KiXX Drop Midweek Battle To Kansas City, 5-3

Tuesday, March 9, 2004

By David Deal
Philadelphia KiXX Director of Communitions

The Philadelphia KiXX (17-12) were defeated by the Kansas City Comets (13-17) by a score of 5-3 in a rare midweek Major Indoor Soccer League contest tonight. Kansas City forward Jason Cole registered the game winner at 11:34 of the fourth quarter. Stuart Dobson fell to 2-5 between the posts for Philadelphia, stopping 14 of the 19 shots he faced, while Sanaldo (2-0) earned the victory for the Comets with 11 saves on 14 chances.

Kansas City’s Anthony Maher stripped the ball from KiXX defender Mauricio Vincello then slid a shot past Dobson and into the far corner of the net, notching the only goal of the opening quarter (4:34) and giving the Comets a 1-0 advantage entering the second period.

The KiXX finally struck the scoreboard, when player/coach Don D’Ambra nailed home a Pat Morris rebound off the boards at 13:37 of the second stanza. The 1-1 tie held after two full quarters of play.

Comets defender Vlatko Andonovski connected with reigning MISL MVP Dino Delevski to regain Kansas City’s one-point lead, 2-1, at 10:14 of the third period. Philadelphia, winless (0-10) when trailing after three quarters, entered the final period of play behind the Comets, 2-1.

Jamar Beasley extended the Kansas City advantage to two, 3-1, with a notch on a dish from teammate Brian Soell at exactly the one-minute mark of the fourth quarter. D’Ambra cut the team’s deficit to one, 3-2, with his second tally of the night on a feed from Andy Guastaferro at 5:57 of the stanza, but Comets forward Jason Cole responded with an unassisted strike at 13:34 to reestablish the one-point Kansas City margin, 4-2. KiXX forward, Goran Vasic, serving as sixth-attacker for Philadelphia, blasted a restart goal to bring the club within one, 4-3, at 13:11 of the period. Sandre Naumoski sealed a 5-3 Kansas City victory with an unassisted tally with just 12 seconds remaining in regulation.

Notes: KiXX player/coach Don D’Ambra and defender Pat Morris have accounted for nine-of-the-club’s 17 goals (53 percent), in the team’s last three contests. Team captain Kevin Sloan appeared in his 200th game as a member of the Philadelphia KiXX, while midfielder Les Lunsford played in the 100th contest of his four-year career.

Boxscore:

Attendance: 2,714

Philadelphia: 0-1-0-2=3 Shots: 28

Goalkeepers: Dobson (L, 14 saves).
Scorers: D’Ambra (two goals), Guataferro (assist), Morris (assist), Vasic (goal).

Kansas City: 1-0-1-3=5 Shots: 33

Goalkeepers: Sanaldo (W, 11 saves).
Scorers: Andonovski (goal), Beasley (goal), Delevski (assist), Maher (goal), Naumoski (goal), Soell (assist).

Philadelphia next travels to Monterrey, Mexico to battle the Fury for the final time of the 2003-04 regular season on Sunday, March 14. Game-time at the Monterrey Arena is scheduled for 7:35 pm ET. The team remains on the road to square-off against the Cleveland Force on Friday, March 19, before returning to the Wachovia Spectrum on Saturday, March 20 to entertain the St. Louis Steamers. The KiXX-Force meeting is slated for a 7:35 pm ET kick-off at the Convocation Center at CSU, while the Philadelphia-St. Louis matchup will start at 7:05 pm ET. For more information or to purchase tickets for any remaining KiXX home contest, contact the club’s Executive Office at 1-888-888-KiXX (5499) or log onto the team’s official website, www.kixxonline.com.