a seven-point effort in a 12-7 home victory over the Wave on Jan. 25. Wakefield had two three-point goals (one on the power play) and an assist. Wakefield also leads Baltimore with 22 blocks. - Life on the road: Baltimore and Chicago finish much of the second half of the season away from home. After this weekend, the Blast spend eight of their remaining 12 games on the road, while the Storm play seven of their final 11 games away from the Sears Centre.

IRONMEN UPDATE - Familiar faces: Storm forward Stephen Armstrong played alongside New Jersey goalkeeper Tony Meola when they were part of Major League Soccer's Kansas City Wizards. Armstrong was with the Wizards from 2002-04 and Meola from 1999-2004. ... New Jersey midfielder Lazo Alavanja made his MISL debut with the Storm in 2004-05. - Assists machine: New Jersey's Goran Vasic created some distance with his assists lead. Heading into the weekend, Vasic has 24 dishes - eight ahead of Philadelphia's Don D'Ambra. Vasic had four assists and a three-point goal for seven points when the Ironmen defeated California, 17-14, on Jan. 19. - Last time against New Jersey: After winning their first three games, the Storm suffered their first loss of the 2007-08 season to the New Jersey Ironmen. The tight match went to overtime, where the Ironmen's Dan Antoniuk netted a two-point goal for the New Jersey victory.

The Chicago Storm are members of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Storm offices are located at 5333 Prairie Stone Pkwy., in Hoffman Estates. For more information on all aspects of Storm soccer, including season tickets, group outings, birthday parties and more, call (866) STORM-81, or visit ChicagoStorm.net.

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