KiXX Enjoy Big Crowd And Big Win Versus Force

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

By David Deal
Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions

The Philadelphia KiXX (16-8) defeated the Cleveland Force (7-16) 5-3, in front of a season-high 10,153 fans at the club’s Ninth Annual School Day Game at the Wachovia Spectrum. With the victory, the KiXX extend their winning streak to five. Defender Pat Morris recorded the game-winning goal at 4:37 of the fourth quarter on a dish from teammate Goran Vasic. Peter Pappas (15-6) earned the victory between the posts for Philadelphia, turning away 19 of the 22 shots he faced, while Jim Larkin (5-10) took the loss for Cleveland, stopping 12 of 17 chances.

After just over 14 minutes of scoreless action (14:09), KiXX player/coach Don D’Ambra connected with team captain Kevin Sloan off a textbook give-and-go to provide Philadelphia the 1-0 advantage after one full period of play.

Cleveland forward Myles Stoddard broke the drought for the Force with an unassisted tally at 8:42 of the second period, notching the score at 1-1. The 1-1 tie would hold entering the half.

Midfielder Les Lunsford connected on a pass off the boards from teammate Mauricio Vincello at 9:29 of the third stanza, giving Philadelphia the 2-1 lead. Less than a minute later (10:12), Stoddard recorded his second goal of the day to knot the score at 2-2, but Vincello responded almost as quickly (12:38) to retain the one-point KiXX advantage, 3-2, entering the final period of action.

Morris and Matt Brooks each tallied a goal in the fourth quarter to extend the Philadelphia lead to 5-2. Morris connected first on a dish from forward Vasic at 4:37; while Brooks recorded his score at 6:18 from Andy Guastaferro. Stoddard completed the hat trick with his third goal of the contest to bring the Force within two, 5-3, at 7:19 of the final period, but the KiXX defense tightened to ensure a 5-3 victory.

Notes: Former player/coach Omid Namazi made his first trip to the Wachovia Spectrum as a member of the Cleveland Force tonight. The KiXX’s all-time franchise leader in assists was signed by Cleveland on December 26, 2003 and made his season debut versus Philadelphia at the Convo on December 27.

Boxscore:

Attendance: 10,153

Philadelphia: 1-0-2-2=5 Shots: 21
Goalkeepers: Pappas (W, 19 saves).
Scorers: Vincello (goal, assist), Brooks (goal), D’Ambra (goal), Guastaferro (assist), Lunsford (goal), Morris (goal), Sloan (assist), Vasic (assist).

Cleveland: 0-1-1-1=3 Shots: 28
Goalkeepers: Larkin (L, 12 saves).
Scorers: Stoddard (three goals), Bailey (assist), Neto (assist).

Following today’s contest, Philadelphia enjoys a 10-day break before returning to action on February 21 for their seventh set of back-to-back games this season. The club kicks-off the weekend with a trip to the Family Arena to square-off versus the St. Louis Steamers at 8:05 pm ET. The KiXX then return to home to conclude the series with a battle versus the League-leading Milwaukee Wave on February 22. Game-time at the Wachovia Spectrum is slated for 1:05 pm ET and can be viewed on CN8 beginning at 2:00 pm ET.