KiXX Hang on To Beat Milwaukee 14-11

Sunday, December 22, 2002

By David W. Unkle
SJSports Staff Writer
dunkle@sjsports.com

Five unanswered goals in a span of fifteen minutes between the second and third period jumpstarted the Philadelphia KiXX to a 10-2 lead and they held off a Milwaukee rally late in the game to earn a 14-11 win over the Milwaukee Wave.

Joel Shanker (2G, 1A, 5 P) and Chris Handsor (1G, 1A, 3P) led the KiXX and Shawn Boney's goal at 0:28 of the fourth quarter proved to be the game winner as they toppled the team that handed them their worst defeat of the season.

Milwaukee's Brian Lofton put the Wave up 2-0 at 3:47 of the opening quarter and controlled the flow of the game until Goran Vasic knocked home a rebound at 9:02.

A little over two minutes later, Kevin Sloan took the ball off his right foot and his left-footed shot beat Wave goalkeeper Dan Green to the inside post gave the KiXX a lead that they would never surrender.

A beautiful goal by Handsor at 3:07 of the second quarter put Philadelphia up 6-2 on a give and go play with Tony Mc Peak.

Two goals less than two minutes apart by Shanker and Cesidio Colasante gave Philadelphia a 10-2 lead with six and a half minutes to go in the first half.

The Wave's Todd Dukosky brought Milwaukee back within six points with a power play goal at 12:36.

The Wave came out to begin the second half a much different team. Pat White's score made it 10-6 and just over two minutes later, Greg Howes narrowed the score to 10-8.

Boney's score to open the fourth quarter put the KiXX back up by four.

Lofton’s three-point power play goal with under four minutes to play established a tension not felt since the first quarter.

Shanker sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with eleven seconds to play in the game.

Peter Pappas (11-2) earned the win for Philadelphia while Dan Green (0-2) took the loss for the Wave.

NOTES:

Todd Gerstemeier of Collegeville, PA was the one millionth fan in franchise history.

The KiXX have set a new team record with ten consecutive home wins in a season.

After opening the season with seven consecutive wins, the Wave are 4-4 in their last eight games.

This is the fourth time a Milwaukee Wave team started the season with a record of 14-3.; All four squads lost Game 15.

The KiXX are 10-16 all time versus Milwaukee and 1-1 this season.

The six points the KiXX scored in the second quarter are the most the Wave has allowed all season; the ten points scored by the KiXX in the first half equals the record for most points surrendered by Milwaukee this season.

The Wave played without leading scorer Joe Reininger (hamstring). Reininger is second in MISL scoring with 49 points (4 3PG; 15 2PG; and 7 A). MISL leading goalkeeper Victor Nogueira was also out of the lineup.

The KiXX return to action on January 4, 2003 when they face the Dallas Sidekicks at the First Union Spectrum. Kick-off is set for 7:05 pm. For ticket information, visit the KiXX website at www.kixxonline.com or call at the KiXX office at 1-888-888-KiXX. Family Packs (4 seats, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas) are available for just $59.00.

Be sure to tune in to Inside the KiXX on The Topcat Sports Show Sundays 4:30-6:00 PM and Tuesdays 4:30-6:00 PM on Philadelphia's Renaissance Radio Station, WNJC1360-AM for your chance to win tickets to an upcoming Philadelphia KiXX game. The studio phone lines are 856.227.1360 and 856.232.7077.