KiXX Steal The Force From Cleveland 7-4

Saturday, November 8, 2003

By David Deal
Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions

The Philadelphia KiXX (4-1) defeated the Cleveland Force (3-2) 7-4 tonight in front of 3,417 fans at the Wachovia Spectrum to remain perfect, 2-0, at home this season. Philadelphia-native Pat Morris connected on the game winner at 11:10 of the third quarter. Peter Pappas (4-1) earned the victory in net for the KiXX, recording 10 saves on 14 shots faced, while Jim Larkin (3-2) took the loss for Cleveland.

Philadelphia’s Kevin Sloan struck first with an unassisted header at 4:22 of the opening quarter, giving the KiXX the early 1-0 advantage. Two minutes later (6:04), forward Matt Brooks extended the Philadelphia lead to two, 2-0, on a long feed from teammate Jeremy Aldrich. Lee Edgerton put the Force onto the scoreboard, 2-1, with at tally from John Ball at 12:11 of the period. Philadelphia regained the two-point margin, 3-1, less than a minute later (12:43) when Brooks connected on his second strike of the game. The two-goal performance marks his first multi-goal game of his career. Goran Vasic recorded the assist to extend his scoring streak to a season-high eight contests. The 3-1 KiXX lead held after one full period of play.

Both defenses regrouped to shut down any legitimate scoring threat throughout most of the second quarter. Cleveland’s Zoran Karic finally broke the drought with a goal at 13:31 to pull the Force within one, 3-2. Philadelphia took the one-point lead into the half.

Hector Marinaro, the sport’s all-time leading scorer, connected with on a restart goal at 4:46 of the third quarter to tie the game, 3-3, for the first time of the night. Karic recorded the assist. Less than a minute later, KiXX defender Jeremy Aldrich regained the Philadelphia’s one-point advantage on his first career tally at 5:36 of the period. Morris rounded out the third-quarter scoring with a strike from Tony McPeak at 11:10. The KiXX held the two-point margin, 5-3, entering the final quarter of action.

Force rookie Adauto Neto connected with Karic to again bring Cleveland within one, 5-4, at 1:49 of the final period. Sloan and Joel Shanker sealed the KiXX victory with consecutive goals to earn the 7-4 victory.

Notes: Mauricio Vincello stepped onto the Wachovia Spectrum floor tonight for the first time as a member of the KiXX. Cleveland forward Ato Leone suffered a left ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not return.

Philadelphia next takes to the road for a battle with the St. Louis Steamers on Friday, November 14, 2003. The contest is scheduled to kick-off at 8:35 pm ET in the Family Arena. The club returns to Philadelphia Saturday, November 15, as they welcome the Kansas City Comets to the Wachovia Spectrum. The first 5,000 patrons to enter the gates will receive a complimentary 2003-04 Philadelphia KiXX Team Photo. Game time is 7:05 pm ET. For ticket information, contact the KiXX Executive Office at 1-888-888-KiXX (5499) or log onto the team’s official website, www.kixxonline.com.

The Philadelphia KiXX are a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League, a single-entity organization that features a coast-to-coast presence across the United States. The club is entering its eighth season of play at the Wachovia Spectrum located in Philadelphia, PA.

For more information regarding the Philadelphia KiXX, please contact David Deal, KiXX Director of Communications, at 215.952.5431 or via cell at 267.688.4127. Fans can also log onto our website at www.kixxonline.com.